After 15 hours and 55 minutes of that reading, lawmakers began debating the measure today.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (Republican-South Dakota) said he hopes to pass the legislation as soon as tomorrow so it can be sent back to the House for final approval in time to beat Trump’s self-imposed Independence Day deadline.
The House passed a version of Trump’s agenda in May.
But the legislation is growing increasingly unpopular among voters, and its price tag continues to rise.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported today that it would raise the US national debt by US$3.3 trillion ($5.4t) over 10 years.
That estimate does not include increased borrowing costs, which would be substantial because the measure, even with spending cuts, is largely deficit-financed.
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted this month found that Americans oppose the bill by an almost two-to-one margin and that 63% said the measure’s debt impact was “unacceptable”.
Senator Thom Tillis (Republican-North Carolina) declared today that he would retire from the Senate when his term ends in 2026, a day after he spoke in opposition to the legislation.
“It shows you the risks the Republican majority has because the bill is so unpopular, not only in North Carolina, but in the country,” Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (New York) told the Washington Post. “This is bad news for their majority.”
The bill would extend expiring tax cuts from Trump’s first term and include new deductions the White House hopes will spur economic growth.
It includes a trio of Trump’s populist campaign promises - no taxes on tips, overtime wages or auto loan interest - and adds US$6000 to the standard deduction for seniors. During the 2024 campaign, Trump pitched ending taxes on Social Security benefits, but the idea was not included in the bill.
For the private sector, the legislation would give corporations larger deductions for research and development, depreciating assets and interest on large purchases.
To offset the cost, Republicans have proposed steep cuts to Medicaid, the state and federal health insurance programme for low-income individuals and disabled people, as well as Snap, the anti-hunger Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme formerly known as food stamps.
The bill would cut US$1.1t from health benefits programmes, according to CBO. And, by 2034, nearly 12 million people would lose health insurance coverage.
“We don’t pay people in this country to be lazy,” Senator Markwayne Mullin (Republican-Oklahoma) said on NBC.
“We want to give them an opportunity, and when they’re going through a hard time, we want to give them a helping hand. That’s what Medicaid was designed for, and it’s, unfortunately, it’s been abused.”
The largest budget cuts would come from provider taxes, which are duties that states charge medical providers as a roundabout way of collecting more federal Medicaid dollars.
Some in the GOP wish to use that policy to force states to jettison some immigrants from benefits rolls, leaving other lawmakers concerned about the finances of rural hospitals, which rely heavily on Medicaid patients.
“This programme was created to help pregnant women, children, and seniors, in America and those with disabilities,” Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (Republican-Idaho) said on the Senate floor. “We are continuing to protect them. They will not lose benefits. And the politics of fear that you hear constantly are simply false.”
Still, the cuts to Medicaid have become a sticking point among Republicans, both within the Senate and between senators and House members.
The House’s version of the bill was far less expensive and far less punitive on Medicaid. The Senate overhauled that legislation in ways that some House members now find unrecognisable, and the measure could have trouble securing support when it returns to the lower chamber.
In the Senate, though, lawmakers who represent states that use provider taxes or have a large number of rural healthcare facilities have warned the provision is fatal to the success of the bill.
“Let’s watch and be careful that we don’t cut into bone, don’t hurt our rural hospitals,” Senator Jim Justice (Republican-West Virginia) said. “If we do that, it’s going to be a bad day.”
Tillis voted with Democrats on yesterday to block moving forward on the measure.
Senators Lisa Murkowski (Republican-Alaska) and Susan Collins (Republican-Maine) have expressed similar concerns, though they voted to clear the bill’s procedural hurdle.
Senator Rand Paul (Republican-Kentucky) is steadfastly opposed to the bill over deficit concerns, meaning the GOP can lose only two more votes to keep the measure afloat. If that happens, Vice-President JD Vance would be forced to break the Senate’s tie.
