According to CCTV news: On June 28 local time, the U.S. Senate passed a procedural motion with a vote of 51 to 49, aimed at advancing the massive tax and spending bill referred to as 'Big and Beautiful' by President Trump. After the procedural vote passed in the U.S. Senate, the likelihood of the bill passing in the coming days increased.
It is reported that after this procedural motion is passed, the massive tax and spending bill will undergo reading, debate, amendment voting, and final voting, expected to take several days. Now, there is less than a week left before the 'deadline' set by Trump on July 4.
Democrats fully block
Republicans explode in infighting
Not only did all Democrats vote against, but they also resorted to a tactic of 'delay'. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Schumer stated on the 28th that Democrats will force the Senate to read the 940-page bill. (The Hill) reports that reading this bill will take 12 hours.
Although the Republican Party holds 53 out of 100 seats in the Senate, not all Republicans support the bill. After repeated negotiations and pulls, two people still voted against it in the procedural vote on the 28th.
After Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina cast a no vote, Trump threatened in a social media post that many people want to compete with Tillis in next year's congressional election, and he will meet with these individuals in the coming weeks to find someone who can 'truly represent the people of North Carolina and America'.
With strong support from Trump, the 'Big and Beautiful' bill narrowly passed in the House of Representatives on May 22 by a single vote and was barely approved in the Senate procedural vote on June 28. Moreover, in order to ensure the bill's passage in the Senate, amendments were made to the provisions, which will need to go back to the House for another vote after the Senate voting. The struggle between the factions will continue.
What is the 'Big and Beautiful' bill
The so-called 'Big and Beautiful' bill is a simplified name given by President Trump to a large-scale tax and spending bill he introduced. The bill is seen as a continuation and upgrade of the tax reduction policy from Trump's first term and is also seen as a reduction and adjustment to the Biden administration's 'Green New Deal', welfare, and spending policies. The bill plans to reduce taxes by $4 trillion over the next ten years and cut at least $1.5 trillion in spending.
The bill introduces several tax relief policies, including tax exemptions for overtime pay and tips, as well as significantly increasing the tax-exempt amounts for inheritance and gift taxes, with adjustments to be made in the future based on inflation indexes.
In terms of 'throttling', the 'Big and Beautiful' bill will cut nearly a trillion dollars in funding in the Medicaid sector, raising the thresholds and standards for Medicaid recipients. The bill also tightens the qualification requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), raising the age requirement for American citizens to access food assistance from 54 to 64, which is expected to save $230 billion over the next ten years.
The 'Big and Beautiful' bill also cancels or compresses the 'green subsidies' from the Biden administration, risking the loss of tax exemptions for projects from building clean energy facilities to purchasing new energy vehicles.
Add $500 billion to the debt limit
Musk: Let America go bankrupt
The 'Big and Beautiful' bill, which is awaiting final voting in the Senate, will raise the federal debt ceiling by another $500 billion. In the first quarter of this year, the U.S. fell into economic contraction, and the $36.1 trillion debt ceiling was also breached. The Treasury Department's ability to use unconventional measures for borrowing may be exhausted by mid-August. Therefore, Trump has repeatedly emphasized the need to pass the bill by July 4.
It is estimated that this bill will increase the U.S. federal government's debt by about $3.8 trillion over the next ten years.
On June 28 local time, American entrepreneur Elon Musk stated on social media that the latest draft of the massive tax and spending bill in the U.S. Senate 'will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to the country'. Musk also said, 'This bill raises the debt ceiling by $500 billion, the largest increase in history, putting America on the fast track to debt servitude.'
Elon Musk has previously criticized the 'Big and Beautiful' bill for undermining his efforts to reduce the U.S. budget deficit, even calling the bill 'disgusting' and labeling the lawmakers who voted in favor as 'shameful'. Some U.S. media believe that certain provisions of the bill concern Musk's personal interests, and his criticism of the bill is also one of the important reasons for the deterioration of his relationship with Trump.