Catholics have mixed reaction as ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is signed into law
WASHINGTON (OSV News)—President Donald J. Trump on July 4 signed a reconciliation bill enacting much of his legislative agenda on taxes and immigration during an Independence Day ceremony at the White House.
“Our country has had so much to celebrate this Independence Day as we enter our 249th year. America’s winning, winning, winning like never before,” Trump said in comments at the ceremony.
“We have officially made the Trump tax cuts permanent,” he added. “That’s the largest tax cut in the history of our country. We’re setting all sorts of economic records right now, and that’s before this kicks in. After this kicks in, our country is going to be a rocket ship, economically.”
Previously, the U.S. House on July 3 approved the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in a 218-214 vote.
The Senate earlier approved the reconciliation package on July 1, after Trump urged them to do so by July 4.
Catholic leaders have alternately praised and criticized various provisions in the legislation. But in a July 1 action alert e-mailed to its supporters, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) ultimately said the bill “currently fails the poorest families.”
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, USCCB president and head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, said in a July 3 statement after the vote, that he and the bishops had “repeatedly and consistently” urged lawmakers to make sure the bill would help families in need and “to change course” on aspects “that fail the poor and vulnerable.”
“The final version of the bill includes unconscionable cuts to health care and food assistance, tax cuts that increase inequality, immigration provisions that harm families and children, and cuts to programs that protect God’s creation,” Archbishop Broglio said. “The bill, as passed, will cause the greatest harm to those who are especially vulnerable in our society. As its provisions go into effect, people will lose access to health care and struggle to buy groceries, family members will be separated, and vulnerable communities will be less prepared to cope with environmental impacts of pollution and extreme weather.”
The USCCB president continued, “More must be done to prevent these devastating effects.” He noted the Church’s own teaching on human dignity, and the common good compels the Church “to redouble our efforts and offer concrete help to those who will be in greater need and continue to advocate for legislative efforts that will provide better possibilities in the future for those in need.”
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated nearly 12 million people will lose health coverage under the legislation.
Ingrid Delgado, national director of public policy and advocacy for The Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA, told OSV News “such large cuts to the social safety net are really concerning, with how it’ll impact our most marginalized.
“The Catholic Church approaches both access to food and health care as fundamental human rights,” Delgado said. “And so the people who access SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] in our country and the people who access Medicaid are our most marginalized and poorest brothers and sisters.”
Delgado said cuts to those programs could lead to “more people who are uninsured, who don’t have food on their tables, and more people facing the risk of homelessness.”
The legislation will significantly increase funds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE, and Customs and Border Patrol as the Trump administration seeks to implement its immigration policies, including the mass deportation of immigrants lacking legal authorization to live and work in the U.S. It authorized about $150 billion in new spending for immigration and border enforcement.
Joan F. Neal, interim executive director of Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, said in a statement, “The damage done by this cruel, un-American bill will be devastating, intergenerational, and require decades-long reform to repair.
“People will die if the country robs millions of us of access to food and health care, creates even more obscene wealth inequality, and funds increasing detention, deportation, and ICE raids. The United States will be unrecognizable, and it will take a very long time to rebuild,” Neal said.
But others celebrated a provision in the legislation that would strip funds from Planned Parenthood for only one year—down from an original proposal of 10 years—with funding resumed thereafter.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told OSV News the day before the House vote that “this is the possible culminating point of the first year where federal taxpayers are not forced to fund Big Abortion and that would be huge.”
Dannenfelser said that one year was the most amount of time they could achieve through the bill under Senate rules, which limit policy changes in reconciliation legislation.
“One year is a beginning, and it sets a new precedent, which is exactly what we want,” she said.
The CBO estimated the legislation would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034. The U.S. national debt currently stands at $36.2 trillion, and has downstream impacts on the rest of society.
(To read the USCCB’s full statement on the bill, go to bit.ly/USCCB_Bill.) †