“There are some bumps on the road,” Jason Smith, Republican chairman of the Powerful Ways and Means Writing Committee, admitted on “Fox News Sunday.”
All in all, about 11 committees in the house are preparing bills, about half of which have been completed. Republicans approved them at the committee level with partisan votes and Democratic opposition.
However, some of the most watched committees – methods, means, energy, commerce and agriculture – have not taken action yet. Johnson himself admitted on Monday that his Memorial Day deadline might slip away, but vowed “our timeline is on the pace.”
Once all committees are completed, the different legislation will be summed up in the budget committee to what Trump calls “a big and beautiful bill.” If the house can pass through the parcel, it will be given to the Senate, which is drafting its own version.
This is what's in and out so far.
Two committees that deal with matters related to immigration and border security have ended their legislation for deportation of 1 million migrants, 20,000 new officials and border wall funds.
The center of the Homeland Security Commission’s bill is $46.5 billion to restore the walls that built Trump along the U.S.-Mexico border, about 700 miles of “main” walls, 900 miles of river barriers, and more.
Hiring 3,000 new Border Patrol agents, as well as 5,000 new customs officials, and a $2.1 billion signing and retention bonus will provide $4 billion.
All in all, the Homeland Security Commission approved $69 billion in new spending.
Meanwhile, the Judicial Committee, which is responsible for internal immigration enforcement and legal litigation, also completed its $110 billion bill.
It will charge $1,000 on asylum-seeking immigrants – something the country has never done before, comparing it with others, including Australia and Iran.
And, more new fees are proposed on various other legal access routes, including $3,500 for those sponsoring unaccompanied children into the United States, and a fine of $2,500 if children without partners escape the court appearance.
Overall, the program is to remove 1 million immigrants each year and to accommodate 100,000 people in detention centers. It requires more immigration and customs law enforcement and investigators.
The Pentagon and Trump’s “Golden Dome” House Armed Services Committee’s task is to draft legislation with a new spend of $100 billion. But they did it and passed a bill for $150 billion to the Department of Defense and national security.
Among the highlights, it will provide $25 billion for Trump’s “American Golden Dome,” a long-standing missile defense shield, $21 billion to compensate Arsenal’s nationwide ammunition, expand its naval fleet for $34 billion, and provide more ShipBuild, and $5 billion in border security.
It also includes $9 billion in service hours related to quality of life, including housing, health care and special compensation.
The overhaul of the student loan repayment program, and the wholesale revamp of the student loan program is key to the Education and Workforce Commission legislation, with budget cuts and savings of $330 billion.
The proposal will use only two: standard options instead of all existing student loan repayment programs, which will be paid monthly for more than 10 to 25 years, depending on the amount borrowed, and a monthly “repayment assistance” program based on the borrower’s income.
New income-based plans are often less forgiving than alternative plans. Minimum payments will be higher for minimum income borrowers and offer forgiveness after 30 years of payment rather than 20 or 25 years. The new repayment plan will be held in July 2026.
Among other changes, the bill would repeal Biden-era regulations, which makes it easier for borrowers to get loans if their college cheated on the loan or shut down suddenly.
Federal employee pensions cut House Oversight and Government Reform Commission to expect to save $50.9 billion in federal workers' pensions over 10 years.
Most of the savings will come from requiring federal workers employed by 2014 to pay more to the retirement system. They will have to match the 4.4% wage rate paid by federal workers employed since 2014.
The committee also called for retirees to base their average fifth grade payments on their top three. The commission's plan will eliminate temporary supplementary payments for newly retired federal workers who retire before they are eligible for Social Security.
Republicans argue that federal employees benefit more than private sector employees. But critics who voted against the committee, including Rep. Michael Turner, who has voted against the committee, said it was wrong to change workers’ pensions during employment.
Democrats say the change will lead to a reduction in paid wages for many middle-class Americans in the federal workforce.
More drilling, mining on public lands, the House Natural Resources Committee will meet Tuesday to consider its bill, which largely matches Trump’s execution order to open up public land and waters to develop more natural resources.
This will allow for increased public land for leasing for drilling, mining and logging, while clearing more development paths by speeding up government approvals. The royalties companies pay for oil, gas and coal will be cut, reversing former President Joe Biden’s attempt to curb fossil fuels to help address climate change.
The royalties for oil and gas will drop from 16.7% on public land and 18.75% at sea to 12.5% at uniform. Coal royalties will drop from 12.5% to 7%.
The measure calls for four oil and gas leases at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over the next decade. It also aims to improve the sick coal industry and has a task to lease 6,250 square miles of public land, a larger area than Connecticut.
Republican supporters say the lost income will be offset by growth. Given the sharp decline in the industry in recent years, whether companies will become interested in leasing as utilities switch to cleaner combustion fuels and renewable energy.
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Collin Binkley of Washington and Matthew Brown of Billings, Montana contributed to the report.
