H.R. 1 encompasses a wide range of policy changes, including significant cuts to social services, increased funding for border security and mass deportations, a reduction in clean energy incentives shifting toward fossil fuels, defunding Planned Parenthood clinics, changes to the State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction Cap, and more. The Children's Hospital Association warned in June that the “bill will start a chain reaction impacting all children’s access to health care.”
The following are eight key aspects of the bill, accompanied by comments and impact statements leaning toward Fairfax County.
H.R. 1:
* Restructures SNAP benefits, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, which will experience significant reductions in federal funding allocations.
“The passage of Trump’s disastrous tax bill is a betrayal of Virginia families,” Sen. Ghasala Hashi (D-05) and Dem. Nominee for VA Lt. Gov. said on Facebook. “At a time when families are already stretched thin, the harmful budget bill guts food assistance programs.”
Impact: As of October 2024, more than 71,000 people in Fairfax County participate in SNAP, according to the Fairfax County Department of Family Services website. H.R. 1 imposes work requirements on SNAP, raising the age and shifting some of the costs to states with “high error rates,” which will strain their budgets. More low-income individuals and families will lose SNAP benefits if they cannot comply with the requirement of 80 hours of monthly work, volunteering, or participation in a qualified work program.
Abigail Spanberger @SpanbergerForVA-Jul 3: “House Republicans — including all five from VA — voted against advancing the bill that would threaten healthcare for more than 322,000 Virginians. … “Every elected official who votes for final passage should be ashamed,” Spanberger, a Democrat, posted. Over 150,000 Fairfax County residents currently participate in Medicaid, according to the Fairfax County Department of Family Services.
* Increases the military budget by an additional $150 billion. Intentions include to modernize the armed forces: $29 billion intended to revitalize the nation’s naval fleet and the maritime industrial basel; $25 billion for the so-called ”Golden Dome” initiative; and enhance national security, $25 billion is allocated to munitions and defense supply chains to boost production rates of weapons and replenish U.S. stockpiles; $12 billion is for deterrence in the Indo-Pacific; $15 billion is for modernization of the U.S. nuclear triad and intended to accelerate programs including the Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) and the B-21 Raider bomber, as well as support infrastructure improvements to maintain the ability to manufacture nuclear components.
Military spending will exceed $1 trillion for FY 2026, the first time it has surpassed that threshold. Defense spending has exceeded $800 billion every year since 2019. In FY 2024, defense spending was $873 billion
Impact: All Americans, Fairfax County residents included, be forewarned that “sustained inflation and high interest rates" are on the horizon, said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY-04) said when he voted no on Thursday, July 3, on the final passage of the budget reconciliation.
Provides tens of billions for new border wall construction, expansion of immigrant detention facilities, and hiring more ICE and Border Patrol agents.
Impact: Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA-08) delivered floor remarks specifically opposing H.R. 1, referring to it as the "One Big Ugly Bill Act," and stated that it funds "a dramatic and permanent increase to an immigration detention and deportation apparatus that is denying due process and violating human rights."
VA Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra posted on Instagram, “House Republicans passed a $3.3 trillion budget that doesn’t just blow up the deficit, it doubles down on cruelty. They’ve made ICE the most heavily funded federal law enforcement agency in history, with more money per year at its disposal over the next four years than the budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals and Bureau of Prisons combined. … Virginians deserve better than cruelty disguised as policy. Virginians deserve care, compassion, and accountability.”
* Sunsets tax credits for electric vehicles and hybrids and significantly reduces or phases out credits for energy-efficient home improvements and hydrogen production, with clean-hydrogen tax credits expiring sooner than initially proposed.
Rolls back the 30 percent federal tax credits for clean energy installations, established under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, by the end of 2025. It is phasing out wind and solar tax credits and terminating tax credit eligibility for these sources. That includes the Virginia Clean Economy Act.
The passage of H.R. 1 could impact Fairfax County's Clean Energy Programs, as outlined in its Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) and Operational Energy Strategy (OES). H.R. 1 could slow the pace of solar deployment and EV adoption within the county, given the reduced incentives for solar and EVs. Without federal tax credits, the economics of new renewable energy projects, such as the solar projects planned for county facilities or larger ground-mount projects, may become less favorable, potentially increasing costs for the county or making some projects less viable.
Includes an $85 million allocation to relocate the space shuttle Discovery out of the Smithsonian, where it is on display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, and to Texas. “Now Trump wants to steal the space shuttle from NOVA - thanks for fighting for Virginia, Governor Youngkin”- Senator Scott Surovellssurovell.bsky.social @ssurovell
Impact: According to a written statement to The Dallas Morning News, a museum spokesperson said that NASA, “transferred all rights, title, interest and ownership of the shuttle to the Smithsonian.”
Defunds Planned Parenthood Clinics: The bill includes language that would effectively defund Planned Parenthood clinics for one year by prohibiting any health clinic that provides abortion care from receiving Medicaid funds for any other services they provide.
Va. Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-38) said on X July 5, “While I am working hard to enshrine reproductive rights in VA Constitution, U.S. Senate and House Republicans have voted to defund Planned Parenthood. As a reproductive freedom advocate, I will work to keep abortion legal and our health clinics open.”
Impact: There are two Planned Parenthood clinics in Fairfax County, one in Fairfax and the other in Falls Church. Nearly 200 health centers in 24 states are at risk of closing. “The defund law blocks people who use Medicaid from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers and means that over 1.1 million patients could now lose access to birth control, wellness visits, STI tests, cancer screenings, and more,” according to Planned Parenthood.
Temporarily increases the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 for five years. The cap applies to taxpayers earning up to $500,000 annually, specifically for tax years 2025 through 2029. Fairfax County's median household income is high, around $141,553 to $150,113. This means that a significant percentage of Fairfax County residents fall into the highest income tax bracket in the state of Virginia.
Impact: For Fairfax County residents who itemize their deductions, the new $40,000 cap allows them to deduct a larger portion of their state and local taxes on their federal income tax forms. The benefit is short-lived, only for five years.
What else does H.R. 1 do?
Extends many individual and business tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefitting wealthy taxpayers. This includes lower individual income tax rates, a higher standard deduction, and increased deductions for small businesses.
Introduces new temporary deductions for tips and overtime pay. The bill would allow many tipped workers to deduct up to $25,000 of their tips and overtime from their taxes. That provision expires in 2028.