As a taxpayer, are you prepared right now, to write a check for $48,100 to finance the "Big Beautiful" spending bill that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives? If it's signed into law, that's what you'll be doing.
The House passed the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" — a behemoth package being heralded as a conservative win. But conservatives — and particularly Trump supporters — should take a harder look.
Because while this bill tosses some red meat on the surface, underneath is a bloated beast that increases the national debt by more than $5 trillion.
Congress is devoid of a moral compass. As a result, it continues to rack up more debt on our children and grandchildren.
Let's start with what conservatives might like: tax cuts, work requirements for Medicaid, and a provision that could, at long last, strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding for a decade. Those are solid wins. I support each of those ideas on their own merits.
The provision in Section 44126 barring Medicaid reimbursements to large, abortion-providing nonprofits for 10 years is a game-changer. The requirement for able-bodied Medicaid recipients to work or volunteer mirrors what most Americans already do —
and what many believe should have been required long ago. And tax relief, in theory, puts money back in the pockets of hardworking Americans.
But what happens when you dig into the numbers? According to the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) analysis, this bill would add $4.8 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years. Add in interest payments, and the real figure creeps past $5 trillion. With 106 million taxpayers footing the bill, that comes out to $48,100 per person.
Imagine writing that check. Now imagine writing it not for something extraordinary like a war effort or pandemic response — but for a bill that, despite some good provisions, still wildly spends like Washington always does.
Some supporters argue the spending is "worth it" for the policy wins. That's a dangerous line of thinking. It's how fiscal conservatives turn into fiscal apologists. We can't ignore that this bill also includes a significant expansion of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, which disproportionately benefits wealthy households in high-tax states.
As the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) points out, the majority of that relief will flow to households making over $500,000 a year. That's not "America First" — that's coastal elite welfare.
The SALT provision alone is a textbook case of cognitive dissonance. Trump's original tax cuts capped the SALT deduction because it incentivized high-tax blue states to keep fleecing their citizens. Now, under a Republican House, we're back to rewarding that very behavior.
You can't claim to fight for the working class while padding the tax returns of New York and California's top earners.
The bill also leans heavily on budget gimmicks and rosy economic projections that border on fantasy. CRFB notes that some provisions are set to "expire" after just a few years, but anyone who's been in Washington long enough knows that temporary tax cuts or entitlement reforms have a habit of becoming permanent — especially if doing otherwise becomes politically inconvenient.
That means the real long-term cost of this bill could be far worse than advertised.
Even the popular reforms come with asterisks. Take the work requirements for Medicaid. While I support them in principle, the CBO estimates that the savings are relatively modest, and implementation could be mired in bureaucratic red tape or lawsuits.
It's a worthwhile fight, but not one that offsets the trillions in red ink elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the bill's most politically potent achievement — targeting abortion providers — is absolutely necessary, but it doesn't require $5 trillion in new debt to accomplish.
We don't need to sell out fiscal responsibility to win on life issues. If anything, tying a decade-long defunding of Planned Parenthood to a bill that adds trillions in debt gives ammunition to our opponents and muddies an otherwise moral high ground.
For too long, politicians in both parties have used policy victories to justify reckless spending.
Trump supporters — many of whom have long prided themselves on fiscal conservatism and draining the swamp — must reckon with the uncomfortable truth: If we turn a blind eye to the debt simply because it's "our guy" signing the checks, we're no better than the big-government liberals we claim to oppose.
We're at $35 trillion in national debt and counting. By 2032, interest on that debt will exceed what we spend annually on national defense. That's not hypothetical. That's our future if we keep passing "beautiful" bills that are anything but.
We need leadership that's willing to say no — even to popular provisions — if they come wrapped in unsustainable debt. I've been in Congress. I know how tempting it is to vote yes when a bill is packed with things you like.
But I also know that discipline now prevents disaster later.
In the end, this bill is a mirage: it looks good from afar, but up close it's riddled with financial landmines. Conservatives must resist the urge to judge it by its branding and start judging it by its balance sheet.
Because no matter how you dress it up, $5 trillion in new debt isn't beautiful. It's betrayal.
Jim Renacci is a former U.S. Congressman, businessman, and conservative leader dedicated to putting America first. Read More of His Reports — Here.