Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill' Threatens Planned Parenthood Funds
The Senate version of President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' narrowly passed on Tuesday with a provision included that would prohibit federal Medicaid funding for any health care services provided by Planned Parenthood for one year, after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough allowed the cuts to remain in the legislation. The provision initially sought to 'defund' Planned Parenthood for 10 years, but the timing was reduced to one year prior to MacDonough's ruling. The sweeping tax and spending package now returns to the House.
The bill's Senate passage comes just days after the Supreme Court ruled that states can prohibit Medicaid funding for any health care services provided by Planned Parenthood, in a case stemming from a 2018 order by South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster that barred any clinic offering abortion services from the state's Medicaid program.
Read More: South Carolina Wants to End Medicaid for Planned Parenthood
The decisions are major victories for Republican lawmakers in their decades-long effort to strip Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, of government funding. The Hyde Amendment already bars federal dollars from being used for abortion. Medicaid—the state-federal program that provides health insurance coverage for more than 70 million people from low-income households—doesn't cover abortions, with very limited exceptions. But Medicaid covers other, non-abortion health care services that Planned Parenthood clinics provide, and many of the patients who visit the organization's locations are Medicaid recipients.
Anti-abortion groups praised the Supreme Court's decision; Katie Daniel, director of legal affairs and policy counsel for the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement that the decision 'saves countless unborn babies from a violent death.'
But Planned Parenthood, abortion-rights advocates, and health care providers condemned the court's ruling. Planned Parenthood has said that barring Medicaid coverage for the number of other health care services its clinics provide—such as birth control, STI testing and treatment, and cancer screenings—could lead to many patients not getting the health care they need.
'The Supreme Court once again sided with politicians who believe they know better than you, who want to block you from seeing your trusted health care provider and making your own health care decisions,' Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. 'Patients need access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more. And right now, lawmakers in Congress are trying to 'defund' Planned Parenthood as part of their long-term goal to shut down Planned Parenthood and ban abortion nationwide.'
The provision targeting Planned Parenthood in Trump's tax and spending package would cost taxpayers an additional $52 million over 10 years, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. Planned Parenthood has said that if it is 'defunded,' nearly 200 health centers in 24 states would be at risk of closing and more than 1.1 million patients could lose access to their health care.
Lawmakers and anti-abortion groups that have pushed to 'defund' Planned Parenthood have argued that patients can turn to federally qualified health centers instead of the women's health organization. But a recent report from the Guttmacher Institute, which researches and supports sexual and reproductive health and rights, concluded that federally qualified health centers wouldn't be able to readily replace Planned Parenthood's provider network.
Abortion-rights advocates sounded the alarm on Tuesday, after the tax and spending package cleared the Senate with the provision targeting Planned Parenthood.
'If this bill passes, it will be the most devastating blow to women's health and bodily autonomy since the overturning of Roe,' Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. 'What we are seeing is a full-scale attack against the complete range of care that these clinics provide—abortion care, yes, but also so much more.'
'If this bill passes, many people will have nowhere else affordable to go for these services,' Northup continued. 'The U.S. health care system is already stretched thin—the majority in Congress should not be further limiting where people can get health care. Patients should have the freedom to pick their health care provider.'
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In a three-year pilot program, every American baby born between 2025 and 2028 would get a $1,000 nest egg from the government to be invested in an index fund. Parents could then add $5,000 each year to those accounts and watch the interest grow during childhood. No deductions would be allowed until the child turns 18. Originally called a 'baby bonus,' or a 'MAGA account,' the name was changed to 'Trump accounts' over the course of this year. It bears some similarities to proposals put forward by Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker. Read more from CNN's Jeanne Sahadi. Many workers who receive tips or overtime compensation would get a tax break through 2028. Employees who work in jobs that traditionally receive tips could deduct up to $25,000 in tip income from their federal income taxes, while workers who receive overtime could deduct up to $12,500 of that extra pay. Highly compensated individuals who make more than $160,000 in 2025 would not qualify. The bill speeds up the end of tax incentives for renewable energy projects to 2027. The bill would limit eligibility for federal benefits — including food stamps, Medicaid, Affordable Care Act premium subsidies and Medicare — to a smaller set of noncitizens. Some immigrants, such as refugees, asylees and victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking, would no longer qualify. In addition, immigrants would have to pay new or higher fees to apply for various programs, including asylum, work authorization, humanitarian parole and Temporary Protected Status, as well as for most immigration court filings. Wealthy Americans would benefit far more from the tax package than those lower on the income scale, according to a Tax Policy Center analysis of the Senate bill. While all households would see their taxes reduced, some 60% of the benefits would go to those making $217,000 or more (the top 20%). These folks would receive an average tax cut of $12,500, or 3.4% of their after-tax income, in 2026, the analysis found. But the lowest-income households, who earn about $35,000 or less, would receive an average tax cut of only $150, less than 1% of their after-tax income. Middle-income households would see their taxes reduced by about $1,800, or 2.3% of their after-tax income, on average. This analysis does not take into account the historic cuts to the nation's safety-net program, which would hurt lower-income Americans. They would see their income reduced after factoring in the changes to Medicaid and food stamps, according to a report from the Budget Lab at Yale. It's hard to believe, but according to a Congressional Research Service report, thousands of people who made $1 million or more claimed unemployment benefits in 2021 and 2022. This bill puts an end to that. Musk is furious about the bill and howling about it on social media. Not only does he disagree with the deficit-exploding tax cuts, he would also prefer more spending cuts. The Tesla CEO also vehemently opposes the abrupt end to EV tax credits. 'It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,' he wrote on X. He predicted 'political suicide' for Republicans if they turn this bill into law. The bill would increase the deficit by $3.3 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office report published Sunday. Republicans have embraced a budget gimmick to argue the impact of the bill is much smaller. But nobody should expect the roughly $36 trillion national debt to shrink as a result of the package. The legislation would also raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion to allow the Treasury Department to borrow more to pay the bills that have already been incurred. Many Americans could feel the consequences of the nation's ever-growing debt in their wallets. The bill would increase interest rates, according to a CBO analysis of the House version. That could make mortgages, car loans and credit card payments more expensive. Read more from CNN's Matt Egan here. The money Trump could not secure for a border wall during his first term is in this bill. It allocates $46.5 billion for border wall construction and $45 billion for the detention of undocumented people apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
