Andrew Keshner, Alessandra Malito and Beth Pinsker

Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 5:00 AM9 min read

While Capitol Hill wrangles over the tax-and-spending package that President Donald Trump has dubbed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” Americans are trying to understand what the sprawling legislation could mean for them.

Republican lawmakers are wrestling with the bill’s multitrillion-dollar cost. They also face questions — from both within their party and outside of it — about who would win and who would lose as a result of the measure.

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But there’s no question the legislation would be a big deal for millions of Americans. The bill would keep the 2017 tax cuts enacted in the first Trump administration, and make more changes.

The costs to raise a family, own a home and afford healthcare would be directly impacted by the bill. Its specifics matter to the parents of little kids and to people who are age 65 and older. The bill also has implications for car buyers, gig workers and millions of employees who make money from tips and overtime pay.

On top of that, the bill would place new restrictions and requirements on public assistance programs — including Medicaid, the state-and-federal program offering health coverage to low-income people.

The bill could cut a person’s taxes “by hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars depending on the situation a taxpayer is in,” said Andrew Lautz, an associate director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“Folks on both sides of the aisle will debate the beautifulness,” Lautz told MarketWatch. “But the bigness of it cannot be debated — both the impact on Americans and its budget impact.”

The Senate now has the bill after the House of Representatives passed it by a single vote last month. Differences between the House bill and the Senate version are taking shape; some are stark and some are subtle. Lawmakers have to bridge the gap, which they are trying to do quickly.

President Trump wants the bill on his desk by the Fourth of July, but that deadline might be more aspirational instead of ironclad.

Nearly half of people (47%) said the bill would negatively affect them and their families, while 24% foresaw a positive impact, according to a Pew Research Center poll, Another 26% said the bill would not impact them much, said the survey released this week.