Republican members of Congress are rushing to clinch a historic victory on their $1.5 trillion tax code overhaul package they say will stimulate hiring and economic growth. But within the 429-page bill lie legislative changes longstanding on the GOP agenda that could impact American society far more than the straightforward implications marketed by Republican leaders and President Donald Trump.

1. Makes College Education Less Affordable

The House-passed tax bill would eliminate tax waivers and an endowment tax that help American students to afford higher education.

Specifically, it rescinds the interest deduction for student loans; eliminates the $2,500 tax credit available to parents; taxes on tuition waivers as income for graduate students; and places a tax on college endowments, reducing the funds more than 150 colleges across the country have for scholarships for students in need of financial aid.

"This change to the tax code will decimate U.S. graduate education and could make U.S. progress in STEM fields in particular grind to a halt," Amanda M. Grannas, a professor of chemistry at Villanova University, said in a U.S. News op-ed.

Proceeds from college endowments support students from lower-income families, enabling students from all backgrounds to graduate with less debt. Its elimination therefore will limit the number of students colleges can subsidize, creating an educational disparity between people of different economic backgrounds.

2. Allows Fetuses to Be Beneficiaries for Tax-Free Investments

While parents were already able to set up 529 tax-free investments toward the college education of a not-yet-college-age child, the House-approved tax bill includes the ability for parents to label a "child in utero" as a beneficiary.

"Nothing shall prevent an unborn child from being treated as a designated beneficiary or an individual under this section," according to the provision.

"An unborn child means a child in utero," the provision states. "A child in utero means a member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb."

The inclusion of two words – "unborn child" – packs with it the recognition and therefore rights of a fetus as protected by law, a key goal of anti-abortion activists and conservatives.

3. Removal of Ban on Churches, Nonprofits from Participating in Political Activism

In a nod to the religious right, the tax package repeals the Johnson Amendment that prohibits all 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations – including tax-exempt churches, trusts and charities – from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

Many Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have sought to repeal the amendment, calling it an imposition against these organizations' freedom of speech. Critics of the move argue that repealing the Johnson Amendment would blur the lines between charity and politics, enabling organizations to make political campaign contributions that are tax-deductible.

Since his 2016 presidential election, Trump promised his base that he would eliminate the amendment and, on May 4, he signed an executive order "to defend the freedom of religion and speech" – seen as a step toward loosening the restrictions the Johnson Amendment establishes.

4. Allows Drilling for Oil on Protected Lands

Both the Senate and House bills include language that would enable oil and gas drilling companies to bore into Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1960, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the world's last wild places, spreading over nearly 20 million acres from Alaska's coasts to mountain peaks.

Since then, the oil and gas industry has tried to find a way to drill into the land's coastal plains. And Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican and longtime proponent of drilling in the protected land, authored a bill that would do just that while piggybacking on a budget reconciliation package associated with the tax overhaul.

If the tax package passes, Murkowski's bill would enable limited drilling on Alaskan coastal plains. It would require the Department of the Interior manage two associated lease sales, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it would raise $1 billion over the next decade.

5. Colossal Cuts to Health and Social Insurance Programs

The tax cut bundle may cause severe cuts to insurance programs, leaving millions of people without coverage.

In 2010, Congress passed a pay-as-you-go budget rule intended "to enforce a rule of budget neutrality on new revenue and direct spending legislation." It requires any bill that increases the federal deficit to be paid for through spending cuts or other offsets.

Without establishing those cuts or offsets, though, it will automatically cut from social safety net programs like Medicare, the federal health coverage program that covers 59 million Americans, most of whom are 65 years or older. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the passing of the tax package would cut as much as $25 million from the Medicare budget next year.

The tax package also repeals the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, that requires most people to have some form of health insurance, or else pay a tax penalty. With this mandate's removal, about 13 million people could lose health care coverage and premiums in the health insurance marketplace will increase by approximately 10 percent by 2027, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.

Further, Republican legislators have signaled that if they succeed in passing this tax package, the next step could be trying to overhaul government welfare programs and make more spending cuts in other programs, like Social Security, the New York Times reports.