Budget & Taxes

The Revitalizing America's Housing Act proposes multiple measures to increase housing supply and affordability through tax incentives, zoning reforms, and improved safety standards. Key provisions include a new Neighborhood Homes Credit to incentivize building or rehabilitating homes in affordable areas, zoning reform incentives to encourage municipalities to adopt more housing-friendly policies, and expanded tax benefits for homeowners selling primary residences. The bill also includes specific protections for veterans' housing, improved lead and mold safety standards for public housing, and requirements for better oversight of housing programs. These changes directly affect homeowners, renters, housing developers, public housing agencies, and local governments across the country.

The AIMM Act (S 559) permanently extends a tax rule allowing businesses to include depreciation, amortization, or depletion when calculating the limit on business interest deductions. This change removes a previous expiration date (for taxable years after 2021), making the provision applicable indefinitely for all future tax years. The bill directly affects businesses subject to the business interest deduction rules under the Internal Revenue Code. The key mechanism is a simple amendment to the tax code that eliminates the sunset clause, ensuring consistent treatment without altering other tax provisions.

This bill establishes a federal program to improve cybersecurity for rural water and wastewater systems. It directly affects rural water associations by providing technical assistance through "circuit riders" who assess security risks, develop protection protocols, and document cyber readiness. Key mechanisms include rapid threat assessments, developing security plans, and requiring annual reports on program activities. The program is funded at $10 million annually for fiscal years 2025-2029, with circuit riders needing specific cybersecurity certifications. This is a concrete policy change focused on strengthening infrastructure protection for rural communities.

This bill modifies tax code provisions to benefit energy producers. It allows oil and gas companies to deduct intangible drilling and development costs more favorably when calculating taxable income, by disregarding depreciation and depletion expenses already reflected on their financial statements. The change applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025. This directly affects domestic energy producers who incur these specific drilling costs.

Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2025 This bill provides continuing FY2025 appropriations for federal agencies through April 11, 2025. It also extends various expiring programs and authorities, including several public health programs. Specifically, the bill provides continuing FY2025 appropriations to federal agencies through the earlier of April 11, 2025, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations act. It is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur if the FY2025 appropriations bills have not been enacted when the existing CR expires on March 14, 2025. The CR funds most programs and activities at the FY2024 levels with some exceptions that provide funding flexibility and additional appropriations for various programs. For example, the CR provides additional emergency funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund, permits the Navy to apportion funds at the rate necessary to fund the Columbia-class submarine program and cost increases for certain shipbuilding programs, and provides additional funding for the Office of Navajo and Hopi Relocation. In addition, the bill extends several expiring programs and authorities, including several public health, Medicare, and Medicaid authorities and programs; authorities related to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission whistleblower program; authorities for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to take actions to mitigate a credible threat from an unmanned aircraft system; the special assessment on nonindigent persons or entities convicted of certain offenses involving sexual abuse or human trafficking; and the National Cybersecurity Protection System.

The Social Security Expansion Act (S 770) increases benefits for Social Security recipients by raising the first bend point percentage from 90% to 95% and adding an 18% increase for those eligible after 2025. It establishes a new Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) to calculate cost-of-living adjustments and increases minimum benefits for lifetime low earners based on years worked, with benefits ranging from 16.25% to 125% of poverty guidelines. The bill also extends benefit eligibility for children who are full-time students until age 22 (instead of 19) and introduces new taxes on high earners, including a payroll tax on income between the contribution base and $250,000, a tax on self-employment income above $250,000, and raises the investment gains tax from 3.8% to 16.2%. The legislation consolidates Social Security's trust funds into a single Social Security Trust Fund.

This bill establishes an independent Office of the Special Inspector General to oversee U.S. military, economic, and humanitarian aid provided to Ukraine. The Special Inspector General will conduct audits and investigations of all aid programs, monitor fund usage, and report quarterly to Congress with detailed financial information on contracts, projects, and expenditures. The Office will have authority to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in aid programs while coordinating with other federal inspectors general. It is authorized $20 million for fiscal year 2026 and will terminate when unexpended aid funds fall below $250 million. The bill requires transparent reporting in English, Ukrainian, and Russian to ensure accountability in how U.S. aid is used for Ukraine's military, economic, and humanitarian needs.

S 639, the Clergy Act, allows ordained ministers, members of religious orders, and Christian Science practitioners who currently have a Social Security exemption to revoke it. The bill lets them file an application to pay Social Security taxes, effective for their first or second taxable year after December 31, 2027, with the revocation being permanent. If filed late, they must pay back taxes for the year in question. The IRS must also create an education plan within 90 days to inform clergy about this option. This changes their tax status by making Social Security coverage mandatory once revoked.

This bill increases the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) for employers hiring from targeted groups. It raises the credit rate to 50% for the first $6,000 in wages for most workers, and adds a 50% credit for wages between $6,000 and $12,000 for workers with at least 400 hours of service. For veterans, the wage limits for the credit are doubled (to $12,000 and $24,000), and the bill removes the previous age limit for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. These changes apply to workers hired after December 31, 2024.

S 303, the "Defund the CFPB Act," would eliminate all federal funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by amending the 2010 law that created it. The bill specifically changes the funding provision to state the CFPB's budget must be "not more than $0," effectively cutting all financial support. This would directly prevent the CFPB from operating its consumer protection programs, which regulate financial products like mortgages, credit cards, and loans. As a result, consumers relying on the CFPB's enforcement and education efforts would no longer have this federal oversight mechanism.