U.S. Budget | OBBB Signed into law

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House Panel Approves Spending Bill That Rejects Some Trump Foreign Aid Cuts​

The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee put forth legislation that would slash the foreign aid and State Department budget but salvage some programs that the president wants to defund.


“… The measure, if enacted, would still slash the foreign aid and the State Department budget compared with the current year, cutting it by 22 percent, to $46.2 billion. But House Republicans moved to salvage key programs that Mr. Trump is seeking to eliminate altogether, such as for peacekeeping activities, supporting democracies abroad and global health initiatives for family planning and reproductive care.

It would also provide more than four times the funding that the president has requested for international broadcasting activities, despite Mr. Trump’s push to shut down the Voice of Americaand other federally funded news organizations that provide independent coverage in countries with limited press freedom.

Yet even as they voted to provide money for programs the president wants to gut, Republicans proposed handing the White House more power to ignore Congress’ spending dictates altogether. They removed standard language from the spending measure that makes it more difficult for the executive branch to cancel spending that Congress has approved. That drew angry protests from Democrats, who accused the G.O.P. of abdicating the power of the purse.…”
 


“… Unlike some other recent changes, these don’t take effect until 2026—so donors who care about maximizing charitable tax breaks have months to prepare. After that, the changes are permanent, at least until Congress alters the law again.

… To encourage giving, the new tax law … allows donors who don’t itemize on Schedule A to take annual deductions of as much as $2,000 for married joint filers and $1,000 for singles. [This is limited to cash gifts only]

… However, two other provisions will impose new limits on itemized charitable deductions. Donors who list donations on Schedule A won’t get their full benefit, because they’ll forgo an amount equal to 0.5% of their adjusted gross income. In addition, top-bracket taxpayers will only get to take itemized deductions at 35%, not 37%, which will affect charitable donations.

… This provision [the 0.5% haircut for Schedule A filers] imposes a threshold on filers’ itemized charitable contributions on Schedule A. For most, it disallows an amount of the donation that’s equal to 0.5% of adjusted gross income.

For example, a couple who itemizes and has $225,000 of AGI couldn’t deduct $1,125 of their charitable donations.

Note that the disallowance is a fixed amount for each year. So if this couple gives $2,000, their deduction will be $875. That means they will have lost more than half of their deduction. But if they give $5,000, their deduction will be $3,875. In that case, they’ll lose just over 20%.…”

🎁 —> https://www.wsj.com/personal-financ...1?st=oCu54r&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
 


“… The legislation allows more medications to be exempt from Medicare’s price negotiation program, which was created to lower the government’s drug spending. Now, manufacturers will be able to keep those prices higher.

The change will cut into the government’s savings from the negotiation program by nearly $5 billion over a decade, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

… The new exemptions will apply to the third round, affecting prices starting in 2028. Had the new rules been in place earlier, several drugs that are currently up for price cuts would have been spared, including Imbruvica and Pomalyst, which treat rare forms of cancer.…”

Does this mean drug prices won’t come down 5000%?
 
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