Budget & Taxes

This resolution encourages Congress to reform the tax system so that all citizens pay taxes based on their total economic gains, regardless of whether that income comes from wages or investments. It highlights current disparities where wage earners are taxed at the source while wealth from assets like stocks, real estate, and digital currencies often escapes immediate taxation through deferrals, inheritance rules, and charitable vehicles. The bill specifically urges the House Ways and Means Committee to hold hearings on these differences and calls for consistent tax treatment across all income sources to ensure fairness in funding the federal government.

This bill modifies the Internal Revenue Code to change how the government handles tax refunds for specific individuals who are currently unable to pay their debts. It establishes a rule that prevents the government from automatically taking money from these taxpayers' refunds to cover unpaid taxes, provided the refund amount does not exceed the value of a specific child tax credit they earned. The measure applies only to people officially classified as "currently not collectible" before they request their refund, and the new rules will take effect twelve months after the law is signed.

The Homeowners Premium Tax Reduction Act of 2026 allows individual taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 of their annual homeowners insurance premiums from their federal income taxes. This deduction applies specifically to insurance paid for a person's principal residence and is treated as an adjustment to income, meaning it reduces taxable earnings before other deductions are calculated. The law takes effect for tax years that begin after the bill is enacted, providing a direct financial benefit to homeowners who pay qualifying insurance costs.

The Ratepayer Protection Act establishes a new federal standard to protect utility customers from high electricity bills caused by large industrial users. It defines "large-load customers" as non-residential entities with a peak power demand of 100 megawatts or more that primarily use electricity for data centers and computing. Under this bill, these customers must pay for the full cost of any power plant, transmission line, or distribution upgrade needed to serve them, including costs incurred if the customer leaves the utility early. Additionally, utilities are required to obtain financial guarantees from these large customers before making such infrastructure investments. State regulators must review and implement these rules within two years, unless a state has already enacted similar protections.

This concurrent resolution establishes the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2027, sets forth budgetary levels for FY2028-FY2036, and provides reconciliation instructions for legislation that increases the deficit.  The resolution recommends levels and amounts for FY2027-FY2036 for federal revenues, new budget authority, budget outlays, deficits (on-budget), debt subject to limit, debt held by the public, and the major functional categories of spending. The resolution includes reconciliation instructions that direct the House Agriculture Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the House Administration Committee to submit recommendations for legislation that will increase the deficit over FY2027-FY2036 by not more than specified amounts. Each committee must submit the recommendations to the House Budget Committee by September 11, 2026.  (Under current law, reconciliation bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in the Senate.) In addition, the resolution establishes a reserve fund that allows certain adjustments to committee allocations and other budgetary levels to accommodate reconciliation legislation. Finally, the resolution sets forth budget enforcement procedures that address issues such as adjustments to committee allocations and other budgetary levels; the budgetary treatment of the discretionary administrative expenses for the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Postal Service; emergency spending; and additional adjustments for disaster relief, wildfire suppression, health care fraud and abuse control, continuing disability reviews and redeterminations, and reemployment services and eligibility assessments.

This bill imposes new limits on retirement contributions and increases required minimum distributions for high-income individuals who already have large retirement account balances. It directly affects taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds specific thresholds, such as $450,000 for married couples filing jointly, and whose total retirement savings surpass $10 million. Under the bill, these individuals would be restricted from making new contributions to their retirement plans once their existing balances reach the specified limit, and they would be required to withdraw larger amounts annually from their accounts. The legislation also mandates that retirement plans offer these high-balance account holders the option to take partial distributions and requires higher withholding rates on those withdrawals. These rules are designed to ensure that those with substantial retirement savings contribute less to the system and access their funds sooner, with provisions applying to taxable years beginning after 2026.

The CLINIC Assistance Act creates a federal grant program to help accredited law schools establish clinical programs where law students assist individuals with employee welfare benefit plans. These grants, capped at $500,000 per school per year, allow institutions to hire supervising attorneys and support students in helping people appeal denied benefits, sue for unpaid costs, or enforce their rights under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The Department of Labor will coordinate with these programs to share information and provide lists of eligible schools to those needing assistance. A total of $5 million is authorized for this initiative over five years, starting in fiscal year 2026.

The NO FEES Act of 2026 modifies the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide fee waivers for annual registration of U.S. small businesses while imposing higher fees on foreign companies. Under the bill, a U.S. establishment with fewer than 20 full-time equivalent employees qualifies for a 100 percent fee waiver for three years, followed by a 50 percent waiver for the next two years. To receive this benefit, qualifying businesses must submit tax returns or payroll records at least 60 days before the fee is due, and the decision to grant a waiver cannot be based on past payment history. Conversely, the law mandates that foreign-owned establishments pay a registration fee eight times the standard amount and explicitly bars them from applying for any fee waivers.

The No GRIFT Act of 2026 prohibits the Department of Justice from awarding grants to certain nonprofit organizations in a given fiscal year. To qualify for a grant, a nonprofit must certify that it is not a "covered nonprofit," which is defined as an organization where over 50% of its recent revenue came from DOJ grants and where it paid an officer or employee more than the Attorney General's annual salary. This provision directly affects 501(c)(3) organizations that have received significant federal funding and have high executive compensation, requiring them to disclose their financial history before applying for new grants.

This bill, known as the Capping Appointed Positions Act, limits the total number of specific high-level roles in the federal executive branch to a maximum of 1,600 positions. It directly affects confidential or policy-determining jobs classified under Schedule C and Schedule G, which are typically filled by individuals appointed rather than hired through standard civil service procedures. The law sets a hard cap for fiscal year 2027 and every year after that, ensuring the combined total of these positions cannot exceed the specified limit. By restricting the quantity of these roles, the legislation aims to control the size of the appointed workforce within the government's executive agencies.