Tag Archives: “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act (OBBB)

So Exactly What Has The Trump Administration Accomplished?

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On Thursday, American Greatness posted an article listing the domestic policy accomplishments of the Trump administration from October 2025 to the present.

The major highlight of the list was the One Big Beautiful Bill:

The signature domestic accomplishment of the fall and winter was not a new law, but the rollout of the law already signed—H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which Trump signed on July 4, 2025. Most of its individual-side provisions took effect January 1, 2026, and by the bill’s one-year anniversary the effects were measurable. The law permanently locked in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act rates and the doubled standard deduction, which—absent the OBBBA—would have expired at the end of 2025 and triggered a tax increase on most households. The Tax Foundation estimated the average American taxpayer would see a federal tax cut of roughly $3,752 in 2026, with every state benefiting to some degree.

The bill also delivered on specific 2024 campaign promises: no tax on tips (roughly 7 million workers claimed the deduction) and no tax on overtime (28 million claimants), an increased SALT deduction cap, a $6,000 senior deduction, and reform of Medicaid and SNAP.

Other accomplishments:

The Department of Government Efficiency continued its work despite the litigation and congressional friction noted in that earlier article, with claimed savings pushing toward the quarter-trillion-dollar mark and continued federal workforce attrition through hiring freezes, return-to-office mandates, and automation of processes like federal retirement filing. A rescissions package and impoundment actions targeted programs the administration deemed wasteful, while fraud investigations expanded into state-level abuse of federal benefit programs, including a high-profile Minnesota probe.

…HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA Commission moved from its September 2025 strategy document (120-plus initiatives) into implementation. The FDA continued working with industry toward eliminating petroleum-based synthetic dyes like Red 40 and Yellow 5 from the food supply by the end of 2026 and is closing the “GRAS loophole” that let food companies self-certify novel additives as safe without FDA review. USDA and HHS released updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasizing whole foods, and the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (created in the OBBBA) began funding rural hospitals and MAHA-aligned state policy, including support for regenerative agriculture practices.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. Other accomplishments mentioned include gaining control of the southern border, appointing judges who believe in the U.S. Constitution, lowering crime in several major cities, and creating a manufacturing boom in America.

One Result Of The Big Beautiful Bill

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On Saturday, Just the News posted an article about the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill on Americans’ tax refunds.

The article reports:

The Internal Revenue Service issued $296 billion in refunds during the 2026 filing season, a 17% increase from the previous year, as millions of Americans benefited from President Donald Trump’s signature tax law, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

The increase represented $43 billion more in refunds than the IRS had issued during the 2025 filing season for tax year 2024. The average refund also increased by $333, or 11%, compared with the previous year, according to the full report.

The GAO attributed the larger refunds, in part, to millions of taxpayers claiming new deductions created by recent tax law changes in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), including provisions allowing deductions for qualified tips and overtime.

The IRS also issued more refunds overall, sending out more than 8 million additional refunds compared with 2025.

The increase in refunds came as the agency faced delays affecting taxpayers who received their money by paper check.

The article notes the advantage of filing electronically and receiving your return electronically:

Still, taxpayers who had filed paper returns or relied on paper refund checks had faced significant delays.

“Most paper check refunds were delayed by weeks,” the GAO reported, as the IRS had moved toward issuing refunds primarily through direct deposit.

The IRS sent approximately 4.2 million notices to taxpayers by early May asking them to provide bank account information to allow for electronic delivery of their refunds.

Taxpayers who had not responded were told they would receive a paper check after six weeks.

As a result, the number of paper-check refunds issued by early April had plunged more than 80%, from about 2.8 million in 2025 to roughly 493,000 in 2026. Those who had received paper checks waited an average of 36 days, compared with 13 days the previous year.

The GAO found that the IRS had therefore taken about three times longer to issue paper-check refunds than it had in 2025.

Taxpayers using direct deposit generally avoided the worst of the delays.

According to the report, nine out of 10 refunds issued through direct deposit had arrived within 21 days.

According to Artificial Intelligence, this is who pays taxes in America:

In the U.S., the top 1% of earners, who make over $663,164, paid approximately 40.4% of federal income taxes in 2022, while the top 50% of earners contributed about 97% of total federal income taxes.

Federal Tax Contributions by Income Group

Understanding the distribution of federal tax payments reveals significant disparities.

    • Top 1% — They earned 22.2% of total Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and paid 42.3% of federal income taxes.
    • Top 50% — This group accounted for 97% of all federal individual income taxes.
    • Bottom 50% — They contributed only 3% of federal income taxes.
    • Top 5% — In 2023, they paid over $1.27 trillion in income taxes, about 60% of the total.
    • Progressive Tax System — High-income earners pay higher average tax rates, emphasizing the system’s progressive nature.

Whenever someone tells you that the rich don’t pay their fair share, show them these numbers.

Numbers You Probably Aren’t Hearing In The News

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On Wednesday, Breitbart posted an article about some of the economic numbers President Trump cited in a recent speech in Nevada. He is reciting those numbers because the majority of the press is ignoring them.

The article reports:

President Donald Trump touted the results of his economic policies in Las Vegas on Wednesday, including 40,000 new jobs for Nevadans since his second term began.

Trump highlighted his administration’s economic wins in the Silver State and nationally while delivering remarks at Red Rock Casino.

…“Here in Nevada, we’ve created over 40,000 new jobs and lifted nearly 100,000 Nevadans off of food stamps,” he said. ” And they don’t want to be on food stamps, because they’ve got new jobs. They’ve got jobs. They don’t need food stamps.”

He then noted that more Americans are working now than ever before.

“Last month, inflation dropped at the fastest rate it’s dropped in many years, and… so the biggest thing for this whole thing: more Americans are working in the United States right now than at any point in the history of our country,” he added.

…Trump also touted his No Tax on Tips policy, which became law through the One Big Beautiful Bill, where workers, beginning this past April, can deduct up to $25,000 of their tipped income. The policy is particularly beneficial in the Silver State, where many work as waiters, waitresses, bartenders, and in other tipped professions.

…No Tax on Tips was one of several novel tax policies Trump and Congressional Republicans created in the One Big Beautiful Bill. Others include an up to $12,500 deduction for overtime pay, a tax deduction of up to $10,000 for interest paid on loans for cars assembled in the United States, and Social Security deductions for certain seniors.

One family, in which all members benefited from aspects of the One Big Beautiful Bill, joined Trump on stage. Sandra, a waitress, and her husband Brad, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer, saved thousands thanks to No Tax on Tips and overtime, while their children each have Trump Accounts, which were also established in the legislation.

Elections really do matter. A waitress and a police officer are not rich. Both are very valuable to American society. The tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill helped average Americans–they did not go to the rich as the Democrats have claimed. Voting for a Democrat right now is taking a financial risk!

The Consequences Of Good Policy Decisions

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On Monday, The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) posted an article on their news website about the decline in the number of Americans collecting food stamps. Contrary to the panic on the political left when they hear about people less dependent on government handouts, that is good news.

The article reports:

To most Americans, a significant drop in the number of people on food stamps is a positive development. But to the left-wing outrage mob, it’s cause for all-out panic and one of the most absurd fits of anti-Trump hysteria to date.

According to recent government data, as of July 1, approximately 4.5 million fewer people are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) compared to the same time last year – a reduction of about 11 percent. Still, the nearly 42 million people enrolled in SNAP is much higher than the 35 million on the dole in 2019.

To hear liberals tell it, there is only one explanation for this shift: the Trump administration is purposely and heartlessly stripping needy Americans of their benefits and starving people to death.

The article explains the dropping numbers:

First, there are now stronger protections to ensure that illegal aliens and other ineligible non-citizens do not abuse the program. Trump and congressional Republicans rightly recognized that it is wrong to require American citizens to fork over their hard-earned tax dollars to pay for food for individuals who are either here illegally or came to the United States through legal channels but cannot provide for themselves.

Second, the OBBB implemented a new mandate requiring SNAP recipients aged 18 to 64 to either work at least 80 hours per month or participate in a job training program. In addition to gainful employment, recipients can fulfill their work requirement by volunteering at their local library, cleaning up the parks, or doing any number of other worthy civic activities.

The article concludes:

To the leftist mind warped by victim propaganda, fewer people on food stamps is a crisis. To everyone else, fewer Americans dependent on government handouts sounds a lot more like progress.

Getting the fraud out of government programs and making sure that the people who access them are eligible is a concrete step toward dealing with our national debt.

Learning From Past Mistakes

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On Tuesday, The Federalist posted an article about the work requirements added to Medicaid in the One Big Beautiful Bill.

The article reports:

President Ronald Reagan famously embraced the Russian proverb “Trust, but verify” during negotiations with the Soviet Union over nuclear arms reductions. Reagan understood that when there are incentives to cheat, verification is essential.

That same principle applies to government welfare programs, including the forthcoming Medicaid work requirements. In the Working Families Tax Cut Act — also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill — Congress required able-bodied, working-age adults to work, volunteer, or participate in job training to receive Medicaid unless they qualify for an exemption. More than 80 percent of Americans support such requirements.

…Unfortunately, some states are gearing up to permit applicants (or intermediaries enrolling them on their behalf) to self-attest to meeting the requirements or qualifying for an exemption. These states would permit applicants to simply check a box without verification.

Failing to verify applicant information has led to widespread improper enrollment and fraud in other programs. The massive improper enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) proves that when the government weakens verification standards, including through self-attestation, improper enrollment rises dramatically.

The article concludes:

This year, the Trump administration has rightly targeted fraud and reversed Biden policies that enabled improper ACA enrollment to skyrocket. Allowing self-attestation in Medicaid would return us to the Biden administration’s policy failures. The American people overwhelmingly support commonsense work requirements for able-bodied adults receiving welfare benefits, not policies that can be so easily gamed. When spending other people’s money on other people, verification — not blind trust — is the prudent policy.

It does no good to pass a law with a work requirement if you don’t enforce the work requirement. Not verifying the work requirement will simply open the door for more of the massive fraud that has been uncovered by Vice-President J.D. Vance’s anti-fraud task force.

This Really Should Not Surprise Anyone

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On Monday, American Greatness posted an article about the impact of the Big Beautiful Bill on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The article reports:

Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has declined significantly since new federal work requirements took effect in mid-2025, with millions fewer Americans receiving benefits, according to newly reported federal data.

The number of people enrolled in SNAP has fallen by roughly 3.5 million since July 2025, dropping from an average of 42.1 million participants in the prior fiscal year to about 38.5 million as of January 2026, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

The decline follows the implementation of expanded eligibility rules included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed into law by Donald Trump on July 4, 2025. The legislation broadened existing work requirements for able-bodied adults, mandating that individuals between the ages of 18 and 64 without young dependents participate in at least 80 hours per month of work, volunteering, or government-run programs.

Previously, the requirements applied to a narrower age group and included different criteria for dependents, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP. Officials told The Wall Street Journal that the recent changes represent the most sweeping adjustments to the program in decades.

There is no reason that healthy Americans should be able to sit at home while the rest of us work to supply them with groceries. We need to help those who need help, but we don’t need to enable those who don’t want to work.

The article concludes:

Several states, including Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee, have reported double-digit percentage declines. In response, some state officials have begun efforts to connect affected residents with employment and volunteer opportunities to help them meet the new requirements.

Arizona has seen the steepest drop, with participation falling by more than half. According to state data, more than 424,000 fewer residents are receiving benefits, including approximately 181,000 children. State officials attributed much of the decline to the rapid implementation of the new federal rules.

“The expanded work requirements were primarily responsible for the drop,” Brett Bezio, a spokesman for Arizona’s Department of Economic Security, told The Wall Street Journal.

This is the way you lower federal spending.

The Quiet Impact Of Deportations

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On Thursday, Zero Hedge posted an article about one of the less-mentioned results of deporting illegal aliens.

The article reports:

Democrats entered 2026 confident they could make “affordability” the rallying cry that would win back suburban voters and propel them back into the majority. But an inconvenient political twist has upended that plan: Donald Trump is the one actually delivering on affordability – and doing it in ways his opponents are almost certain to despise.

The foundation of this shift is the administration’s aggressive crackdown on immigration. ICE deportations under Trump have sharply reduced the number of illegal migrants in the country – which, according to the White House – is easing the enormous housing demand that exploded under Joe Biden thanks to his open borders policies. 

In short, rents and home prices in many major metro areas are becoming more affordable. Though we would of course note that correlation is not necessarily causation.

It’s called the law of supply and demand. If there are more people than houses available, the price of housing goes up. If there are more houses available than people who want them, the price goes down.

The article concludes:

Falling rents, rising wages, and higher labor participation are giving younger voters something they’ve struggled to find for years: a sense of stability. Lower immigration is also contributing to reduced crime and drug deaths, further tying economic security to Trump’s immigration policies.

And then there’s the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the administration believes will play a huge role in giving Americans the relief they’ve been craving. The legislation aims to lock in lower individual and corporate tax rates, expand full business expensing, and let voters see more of their paychecks. The administration describes it as a direct strike on the cost-of-living crisis.

Other key provisions include higher SALT deduction caps for homeowners, no tax on tips and overtime, and a modest expansion of charitable deductions. Seniors will also see new tax breaks on Social Security income. Buyers of U.S.-made vehicles would get fresh incentives. Each piece will show that while Democrats talk the talk on “affordability” the GOP walks the walk.

Democrats built their midterm plans around the assumption that they could own the affordability issue. Trump is instead redefining it on his terms: fewer migrants competing for jobs and housing, stronger wages, cheaper rents, and more disposable income. Republicans hope that by the time voters head to the polls, “affordability” may no longer be a Democratic talking point. And it might just work.

Illegal aliens working ‘under the table’ drive American wages down, and illegal aliens drive rents and house prices up. At some point the unions and others who support Democrat policies are going to realize that they are hurting themselves.

There Are Some Things Blocking Full Release Of America’s Energy Potential

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On Friday, Townhall posted an article noting that in order for America to unleash its total energy potential, some of the regulations regarding energy would have to be changed.

The article reports:

This summer, President Trump and Congress have been extremely successful with remaking the American economy to deliver for workers and businesses, passing the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act (OBBB) in July that extends important tax cuts and unleashes American energy.

In particular, American energy dominance and independence was a key winner, as numerous provisions repealed Biden-era giveaways to green energy that held back our economy, making energy less reliable and affordable. Yet the OBBB is just the first step for unleashing American energy, and the next step must be comprehensive permitting reform. With these mandates to expand our national energy dominance, lawmakers must remove the onerous red tape and bureaucratic delays to get critical infrastructure projects off the ground.

 The OBBB was the right first step, accelerating the end to wind and solar tax credits that were part of the “Green New Deal” that constrained domestic energy supply. The bill also compels the Interior Department to hold more land leases in our waters, which as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum states, “marks a significant shift in how we manage our public lands, support energy development and work with local communities.” 

The article notes:

Our nation’s permitting process is currently governed by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Clean Water Act (CWA), both outdated laws that have made it such that projects on average take 4.5 years to permit, with transmission projects to protect our national grid taking 6.5 years. With the OBBB, sponsors can now pay for an expedited review of their Environmental Assessment (EA), which has shorter deadlines and requirements to update the process.

It should be noted that the last significant oil refinery built in the United States was the Marathon Refinery in Garyville, Louisiana, which opened in 1976. However, a new refinery, the Texas International Terminals refinery, began operations in February 2022, but it is considered a smaller facility compared to major refineries. We need to drill for more oil and build more refineries.

The article concludes:

Comprehensive proposals like the SPEED Act (Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act) are the much-needed next step to unleash American energy after the OBBB. While its first steps are a positive development in getting energy infrastructure projects online and growing good-paying industrial jobs, deeper issues remain with NEPA and the system of judicial review. When Congress comes back this fall, comprehensive permitting reform must be top of mind for policymakers, which will strengthen our domestic economy, national security, and position in the global marketplace.