Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
“After hours of stalemate, Republicans in the US Senate have narrowly passed Donald Trump's mega-bill on tax and spending… The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed with Vice-President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote after more than 24 hours of debate…
“The legislation, considered a cornerstone of Trump's second-term agenda, would make permanent large tax cuts that were temporarily put in place when he was first in office. To make up for the expected loss of revenue, Republicans have looked to cut spending in a wide range of programmes, including food subsidies and healthcare for lower-income Americans… It is now up to House Republicans to approve the changes made by the Senate before the president can sign the bill into law.” BBC
Here’s our previous coverage of the bill. The Flip Side
The left criticizes the bill, arguing that it will harm the poor.
“Senate Republicans unveiled a 940-page bill with wide-ranging changes to numerous policy areas just before midnight last Friday… It was put together so quickly and secretly that even members themselves don’t understand how certain provisions made it into the legislation. It’s very unpopular with the public. And yet, despite all that, the Senate passed the bill…
“We have Republican members of Congress who represent very poor states pushing cuts to Medicaid and corporate taxes and Democratic members who are passionate about defending Israel and the cryptocurrency industry. Those aren’t the priorities of their constituents… The so wrongfully named ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is actually showing how ugly, unaccountable and unequal our policymaking process has become.”
Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post
“The megabill will take food assistance away from some 3 million Americans, while causing 12 million to lose their health insurance. That is how you save money: by taking benefits away from people. Congress is not finding magical efficiencies. To the contrary, the bill introduces inefficiencies by design. The main way it will throw people off their health insurance is by requiring Medicaid recipients to show proof of employment…
“States that have tried this have found the paperwork so onerous that most people who lose their insurance are actually Medicaid-eligible but unable to navigate the endless bureaucratic hassle. The end result will be to punish not only the millions of Americans who lose Medicaid but also the millions more who will pay an infuriating time tax by undergoing periodic miniature IRS audits merely to maintain access to basic medical care.”
Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic
“The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the legislation would slash Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion… When combined with the expiration of Obamacare subsidies at the end of this year… the Republican policy agenda could lead to an estimated 17 million Americans losing health coverage over the next decade.”
Dylan Scott, Vox
“The Senate version will dedicate $175 billion to an immigration crackdown, including an extra $30 billion for ICE, which can be spent over four years. To put that in perspective, ICE’s current budget is about $8 billion per year. The bill also designates $45 billion for detention facilities… By comparison, the U.S. spends about $8 billion a year on the Bureau of Prisons…
“Masked immigration enforcers have swept through American cities in the months since [Trump] took office, using flash bangs during restaurant sweeps, slamming people’s heads into the ground, violently arresting gardeners on video, and provoking mass protests against their raids. This may only be the beginning.”
Matt Sledge, The Intercept
The right generally supports the bill but is disappointed that it fails to cut spending further.
The right generally supports the bill but is disappointed that it fails to cut spending further.
“The ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ prevents the largest tax hike in history. It makes the 2017 tax cuts permanent, including the Section 199A deduction – leaving more capital in the hands of America’s 34 million small business owners to hire, expand and reinvest in their operations. This provision alone is projected to create 1 million new jobs on Main Street and generate $750 billion in economic activity over the next decade…
“The bill also keeps cash in the wallets of blue-collar Americans. With no taxes on tips or overtime, it raises take-home pay for our workers without increasing costs for their employers. It repeals the IRS’s $600 reporting rule, which created compliance headaches for millions of gig economy workers and small sellers. It increases the Child Tax Credit and standard deduction for working families… Finally, the bill tackles one of the most overlooked obstacles to small business success: regulatory overreach and costs.”
Kelly Loeffler, Fox News
“Don’t believe Democratic assertions that the bill guts the safety net. Savings from food stamps and Medicaid come entirely from policy tweaks that reduce waste and abuse such as stricter eligibility checks. The bill attempts to crack down on state scams that expand food-stamp eligibility and use provider taxes to launder more federal Medicaid matching funds. It also includes modest Medicaid work requirements for adults covered under ObamaCare…
“Republicans even added a $50 billion pot for rural hospitals to blunt the lobby’s attacks, not that it worked. Hospitals are still screaming that the bill ‘cuts’ Medicaid, though it includes no changes to benefits and merely slows the pace of federal spending. Why aren’t hospitals demanding that California Gov. Gavin Newsom spend general tax revenue on Medicaid instead of subsidies for his Hollywood pals?”
Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
“The ‘big, beautiful bill’ became significantly less beautiful over the last week as procedural and political limitations combined to make the bill’s carve-outs wider, its offsets smaller, and its expansion of the national debt much greater…
“It appears that nearly all of the damaging changes to Republicans’ megabill came down to one factor: Fiscal conservatives who might have been willing to withhold their votes to advance their cause were vastly outnumbered by colleagues looking out for their states’ immediate interests…
“Senators such as Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) fought relentlessly to secure handouts for their states — and did not sign onto the legislation until they got them. Fiscal conservatives will need to demonstrate similar resolve if they ever want to bring deficits under control.”
John R. Puri, National Review
