Former President Donald Trump’s much-discussed “One Big Beautiful Bill” has just cleared Congress. It was a close call, with 218 lawmakers voting yes and 214 saying no. Interestingly, two Republicans even sided with the Democrats to vote against it. Now, the bill is on its way to Trump’s desk, and he’s expected to sign it before July 4th.
This bill is a big deal because it changes a lot about how the government spends money and collects taxes. Some programs are getting less funding, while the military budget is going up. But for most Americans, the biggest changes are about the child tax credit and student loan repayments.
One of the main things parents will notice is a change in the child tax credit. The credit is going up from $2,000 to $2,200 per child. Trump’s team says this is meant to support families and encourage people to have more kids. They call it a “pro-life” move.
But not everyone is impressed. Critics say that $200 more per child isn’t a huge help, especially since prices for everything else have been rising. The last time the credit was increased was back in 2018, and it hasn’t kept up with inflation. During the pandemic, the government temporarily raised the credit to $3,000 per child (and even more for kids under six), but that extra help ended a while ago.
So, while any increase is good news for families, some people think it’s just not enough.
The other big change is about student loans. Right now, there are several different ways to pay back federal student loans, which can be confusing. This new bill cuts it down to just two options: a standard plan, and something called the Repayment Assistance Plan.
If you’re already on a repayment plan, you can keep it—unless you’re on the SAVE plan. In that case, you’ll have to switch to one of the new plans. The idea is to make things simpler for borrowers, but some people worry it could actually make things harder for those who liked their old plans.
If you have kids, you’ll get a bit more money back at tax time, but probably not as much as you’d like. If you have student loans, you’ll have fewer choices for how to pay them off, and you might need to make some changes if you’re on the SAVE plan.
Some people are happy about the changes, saying they’ll help families and make student loans less confusing. Others say the bill doesn’t go far enough to help those who are struggling.
In the end, Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is set to shake things up for millions of Americans, especially parents and students. Whether it’s enough to make a real difference remains to be seen.