US Senate Republicans on Tuesday passed US President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut and spending bill 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 US$3.3 trillion to the national debt.
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives were yesterday sprinting toward a vote on the package, determined to seize momentum from the Senate win, while essentially daring members to defy their party’s leader and vote against it.
Trump wants to sign it into law by US Independence Day on Friday, a deadline US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he aimed to meet.
Photo: Reuters
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 would also cut about US$930 billion of spending on the Medicaid health program and food aid for low-income Americans, and repeal many of former US president Joe Biden’s green-energy incentives.
The legislation, which has exposed Republican divides over the nation’s fast-growing US$36.2 trillion debt, would raise the federal government’s self-imposed debt ceiling by US$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 US Vice President J.D. Vance breaking a tie after three Republican senators — 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 US 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 US$50 billion to help rural hospitals cope with the sweeping cuts to Medicaid.
The vote in the House, where Republicans hold a 220-212 majority, is likely to be close.
A White House official told reporters that Trump would be “deeply involved” in pushing House Republicans to approve the bill.
Additional reporting by AP
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