Senate Republicans Use Accounting Maneuver to Make 2017 Tax Cuts Permanent

Senate Republicans have employed a new accounting method called the "current policy baseline" to make permanent the temporary 2017 tax cuts under President Trump’s 2017 One Big Beautiful Bill, effectively showing these tax cuts as costing zero dollars in budget calculations. This maneuver, passed along party lines, circumvents traditional Senate rules and the filibuster, allowing the bill to advance despite its multitrillion-dollar cost to the federal budget, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will increase borrowing by $3.3 trillion over the next decade. Democrats strongly criticize this strategy as a dangerous precedent and a "magic math" gimmick that distorts budget realities and undermines the legislative process. Experts warn that this shift in budget accounting could be exploited by future Congresses, including a potential Democratic majority, to pass costly policies like Medicare for All or large green energy tax credits through reconciliation without traditional budget constraints. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats highlight how Republicans are using budget rules in unprecedented ways to hide the true fiscal impact of their legislation, potentially leading to unsustainable increases in the national debt, which already exceeds $36 trillion. The controversy underscores growing concerns about fiscal responsibility and the strategic use of Senate procedures to advance partisan priorities.