Republicans are employing a book-keeping trick to conceal a whopping $3.8 trillion in expenses from President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. Trump has requested Congress to enact the bill by Friday. The bill vows tax cuts and more spending, but at an enormous price to the federal deficit and major welfare programs.
Senate Republicans cast a vote to make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts “permanent,” faking that extending them will have no cost. In practice, this action merely conceals the losses in revenues. The bill has been criticised by critics like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for employing “fake math” and for endangering healthcare and food subsidies for millions.
The Tax Cut Gimmick
The centrepiece of the controversy is the action of treating the 2017 tax cuts as permanent. The tax cuts were scheduled to expire, and making them last longer should be considered a cost. But Republicans contend that since they are “already permanent,” extending them doesn’t cost anything extra. This reasoning enables them to take $3.8 trillion off the bill’s cost.
However, in reality, extending these tax breaks results in the government forfeiting that tax money, whether it appears in official projections or not.
Increased Deficits, Fewer Benefits
The Congressional Budget Office reports that the Senate bill will contribute $3.3 trillion to the federal deficit over ten years. This is more than $1 trillion higher than the estimated $2.4 trillion for the House bill.
In addition to cutting taxes on the rich, the bill takes away essential programs. Official estimates project 11.8 million Americans losing their health insurance. The bill also slashes food aid, hitting close to a million more individuals than the House bill.
Schumer: Giveaway to Billionaires
Senator Schumer has criticized the Republicans for ramming through the most costly bill in the history of the United States. He cautioned that the bill offers tax benefits to billionaires while eliminating Medicaid, SNAP benefits, and secure jobs for millions of Americans.
“Republicans are doing something the Senate has never done before,” Schumer said. “They are using fake math to pass a bill that will hurt working families and help the ultra-rich.”
Gamble With Public Trust
If enacted, Trump’s tax would reconfigure federal spending and social protections for decades. Yet the accounting gimmicks used to hide its cost should give lawmakers pause. As the Senate heads toward a vote, the urgency builds to reveal the full economic cost and call for transparency. The consequences—for tens of millions of Americans—could not be greater.