The House of Representatives voted 215-214-1 last Thursday, narrowly passing H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act reconciliation package. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) joined all Democrats in opposing the bill; Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) voted present. The Senate will now consider the bill, where it is expected to face significant revisions and some provisions may be eliminated due to adherence to Senate rules on reconciliation bills.
The bill was advanced following a 21-hour marathon hearing in the House Rules Committee, which began at 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday and concluded with a 42-page amendment intended to appease holdout Republicans. Changes to the package include moving up the start date of Medicaid work requirements from January 2029 to Decdember 2026, expanding the criteria for states that could lose a portion of their federal payments if they offer coverage to undocumented people. Another major change was to increase the current $10,000 per year cap on state and local tax deductions to $40,000 per household, with an income limit set at $500,000.
Critically, the package as currently drafted does not make cuts to Medicaid assisted living programs and Argentum will continue to advocate throughout this process against cuts that would harm access to care for seniors. Notably, the package does include Argentum priorities of a tax deduction for seniors and career savings plans to help invest in the caregiving workforce.
Argentum has advocated for the Credit for Caring Act (H.R. 2036 and S. 925), which would provide a $5,000 tax credit for long-term care expenses. While the reconciliation package does not include this legislation, it does include a $4,000 deduction for seniors per eligible filer with a modified adjusted gross income that does not exceed $75,000 for single filers ($150,000 for married filing jointly). The senior deduction is available to both itemizers and non-itemizers, and is allowed for tax years 2025 through 2028.
Argentum has also been working with the Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition to advance the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act (H.R. 1151 & S. 756), bipartisan legislation to promote workforce development by allowing tax-exempt distributions from 529 savings plans to be used for additional qualified higher education expenses, including “qualified postsecondary credentialing expenses” in connection with “recognized postsecondary credential programs” and “recognized postsecondary credentials.” We believe this will be helpful for senior living workers seeking to advance their career through various credentialing programs.
