The U.S. Senate on the 1st passed the 'Big and Beautiful' tax and spending bill by a vote of 51 in favor and 50 against.
The initial result was a 50-50 tie, but Vice President Vance cast the crucial deciding vote, breaking the deadlock and allowing the bill to pass.
The bill includes provisions to extend the corporate and individual tax cuts originally enacted by President Trump during his first term in 2017, exempts tips and overtime income from taxation, reduces investments in Medicare and nutrition assistance programs, and authorizes hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for combating illegal immigration and for defense.
The version of the bill passed by the Senate also stipulates that the U.S. will no longer provide tax credits for electric vehicles starting September 30 of this year, and only wind and solar projects that begin production before the end of 2027 will be eligible for tax credits.
The Senate version of the bill is expected to further raise the U.S. debt ceiling by $5 trillion, higher than the amount set in the previous House version. Congress must raise this limit in the coming months, or risk a catastrophic default.
According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the House and Senate versions of the bill will increase the U.S. deficit by $2.8 trillion and nearly $3.3 trillion (about 13.89 trillion ringgit) respectively from 2025 to 2034. In addition, changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in the Senate version will lead to nearly 12 million more uninsured Americans by 2034.
Some Democratic senators criticized the Senate version as "robbing the poor to help the rich."
Senator Sanders of Vermont said the bill is a "gift to the billionaire class," while Senator Peters of Michigan called the bill "reckless and irresponsible."
The Republican-majority House narrowly passed the 'Big and Beautiful' bill by just one vote on May 22. Since the Senate made significant changes to the bill, its version will need to be passed again by the House before it can be submitted to the U.S. president for signature and become law. Trump recently called on Congress to pass the bill before July 4.
The initial result was a 50-50 tie, but Vice President Vance cast the crucial deciding vote, breaking the deadlock and allowing the bill to pass.
The bill includes provisions to extend the corporate and individual tax cuts originally enacted by President Trump during his first term in 2017, exempts tips and overtime income from taxation, reduces investments in Medicare and nutrition assistance programs, and authorizes hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for combating illegal immigration and for defense.
The version of the bill passed by the Senate also stipulates that the U.S. will no longer provide tax credits for electric vehicles starting September 30 of this year, and only wind and solar projects that begin production before the end of 2027 will be eligible for tax credits.
The Senate version of the bill is expected to further raise the U.S. debt ceiling by $5 trillion, higher than the amount set in the previous House version. Congress must raise this limit in the coming months, or risk a catastrophic default.
According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the House and Senate versions of the bill will increase the U.S. deficit by $2.8 trillion and nearly $3.3 trillion (about 13.89 trillion ringgit) respectively from 2025 to 2034. In addition, changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in the Senate version will lead to nearly 12 million more uninsured Americans by 2034.
Some Democratic senators criticized the Senate version as "robbing the poor to help the rich."
Senator Sanders of Vermont said the bill is a "gift to the billionaire class," while Senator Peters of Michigan called the bill "reckless and irresponsible."
The Republican-majority House narrowly passed the 'Big and Beautiful' bill by just one vote on May 22. Since the Senate made significant changes to the bill, its version will need to be passed again by the House before it can be submitted to the U.S. president for signature and become law. Trump recently called on Congress to pass the bill before July 4.