Massive Bill Swaps Gas Tax for $35/Ton Carbon Tax, Bans House Stock Trading, and Boosts Cancer Research

This massive piece of legislation is trying to do a lot of things at once, but the biggest change—the one that will hit your wallet and reshape how infrastructure gets funded—is the overhaul of how we tax energy. Starting in 2027, the federal taxes you currently pay on gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel disappear. In their place, the bill imposes a new national carbon tax that starts at $35 per metric ton of greenhouse gas emissions and increases every year. This tax applies to fossil fuels and emissions from major industrial facilities.

The Cost of Carbon: What It Means for Your Budget

Let’s be real: when you tax carbon, the cost gets passed down. This means you should expect to see higher prices for things like home heating, electricity generated by fossil fuels, and goods produced by carbon-intensive industries. However, the bill tries to cushion that blow in a couple of ways. First, it repeals the old federal fuel taxes, which might slightly offset some of the increase at the pump, at least initially. Second, it directs 75% of the new carbon tax revenue into a massive RISE Trust Fund. Most of that money is earmarked for infrastructure—think roads, bridges, and coastal flood projects—but a chunk is set aside for annual grants to states to provide direct financial assistance to low-income households. If you qualify for programs like SNAP or SSI, you could get a check to help cover the increased energy costs.

Here’s the catch: Title I also includes a provision that limits the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases from sources covered by this new tax until 2039. This means we are relying heavily on the tax itself to drive down emissions. If the $35-per-ton price tag isn't high enough to change behavior quickly, we could be stuck with rising costs but slow progress on emissions reduction, without the EPA having the regulatory power to step in.

Ethics and Elections: Cleaning House and Opening Primaries

Shifting gears completely, the bill takes aim at conflicts of interest in Congress. Title V, the Restriction of trading and ownership of certain financial instruments, prohibits members of the House of Representatives from owning or trading individual stocks, commodities, or futures. This is a big deal for transparency, aiming to stop lawmakers from profiting off information they get while serving. They can still hold widely diversified mutual funds or Treasury bonds—basically, the kind of boring investments most of us use for retirement. They’ll have to divest or use a blind trust.

Title VII, the Let America Vote Act, tackles primary elections. It requires states to let unaffiliated voters—the millions of people who don't register as Democrat or Republican—vote in any federal primary. This could significantly change who gets nominated for Congress and the Presidency by opening the door to a huge block of independent voters. As a condition of receiving federal election funding, states must also certify that they prohibit noncitizens from voting in any election, federal, state, or local.

Cancer Research, School Safety, and VA Changes

Title II, the KO Cancer Act, provides a massive, five-year funding boost to the National Cancer Institute (NCI)—an amount equal to 25% of their 2024 budget each year through 2030. If you or someone you know has been affected by cancer, this could accelerate research into new treatments. The bill also mandates a study on the root causes of cancer drug shortages, which is a critical supply chain issue that affects patient care.

For parents, Title VII, the Measures for Safer School Districts (MSD) Act, mandates that schools receiving federal funds create detailed emergency response plans with local police and fire departments. It also requires timely notification to parents during a wide range of emergencies. Crucially, it authorizes $100 million annually for ten years to help schools install reinforced doors, a physical security measure that will be defined by a new federal advisory committee.

Finally, Title XII, the Protecting VA Employees Act, repeals the specific disciplinary process for senior VA employees and restores the pre-2017 grievance procedures for VA healthcare personnel. This is a technical change, but it means that the accountability rules for healthcare workers at the VA are reverting to an older standard, which could affect how quickly and easily the VA can address performance issues.