One Big Beautiful Bill Passes

Vice President J.D. Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to approve the BBB in the Senate; today, the House passed the bill — despite the substantial changes in the Senate — by 218 to 214. The president will sign it tomorrow, July 4, the deadline he imposed.

Perhaps this will give the Democrats a needed boost. We'll have to await the 2026 midterm election to see whose narrative prevails: the Republican's extending the tax cuts and securing the border or the Democrat's taking from the poor (cutting Medicaid and SNAP) to give tax breaks to the rich.

Not content to wait for the midterms, I shared my views with Senator Britt and Representative Rogers:

The passage of the misnamed One Big Beautiful Bill Act is the low point of my 72 years as an American. A corrupt president and a sycophant, Republican-led Congress have enacted legislation that robs services from the poor and infirm to reward the richest Americans, who do not need financial support yet provide the money to line Congressional pockets.

With the passage of this legislation, your own Congressional Budget Office estimates at least 11 million will lose health insurance due to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts. More than 3 million will lose SNAP benefits. These numbers belie the absurd Republican claim that the bill will only reduce waste and fraud.

Beyond Congress ignoring the adverse impact on so many Americans, the CBO estimates the bill will raise the federal debt by some $3.4 trillion to 124 percent of GDP. Increasing the debt used to be the third rail for Republicans — at least when a Democrat was president.

I cannot fathom your “proud” vote to support this legislation and your fealty to a corrupt, authoritarian administration that is desecrating the founding principles and Constitution.

Given your disregard for the values that have been the bedrock of my life as an American. I will do all I can to elect non-MAGA representatives to the Senate and House who will faithfully serve in a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

King Trump and the Republican Congress. Image generated by ChatGPT.

Kill The One Big Beautiful Bill

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act — yes, that's the actual name — is moving through Congress, approved by the House and now being considered by the Senate.

With so many provisions in the legislation, passing it in the House was a near miracle, aided by urging with threats from President Trump. The Senate has started changing the bill while being pushed to pass their version and send it back to the House for approval in time for the president to sign it by July 4.

With significant policy divisions among Republicans in the Senate and between the Senate and the House, passage is uncertain. Yet the president's coaxing and threats that moved it through the House have given it momentum. More coaxing and threats aimed at hesitant Republican Senators may well get the bill through the Senate, with the same strategy used to gain House approval of the Senate's bill.

Despite the odds of betting against the fealty of Congress, I've urged my Senators to vote "no."

Please vote against President Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” Big, yes. Beautiful, no.

The CBO estimates the version approved by the House will increase the debt by $2.8 trillion. Increasing the nation’s debt is supposedly antithetical to Republican orthodoxy, justifying a vote against the bill.

Attempting to minimize this increase, 8–11 million people will lose Medicaid benefits, millions more who receive SNAP assistance. This is hardly just waste, fraud, and abuse. The cuts will hurt the lowest-income Americans to benefit those with the highest incomes. Another reason to vote against the bill.

The provision to shield AI companies from state and local laws for 10 years will simply enable AI companies to exploit the public and the economy without accountability for the adverse effects, which will likely be irreversible. Historically, technology companies have not addressed the negative impact on society until forced by regulation, often too late. Consider the impact social media has on our children. Congress lacks the intelligence and the will to effectively manage AI. Our only hope lies with the states. Yet another reason to vote “no.”

There are numerous other adverse effects hidden within this bill that will take years to discover and will be difficult to undo.

I urge you to vote “no” and demonstrate that Congress is an equal branch of government, not simply a rubber stamp for the president.

The Big Beautiful Bill

President Trump's so-called big beautiful bill to extend the tax cuts from his first administration and pay for them through cuts to federal spending — programs like Medicaid and SNAP — is struggling to be birthed by the House. Not hopeful that it will die in the House, I felt obligated to express my opposition to my Congressional representative:

Representative Rogers,

While House Republicans were holding middle-of-the-night hearings on the president’s so-called “big beautiful bill,” the CBO was analyzing the impact of the legislation, if passed:

The CBO estimates the tax provisions in the proposed bill will add some $3.8 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.

After decades of Republican arguments during Democratic administrations that the federal debt must be reduced, the Republican hypocrisy is unfortunate, although not surprising. The tax cuts of the Bush and first Trump administrations fueled the debt. Why should we expect the second Trump administration to change behavior?

It’s not what you say, but rather what you do.

The CBO analysis also projects that the top 10% of earners will receive about 65% of the tax cut benefits. The cuts to social programs like Medicaid and SNAP will cause households in the lowest quintile to lose about $1,035 in income next year. That’s substantial for low-income Alabamians, who are living on the margins.

Not surprisingly, the CBO analysis contradicts Republican claims that the bill will not cut benefits, that it will only eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.

As expected, you’re taking from the poor to further enrich the rich. We see no consideration of increasing the tax rate on the wealthiest Americans, who can afford to support the country that has enabled their success.

I urge you to have the courage to oppose this legislation. You were elected by the people of your district, not by President Trump.

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Addensum: The House narrowly passed the bill on Thursday, May 22, by a vote of 215-214. All 212 Democrats present voted against the bill, joined by two Republicans. One Republican representative voted "present," and two did not vote. Mike Rogers supported the bill.

The bill moves on to the Senate.