According to CCTV News, on July 3 local time, the U.S. House of Representatives held the final vote on President Trump's massive tax cut and spending bill, also known as the 'Big and Beautiful' bill. The final vote result showed 218 votes in favor and 214 votes against, allowing the bill to pass in the House.
The bill has been controversial due to its cuts to federal aid, increased long-term debt, and tax reductions for the wealthy and large corporations.
Two Republican representatives voted against the bill on that day: Thomas Massie from Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania. All Democratic representatives voted against it.
The Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, with a party seat ratio of 220:212.
Among House Republican members, there were previously over 20 who opposed the 'Big and Beautiful' bill, but House Speaker Mike Johnson successfully persuaded most of the dissenters. These individuals continued to voice their concerns about the bill until Wednesday, mainly worried about the scale of spending in the trillions and cuts to health programs.
Notably, before the final vote, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries protested the 'Big and Beautiful' tax and spending bill pushed by President Trump with a marathon speech lasting 'a magical minute.' This 'magical minute' is essentially a non-timed speaking opportunity, with Jeffries' actual speaking time being about 8 hours and 46 minutes, setting the record for the longest speech in modern House history.
The bill was passed by the Senate on the 1st of this month.
The White House announced on July 3 local time that President Trump will sign the so-called 'Big and Beautiful' bill, which has been passed by both chambers of Congress, at 5 PM local time on July 4 (5 AM Beijing time on July 5), officially making it law. Trump stated, 'At that time, B-2, F-22, and F-35 aircraft will fly over the White House.'
What are the key points of the bill?
According to Xinhua News Agency, the 'Big and Beautiful' bill is a landmark legislative agenda launched by Trump after returning to the White House in early 2025.
The main content of the bill includes extending the corporate and personal tax cuts passed by Trump during his first term in 2017, allowing tips and overtime wages to be exempt from taxation, with the core provision being a reduction in corporate tax. The previous House version only extended the tax cuts from 2025 to 2029, which is when Trump’s term ends, whereas the Senate version makes the tax cuts permanent indefinitely.
According to analyses by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, the tax cut extension measures in the bill alone will incur over $4.5 trillion in spending costs over the next decade. Meanwhile, the Senate version of the bill is expected to increase the U.S. deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the next decade, with the U.S. debt ceiling also raised by $5 trillion.
Additionally, the Senate version of the bill will cut $1.2 trillion in spending, with $930 billion coming from cuts to Medicaid and food stamps. Specific measures include raising the threshold for receiving benefits and changing the federal government's reimbursement policy to states. Multiple studies cited by publications such as The Atlantic indicate that the bill could lead to millions of Americans losing health insurance, with the number of uninsured Americans projected to increase by nearly 12 million by 2034. Hundreds of hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities may close, potentially causing about 51,000 American deaths each year.
According to the bill, in over half of the states in the U.S., Medicaid funding for rural hospital areas will be reduced by more than 20%. The health department is concerned that this could trigger a crisis in the rural healthcare system. The National Rural Health Association issued a statement noting that the cuts to Medicaid will impose significant financial pressure on hospitals in rural areas, 'where many hospitals are already at risk of closure.'
Republicans representing low-income areas explicitly oppose significant cuts to Medicaid for these regions.
U.S. media cited expert analyses indicating that under the Senate version of the bill, cuts to Medicare and other federal aid will offset the slight tax reductions that many families might experience, ultimately benefiting primarily the wealthy. Some Democratic senators accused the Senate version of the bill of 'robbing the poor to pay the rich.'
(The New York Times) commented that the latest version of the bill 'leaves the greatest benefits for the wealthy, potentially resulting in massive economic losses for millions of low-income Americans.' The report cites the latest analysis from Yale University's Budget Lab, stating that if the bill is implemented, the annual after-tax income of the bottom fifth of Americans will decline by an average of 2.3% over the next decade, while the annual after-tax income of the top fifth will increase by about 2.3%.
What are the implications after implementation?
In the short term, investors have expressed concerns about the sustainability of U.S. borrowing reflected in this bill, leading to capital fleeing the U.S. Treasury market in the short term.
Just as the Senate began voting on the amendments to the bill on June 30, the dollar index, which measures the dollar's exchange rate against six major currencies, fell by 0.54%. Currently, the dollar is experiencing its worst first-half performance since 1973, as Trump's trade and economic policies prompt global investors to reassess their risk exposure to the dollar.
In the long term, the bill is expected to continue benefiting high-income groups, while many low-income groups will face impacts on their healthcare, and some tax relief measures beneficial to low-income individuals will gradually phase out during Trump's administration. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2034, the Senate version of the bill will leave 11.8 million Americans without health insurance.
There is a widespread belief across various sectors in the U.S. that the increasingly severe prospect of wealth disparity will not only negatively impact social stability and economic growth but that the backlash from Trump's policies will ultimately have a substantive impact on his administration.
A recent survey conducted by the U.S. Consumer News & Business Channel revealed that the Trump administration's handling of tariffs, inflation, and government spending has sparked widespread dissatisfaction, with a higher percentage of respondents believing that the economy will worsen than at any other time since 2023.
According to CCTV News, there are currently about 132 million households in the U.S., and the federal government adds about $5 billion in debt each day, equivalent to nearly $38 in federal debt added per American household daily. Over a year, that amounts to about $13,800. This means the U.S. government sends a bill to each American household every day, requiring no signature and cannot be refused.