US Senate passes Trump’s sweeping tax-and spending bill, setting up House battle
U.S. Senate Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s massive tax-and-spending bill on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, advancing a package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement spending while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt.
The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for possible final approval, though a handful of Republicans there have already voiced opposition to some of the Senate provisions. Trump wants to sign it into law by the July 4 Independence Day holiday, and House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement that he aimed to meet that deadline.
The measure would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, give new tax breaks for income from tips and overtime pay and increase spending on the military and immigration enforcement. It also would cut about $930 billion of spending on the Medicaid health program and food aid for low-income Americans and repeal many of Democratic former President Joe Biden’s green-energy incentives.
The legislation, which has exposed Republican divides over the nation’s fast-growing $36.2 trillion debt, would raise the federal government’s self-imposed debt ceiling by $5 trillion. Congress must raise the cap in the coming months or risk a devastating default.
The Senate passed the measure in a 51-50 vote with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie after three Republicans - Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky - joined all 47 Democrats in voting against the bill.
The vote followed an all-night debate in which Republicans grappled with the bill’s price tag and its impact on the U.S. healthcare system.
Much of the late horse-trading was aimed at winning over Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who had signaled she would vote against the bill without significant alterations.
The final Senate bill included two provisions that helped secure her vote: one that sends more food-aid funding to Alaska and several other states, and another providing $50 billion to help rural hospitals cope with the sweeping cuts to Medicaid.
Following the vote, Murkowski issued a statement calling it one of the hardest of her Senate career said she had voted yes despite some continued reservations.
"This has been an awful process — a frantic rush to meet an artificial deadline that has tested every limit of this institution," she said. "This bill needs more work across chambers and is not ready for the President’s desk."
Source : Reuters
