Category: Statement

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the final version of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” following U.S. Senate approval on June 30. The legislation extends the 2017 tax cuts while adding new ones. It also cuts nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, with more reductions to food assistance for the poor and other government aid.

In response to the bill, NJPP released the following statement.

“This harmful and irresponsible bill threatens New Jersey families by cutting funding for essential programs like health care, food assistance, and housing — programs that hundreds of thousands of residents rely on to stay healthy, fed, and housed.

“The health care cuts alone with devastate New Jersey families. Hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans will either lose their health insurance or face much higher coverage costs. Around 227,000 New Jerseyans will be kicked off Medicaid as they face overwhelming red tape in getting and keeping their coverage. Another 454,000 residents will pay higher premiums through GetCovered NJ. These cuts will hurt working families, older adults, and people with disabilities the most.

“Food programs will also take a major hit. Over 800,000 residents receive food assistance through SNAP, and about 712,000 children rely on the national school lunch program. Reducing this support will increase food insecurity, worsen health outcomes, and put more pressure on schools, food banks, and community organizations.

“Housing costs are already crushing Garden State families. With 51 percent of New Jersey renters spending over 30 percent of their income on rent — already a heavy burden — cutting federal housing assistance will push more people into a housing crisis, especially in a high-cost state like ours.

“This is not just about doing what’s right — it’s about real consequences. Every dollar cut by Congress creates a deeper hole in New Jersey’s already woefully weak safety net and a bigger bill for the state to cover. The timing couldn’t be worse: New Jersey lawmakers just finalized the Fiscal Year 2026 budget and did not plan for these huge federal cuts.

“Meanwhile, the bill delivers massive tax breaks to the wealthy. The top 5 percent of earners in New Jersey — those making more than $471,200 a year — will receive 33 percent of all tax cuts, totaling more than $5.1 billion. But the bottom 20 percent of earners will receive just 1 percent, or about $167 million. This is a deeply unfair approach that benefits the rich while shifting risks and costs onto everyone else.

“New Jersey can’t afford to follow Washington’s lead. Lawmakers must protect vital services — and raise revenue fairly to protect the people hit hardest.”

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Communities still waiting for justice from cannabis legalization suffered another setback today as the state Senate and Assembly passed an appropriations bill that increases the state’s structural deficit while rejecting the Governor’s proposal to raise the Social Equity Excise Fee (SEEF). This initiative would have raised much-needed revenue for the communities who need it most.

In response, NJPP releases the following statement:

Marleina Ubel, Senior Policy Analyst, NJPP:
“It is deeply disappointing that the Fiscal Year 2026 budget does not include the Governor’s proposal to increase the Social Equity Excise Fee (SEEF) to 15 percent. This omission represents a missed opportunity to make meaningful investments in the very communities that were most harmed by the War on Drugs.

“The SEEF was created with a clear purpose: to provide direct support and help rebuild communities that have suffered under unfair and discriminatory drug policies. By failing to raise the fee, we are choosing not to fully achieve that vision. The proposed increase would have strengthened New Jersey’s commitment to equity and justice, allowing more funding to flow into programs and services that can truly make a difference.

“This is not just a matter of money — it is about making things right. We urge lawmakers to revisit this issue and move forward with a fee increase that honors the SEEF’s mission and maximizes its impact.”

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Today the state legislature voted to approve a bill (A5827/S4618) that would continue expanding the New Jersey film and digital media tax credit. This program provides subsidies directly to film studios to make movies and television programs in New Jersey, covering up to nearly half their costs. The bill would increase credit amounts for certain projects and loosen accountability requirements. In fiscal year 2026, even without these changes, this program is estimated to cost the state nearly $250 million.

In response, NJPP issues the following statement.

Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst, NJPP:

“Passing yet another expansion of the film tax credit program to subsidize Hollywood studios, at a time when low- and middle-income families are struggling with day-to-day costs, locks the state even further into an ever-more-expensive waste of money with no end in sight. With added bonuses, the state government will be subsidizing some productions at nearly half of their total expenses, all while the bill limits the state’s ability to get those credits back if the productions fail to deliver on their promises of economic growth.

“With the state running a structural deficit, lawmakers need to think about how to increase revenue to protect New Jerseyans from future cuts and recessions, not dream up new ways to give big corporations hundreds of millions of dollars to boost their private profits. Families in New Jersey need financial help today, not celebrity cameos.”

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On June 26, 2025, the Senate and Assembly budget committees approved an expansion of the realty transfer fee on property transactions over $2 million in value (A5804/S4666). Currently, property sales that are $1 million or more are charged a fee of one percent of the total sale price. This bill would increase that amount to 2% for sales over $2 million, with the percentage increasing with each $500,000 in sale price, up to 3.5% for sales over $3.5 million.

This proposal aligns with an NJPP report in fall 2024 calling for an increase in the realty transfer fee on high-priced property sales.

In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective issues the following statement.

Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst, NJPP:

“At a time when so many households are struggling to afford the cost of living in New Jersey, this modest increase in the realty transfer fee will provide critical revenue for the state’s budget, while only affecting the top three percent of property sales statewide. These much-needed revenues should go towards making the state more affordable for low- and moderate-income households and supporting affordable housing options for New Jerseyans. Expanding the fee on high-priced property sales ensures that the state’s wealthiest residents and large corporate landholders, rather than low- and middle-income households, contribute their fair share.”

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On Thursday, May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping budget bill that includes dramatic cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), eliminates the Child Tax Credit for millions of children, and slashes investments in renewable energy. The bill would have far-reaching and harmful consequences, especially for New Jersey, by shifting more than $3.6 billion in costs from the federal government to the state.

In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) issues the following statement.

Nicole Rodriguez, President, NJPP:

“The numbers in the budget bill approved by the House are hard to fathom: 14 million people will lose health insurance. Three million will be cut off from the food assistance they need to survive.

“But behind each of these numbers is a human life — a child going to bed hungry, a parent skipping cancer treatment, a grandparent unable to afford both medication and food. All so Congress can gift a trillion-dollar tax break to the wealthiest 1 percent. In New Jersey alone, hundreds of thousands of everyday people stand to lose coverage and support.

“Let me be clear, this is not fiscal responsibility — this is fiscal sabotage. Our state will be forced to absorb more than $3.6 billion in new costs just to preserve an already threadbare, vital safety net. This bill shifts the greatest burdens onto those with the least, all while padding the bank accounts of the ultra-wealthy.

“Budgets are moral documents — they show who matters and who is left behind. This one sends a chilling message: the House majority values billionaires over hungry children, health care for seniors, and support for people with disabilities.

“This is a cruel and reckless betrayal of the values we share. These are not New Jersey’s values, and they must not be the values of our country.

“Congress must reject this bill. Too many lives are on the line — and so is our future.”

Read more about the effects of federal funding cuts on New Jersey. 

Read more about the state agencies that receive federal funding. 

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On Wednesday May 13, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee voted to approve tax proposals in the congressional reconciliation bill. One proposed change would deny the Child Tax Credit to children who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents if either parent claiming them on their tax return lacks a Social Security Number — even if the child is fully eligible under current law.

In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) issues the following statement.

Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst, NJPP:

“The House plan to cut off the Child Tax Credit based on a parent’s immigration status is a direct attack on New Jersey families and children. More than 180,000 New Jersey children — 1 in 11 — would lose this critical support, even if they are U.S.-born citizens and their parents are lawful residents.

“This plan doesn’t just punish kids, it undermines one of the country’s most effective tools to reduce child poverty and make life more affordable for families. Denying help to children to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy is cruel, unjust, and economically short-sighted. Congress must reject this proposal.”

For more information on how Congress could improve the current reconciliation bill and help more working-class families, see the Tax Policy Center’s analysis here.

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