New SAVE Act Bills Would Still Block Millions of Americans From Voting

“In every form, the SAVE Act would require American citizens to show documents like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. Our research shows that more than 21 million Americans lack ready access to those documents. Roughly half of Americans don’t even have a passport. Millions lack access to a paper copy of their birth certificate. The SAVE Act would disenfranchise Americans of all ages and races, but younger voters and voters of color would suffer disproportionately. Likewise, millions of women whose married names aren’t on their birth certificates or passports would face extra steps just to make their voices heard.

The SAVE Act solves nothing. All available evidence, including from the Trump administration itself, indicates that only American citizens vote and the exceptions are vanishingly rare. States that have combed through their voter rolls looking for illegally cast votes — like Louisiana and Utah did recently — have repeatedly confirmed that fact.”

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-save-act-bills-would-still-block-millions-americans-voting

The SAVE Act: Overview and Facts

“Even small changes such as moving into an apartment building, moving down the block, or changing party affiliation are considered voter registration updates. Under the SAVE Act, Americans would have to go in person to their election office and present original or certified documentation to make any voter registration change.

This would make civic participation much more difficult for tens of millions of citizens every election cycle and would outright disenfranchise millions more. The policies of the SAVE Act would also be in addition to state voter ID laws that require voters to show identification at the polls

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require all American citizens registering to vote or updating their registration information to present documentary proof of citizenship in person. For the vast majority of Americans, this would be a passport or birth certificate.”

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-save-act-overview-and-facts/

Psychoactive Hemp Products Will Be Federally Prohibited in a Year Unless Congress Intervenes

“Thanks to a bill approved as part of the package that ended the federal shutdown, intoxicating hemp products will be federally prohibited as of November 13, 2026, a year after President Donald Trump signed the legislation. Unless Congress intervenes, that ban will put an end to a $28 billion industry that offers psychoactive beverages, edibles, flower, and vape cartridges to consumers in dozens of states.”

https://reason.com/2025/11/24/psychoactive-hemp-products-will-be-federally-prohibited-in-a-year-unless-congress-intervenes/

Michigan’s Shocking VPN Ban Explained

VPNs are needed for basic privacy, hiding from government overreach, working from home, and corporate security. Banning them like a bill in Michigan does, would be bad economically and an attack on liberty, privacy, and security.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9j-T9mQmiw

The $4 Trillion ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Breaks the Bank and Violates Congress’ Own Budget Rules

“Republicans once talked seriously about aligning taxes and spending. They cared about economic distortion, simplicity, and broadening the tax base. Now, too many just want the sugar rush of tax cuts without fiscal discipline. Meanwhile, Democrats want to vastly expand the state and pretend that billionaires alone can foot the bill. Both sides are wrong. The math doesn’t work, and the morality of the reckless spending is worse.

Those who want to frame this bill as pro-growth are dreaming. They’re relying on unrealistic economic assumptions about a short-run bump to justify the consequences of long-term debt increases—and banking on cost-disguising budget gimmicks that nobody takes seriously.”

https://reason.com/2025/07/03/the-4-trillion-big-beautiful-bill-breaks-the-bank-and-violates-congress-own-budget-rules/

This is How the Republican Billionaire Bill Will F**** You and America

Repeated Republican presidents and Congresses have told us that tax cuts will pay for themselves, and they repeatedly have not paid for themselves. Tax cuts like these are budget busters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqVzMF3QOng

The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Funds an Expensive Immigration Crackdown

“1. Over $6 Billion for Autonomous Screening Technology at the Border

2. $56.5 Billion To Build a Border Wall

3. Nearly $75 billion for ICE’s Mass Arrest and Detention Campaign”

https://reason.com/2025/07/09/the-big-beautiful-bill-funds-an-expensive-immigration-crackdown/

One Big Beautiful Mess | w/ Jonah Goldberg, Steve Hayes, Megan McArdle, David French

Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is horrible policy and greatly adds to the debt and deficit.

Trump’s superpower is his ability to threaten members of congress with primary challenges. Republican members of congress know the bill is a bunch of shit shoved together, but they voted for it anyways because they are weak cowards.

Congress is broken and has been broken for some time. Regular order where Congress members debate and understand bills is dead.

States like Alaska got a sweet deal by avoiding some of the bad policy coming from the bill. This was done to convince senators to vote for it.

Huge debt, bad policy, and sweetheart deals…where’s the tea party!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al0kZvcFlqc

The GOP’s Big Fold

“These reversals may be surprising, but they were not remarkable. It was par for the course for congressional Republicans who, in recent years, have shown a proclivity for taking bold, theatrical stands before meekly capitulating in the face of political pressure — particularly from President Donald Trump.”

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/07/03/congressional-republicans-cave-megabill-big-beautiful-00439956

Child tax credit gets small boost in Trump’s tax bill, but millions of families are left out

“The popular child tax credit will receive a slight boost from President Trump’s signature tax and spending bill — but there are caveats.

Currently, taxpayers who make under $200,000 annually as a single filer, or $400,000 if filing jointly, can qualify for a partially refundable credit of up to $2,000 for each child they claim as a dependent who is under age 17 and a US citizen or qualifying noncitizen.

The new legislation increases the credit to a maximum $2,200 per child. Without the bill, the maximum credit would have reverted to $1,000.

But the increase, which amounts to a 10% bump, follows years of rising prices that have chipped away at the value of the original benefit. And many extremely low-income children — in addition to US citizen kids of undocumented parents — will be locked out of the payments altogether.”

“To qualify for the refundable portion of the child tax credit, which is called the “additional child tax credit” and can be worth up to $1,700, taxpayers must earn at least $2,500 in annual income. (A refundable tax credit can lower tax liability past zero, potentially generating a refund.) Families who make less than that receive no benefit, while many more children are in low-income households that earn just enough to receive part of the benefit but not enough to receive the full payment.”

“The average benefit for taxpayers with children who made between $10,000 and $20,000 in 2022, for example, was $800, according to the Congressional Research Service. That pay range includes people who worked full-time jobs at the federal minimum wage. Families earning between $200,000 and $500,000, meanwhile, saw an average benefit of $2,810.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/child-tax-credit-gets-small-boost-in-trumps-tax-bill-but-millions-of-families-are-left-out-215136488.html