Bill Explainer - Understanding Congressional Legislation
House 1 An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.

An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.

Bill Summary

H.R. 1 is a sweeping, multi-title reconciliation package that combines border enforcement, energy and environmental policy reversals, substantial defense and homeland security surges, Medicaid/ACA and SNAP changes, large tax code rewrites and permanency for many 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions, agriculture and rural investments, immigration fee overhauls, and assorted education, student loan, and judiciary measures. It raises the statutory debt limit by $5 trillion while simultaneously rescinding tens of billions in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) climate and green-building funds and eliminating or cutting a wide array of clean energy tax credits.

Border, immigration, and enforcement: The bill allocates tens of billions for border infrastructure and barrier construction, CBP personnel and vehicles, detention capacity (including family residential space), nonintrusive inspection technology at ports of entry, and State/local grants tied to border security and fentanyl interdiction. It tightens asylum and parole through a raft of new and higher fees (for asylum applications, EADs, parolees, TPS applicants, appeals, and various court motions), adds a $5,000 in absentia removal recapture fee, and imposes an excise tax on remittance transfers. It funds ICE removals and detention substantially, expands 287(g) partnerships, and conditions certain state/local grant eligibility on cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. It creates a new reimbursement fund for state and local governments bearing immigration-related costs.

Energy and environment: H.R. 1 repeals or claws back most IRA climate accounts (Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, diesel emissions reductions, clean heavy-duty vehicles, school air monitoring, low-carbon materials, GSA sustainable tech, etc.) and terminates or sharply restricts major clean energy credits, including the EV credits (consumer and commercial), refueling property credit, residential clean energy credit, energy efficient home and commercial building incentives, and aspects of the 45X advanced manufacturing credit. It adds prohibited-foreign-entity and “material assistance” tests to multiple remaining credits. It orders aggressive onshore/offshore leasing (including ANWR and NPR-A), narrows offshore royalty rate flexibility, expands coal leasing and reduces coal royalties for a period, accelerates timber sales and long-term contracting, and directs water storage and conveyance expansions. It appropriates for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s maintenance and some acquisitions, and generally tilts policy toward “energy dominance.”

Pros

  • Adds real resources against fentanyl and enhances nonintrusive inspections at ports, while funding the Coast Guard and DOJ for trafficking, cartels, and organized crime investigations.
  • Invests significantly in shipbuilding, Indo-Pacific posture, missile defense, and NASA’s Artemis, which many Democrats see as industrial base and tech leadership priorities.
  • Expands refundable/usable family credits and benefits (modest CTC increase with inflation; adoption credit partial refundability; dependent care and educator expense relief) and retains popular Opportunity Zones, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and New Markets Tax Credit.
  • Creates Workforce Pell and expands Pell resources with quality controls, aligning some postsecondary aid with short-cycle, high-demand credentials; protects family farms and small business assets in student aid formulas.
  • Provides Rural Health Transformation funding and a new pot of State and local homeland security grants for major events (World Cup, Olympics), supporting public safety coordination Democrats often back.
  • Reins in some program waste (duplicate Medicaid/CHIP enrollments, Death Master File checks), a bipartisan integrity goal if done carefully and with due process.
  • Keeps Medicaid coverage and exceptions for many vulnerable groups within the new community engagement policy (pregnancy, disabled, caregivers, veterans with total disability), which may blunt some harms.
  • Maintains investment in spectrum auctions and broadband ecosystem via NTIA support and auction authority extension, which Democrats have long supported for both fiscal and 5G/6G policy.
  • Delivers on border security: robust wall and barrier funding, more agents and vehicles, detention capacity, fentanyl detection at ports, expanded 287(g), and strong incentives and fees to deter unlawful entry, abuse of asylum, and illegal re-entries.
  • Permanently extends core TCJA provisions, supercharges investment with full expensing and domestic R&D deductibility, eases interest limits, and strengthens international tax competitiveness while encouraging manufacturing (45X changes), spaceports, and small business capital formation (QSBS, reporting thresholds).
  • Resets energy policy toward “dominance”: mandates leasing, streamlines timber and land use for economic activity, replenishes the SPR, and pares back IRA subsidies that distort markets and entrench China-dependent supply chains; adds foreign-adversary restrictions to remaining credits.
  • Massively strengthens military deterrence—shipbuilding, nuclear modernization, hypersonics, integrated air and missile defense, munitions surge capacity—and bolsters Indo-Pacific infrastructure to counter China.
  • Tightens Medicaid eligibility integrity, combats fraud and duplicate enrollment, introduces community engagement for able-bodied adults, and reins in State provider tax and directed payment gimmicks.
  • Targets progressive regulatory overreach: rescinds EPA/green funds, delays borrower-defense rules, blocks new minimum staffing mandates for nursing homes, and checks IRS direct-file expansion.
  • Imposes fiscal responsibility from migrants rather than taxpayers via immigration user fees, parole/EAD/TPS fees, and in absentia/entry fees; creates remittance-sourced revenue and reduces incentives for unlawful presence.
  • Invests in rural America—rural hospital transformation funding, agriculture safety nets and trade promotion, and Coast Guard/NASA jobs—broadening the bill’s geographic appeal.

Cons

  • Guts the clean energy/industrial policy of the IRA—terminating EV/charging and residential/commercial clean energy incentives, rescinding climate funds, and mandating oil, gas, and coal leasing—seen as a dramatic climate reversal and blow to U.S. clean-tech competitiveness and environmental justice.
  • Builds a heavy deterrence architecture around asylum and parole—imposing and escalating fees across asylum/TPS/EAD/parole, adding remittance taxes and in absentia fees, and funding wall/barriers and massive detention capacity—likely to curb access to protection and strain due process, while shifting costs onto low-income migrants and remitters.
  • Medicaid clampdowns: community engagement (work) requirements, redetermination frequency, narrower retroactive eligibility, directed payment caps, and strict noncitizen eligibility—all risking coverage losses and administrative churn, and pushing uncompensated care onto hospitals.
  • Permanently extends high-income-friendly tax provisions (estate tax exemption, 199A pass-through, QSBS expansion, full expensing) with large business and capital income benefits, worsening long-term deficits while offering limited, temporary relief for families. SALT relief remains constrained and sunsets revert.
  • Student borrower protections weakened (delays to borrower defense/closed school discharges), while repayment overhaul could raise payments for some and reduces IDR generosity compared to recent administration rules.
  • Creates new barriers and costs for lawful residents (e.g., Exchange eligibility verification, alien status restrictions) and imposes an excise tax on remittances borne by working families that support relatives abroad.
  • Massive increases in defense and homeland security spending alongside tax cuts likely widen deficits; debt limit is raised $5 trillion without a credible long-term fiscal consolidation plan.
  • Rollbacks of environmental, health, and building standards (EPA rescissions, green federal buildings) and timber/land-use expansions raise conservation and public health concerns.
  • Large topline spending (defense, border, NASA, Coast Guard, State/local grants, rural health) alongside tax relief increases near-term deficits; some fiscal hawks will worry about debt trajectory despite IRA rescissions and user fees.
  • Some business provisions (e.g., retained low-income credits, Opportunity Zones, and community grants) may be seen as picking winners; SALT relief expansion (even with phase-down) may divide the conference.
  • Medicaid and ACA tightening will draw heavy litigation and administrative burden; community engagement rules with exemptions may reduce projected savings and complicate implementation.
  • Workforce Pell and other higher-ed expansions add new Federal roles; quality controls could prove complex to administer and may provoke pushback from States and schools.
  • Foreign-entity guardrails on remaining clean energy credits increase compliance costs for friendly foreign investors and could create uncertainty for domestic manufacturers amid evolving rulemakings.
  • Debt limit increase without parallel structural reforms or mandatory spending caps could be viewed as a missed opportunity by deficit hawks.

This bill was introduced on May 20, 2025 in the House.

View on Congress.gov:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1

  • Became Public Law No: 119-21.

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  • Became Public Law No: 119-21.

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  • Signed by President.

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  • Signed by President.

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  • Presented to President.

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  • Presented to President.

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  • Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

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  • On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 218 - 214 (Roll no. 190). (text: CR H3059-3143)

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  • Resolving differences -- House actions: On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 218 - 214 (Roll no. 190).

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  • The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.

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  • DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 566, the House proceeded with one hour of debate on the motion to agree to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1.

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  • Mr. Arrington moved that the House agree to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1. (CR H3143)

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  • Mr. Arrington moved that the House agree to the Senate amendment. (consideration: CR H3059-3187)

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  • Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 566, Mr. Arrington called up the Senate amendment to H.R. 1.

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  • Message on Senate action sent to the House.

  • Passed Senate with an amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 51 - 50. Record Vote Number: 372.

  • Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 51 - 50. Record Vote Number: 372.

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  • Motion by Senator Warnock to commit to Senate Committee on Finance with instructions rejected in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 48 - 51. Record Vote Number: 359.

  • Motion by Senator Wyden to commit to Senate Committee on Finance with instructions rejected in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 47 - 53. Record Vote Number: 357.

  • Motion by Senator Bennet to commit to Senate Committee on Finance with instructions rejected in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 47 - 53. Record Vote Number: 354.

Associated Laws
Public Law
Law Number: 119-21
BILL IMAGE

Sponsors

Policy Area: Economics and Public Finance

Associated Legislative Subjects

  • Abortion
  • Accounting and auditing
  • Administrative law and regulatory procedures
  • Advanced technology and technological innovations
  • Advisory bodies
  • Afghanistan
  • Agricultural conservation and pollution
  • Agricultural education
  • Agricultural equipment and machinery
  • Agricultural insurance
  • Agricultural marketing and promotion
  • Agricultural practices and innovations
  • Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
  • Agricultural research
  • Agricultural trade
  • Air quality
  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Alternative and renewable resources