Senate passes Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful’ bill 51-50

Arkansas’ two U.S. Senators voted for the Republican-sponsored Senate version of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” on Tuesday (July 1), although details of the measure are still not fully known.

After a weekend of marathon sessions and an overnight huddle among GOP lawmakers, the reconciliation measure passed the full Senate 51-50 with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. U.S. Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., voted for the bill.

All Democratic senators opposed the bill as did Republican U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who obtained funding carve outs for her state, was a decisive vote for the bill among undecided senators.

The bill now heads back to the U.S. House of Representatives, where it will also face daunting challenges. A House version of the “one big, beautiful bill” passed by one vote two weeks ago. It has slightly different provisions than the Senate version, which Sen. Boozman, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, commended.

“This bill delivers the largest tax cut ever for working and middle-class Americans in addition to letting tipped and hourly workers, seniors and families keep more of their hard-earned income,” said Boozman. “It also eliminates waste, fraud and abuse so assistance programs can continue to serve the vulnerable, and provides transformational funding for border security, national security and energy security. These policies will help responsibly steward taxpayer dollars and make our nation stronger, safer and more prosperous.”

“We make commonsense reforms to SNAP to ensure the program operates efficiently, is accountable to the taxpayers and helps those who truly need it. There is also good news for hardworking farmers, ranchers and producers who for too long were forced to operate under outdated policies,” added Boozman. “Our investments in farm country will support the long-term success of family farms and America’s agriculture industry, providing desperately needed and improved risk management tools as well as a modernized farm safety net.”

The reconciliation bill includes an extension of the 2017 tax cuts passed in Trump’s first term of office. It also excludes taxes on tips and provides new spending for the military and border control. A Congressional Budget Office analysis said the bill will hike the federal debt by $5 trillion.

Spending cuts in the measure include work requirements for certain Medicaid populations, the curtailment of state Medicaid provider taxes, reductions in SNAP funding, and renewable energy tax credits. To offset expected revenue losses for hospitals, the bill includes a one-time rural hospital bailout fund.

The Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF), which has opposed passage of the broad federal legislation, estimates that 140,000 Arkansans will lose health insurance coverage because of Medicaid changes and tax changes that make insurance less affordable. The AACF also estimates that the bill could force Arkansas officials to spend $55 million to support food assistance programs. Tax code changes also could result in more than 243,000 Arkansas children in the state’s lowest-income families being left out of temporary increase in the Child Tax Credit, according to AACF.