Rep. Chellie Pingree is the U.S. congresswoman for Maine’s 1st District.

The so-called “big, beautiful bill,” which President Trump signed into law on July 4, is one of the most sweeping and dangerous pieces of legislation in American history.

You’ve probably heard about the big line items: an estimated $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts; a $200 billion reduction in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; massive tax breaks for the wealthy; putting the brakes on clean energy projects; the $4.1 trillion it will add to the deficit.

But what makes this bill truly ridiculous is the sheer number of reckless and irresponsible provisions and pet projects that Republicans managed to sneak into it. Here are some of the craziest parts of the bill you may not have heard about.

No more free tax filing through the IRS

Let’s be honest: Paying taxes isn’t fun. It’s even less fun when you have to shell out an extra few hundred bucks just to file them. Thanks to President Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS launched a pilot program in 2024 offering free filing services in 12 states. The program was so successful (and so popular), the service was expanded even further for the 2025 tax season.

Now, it’s gone — with an assist from the Big, Ugly Bill, which allocates federal funding to go back to the drawing board with another study on the issue. Like so much of the Big Beautiful Bill Act, this provision is ridiculous, shortsighted and throws hardworking Americans under the bus.

Eliminating the SNAP-Ed Program

Chances are you’ve heard about the Big, Ugly Bill’s massive cuts to SNAP benefits. Here in Maine, more than 174,000 people depend on SNAP to put food on their tables, including over 36,000 children and 6,300 veterans. At a time when grocery prices are continuing to rise, slashing this vital program is unconscionable.

But Republicans didn’t stop there. The National Education, Obesity and Prevention Grant program, commonly known as SNAP-Ed, is also getting the ax.

SNAP-Ed partners with state and local organizations to teach people how to cook healthy meals, avoid unhealthy food and embrace a more physically active lifestyle. In Maine, this program has reached nearly 20,000 people, helping families stretch their SNAP dollar further with free classes and cooking, budgeting and healthy eating.

Eliminating these services will leave families with fewer tools to feed their families affordably and healthily, further straining our health care system and driving up costs for everyone. Tell me, is this really going to “Make America Healthy Again”?

No taxes on gun silencers

One of the more bizarre giveaways in the bill eliminates the federal tax on gun silencers. You read that right.

For nearly a century, silencers have been regulated under the National Firearms Act, requiring anyone interested in purchasing one to submit an application and pay a $200 tax. This bill wipes that away, making them significantly easier to procure and endangering public safety while reducing tax revenue by $1.7 billion over the next 10 years.

Supporters claim it’s about “hearing protection,” but public safety experts warn the provision will make it easier for shooters to conceal gunfire, complicating law enforcement responses in mass shootings or domestic violence cases.

That this sudden and inexplicable change comes amid record gun violence — and in a bill that slashes funding for community policing and school safety grants — is beyond cynical.

Moving a retired space shuttle to Texas

The space shuttle Discovery is an American treasure. Between 1984 and 2011, it flew an impressive 39 missions — including the Hubble telescope deployment and the “return to flight” missions in the wake of the Challenger and Columbia tragedies.

Since its retirement, Discovery has been on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, part of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). Millions of people have come to see it. Now, thanks to the Big, Ugly Bill, it’s being moved to Texas. The estimated cost of the move (and the construction of a new facility to house it): $300 million.

The Smithsonian, which owns the shuttle and holds it in trust for the American people, is against it. Historians and scientists are against it.
So why is it being moved? Because of the whims of Texas’ two senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, who both want the shuttle in their state.

Charging asylum seekers a $550 work permit fee

One of the issues my district office deals with most often is helping constituents through the work permit process. These are people who are pursuing a lawful path to permanent status in the U.S. They are ready and willing to work — to provide for themselves and their families and fill much-needed jobs.

The work authorization application process is already long, burdensome and challenging as it is (I have a bill for that). Sadly, this administration seems hellbent on making it even more difficult.

A provision in the Big, Ugly Bill requires a $550 fee for initial work permit applications (which used to be free). Work permits don’t just allow a person to work. They also serve as a form of government ID, allowing people — including children — to obtain a Social Security number. This $550 fee is now being required of 6-year-olds.

Maine is home to more than 8,000 asylum seekers. All they want is a safe life and the means to provide for themselves and their families. The administration wants to make it impossible for them to build their lives here.

This bill isn’t about eliminating “waste, fraud and abuse.” It’s about sacrificing the health and well-being of the most vulnerable among us — so that billionaires like Elon Musk can get even richer. It’s about taking food out of the hands of hungry children, cutting off lifelines to families in need and shattering the basic safety net that millions of Americans rely on.

They say the devil is in the details. That’s never been more true than with this monstrosity of a bill.