WASHINGTON—The House Rules Committee on July 2 advanced the Senate-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, putting it one step closer to getting it to President Donald Trump’s desk and delivering on his signature legislative agenda.
Norman told The Epoch Times on July 1, following the Senate passage, that he will vote against the legislation when it is brought before the House on July 2. Norman and other fiscal hawks have called for at least $2 trillion in spending cuts, whereas the bill delivers $1.5 trillion in cuts.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can only afford to lose three Republicans on party-line votes. In May, the House narrowly passed its version of the bill by a single vote.
During the meeting, the committee’s chairwoman, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), praised the bill.
She said the measure includes “tax relief for working families; reducing waste, fraud and abuse in government programs so they remain focused on those who truly need the programs, [and] a historic investment designed to strengthen our armed forces [and] protect our borders and keep Americans safe.”
The committee’s ranking member, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), criticized the bill.
“A family making less than $50,000 a year? They get less than $1 a day in tax cuts,” he said. “You can’t buy a damn cup of coffee with that. But those making $1 million or more? They’ll get more than $250 a day in tax breaks … that’s how rigged this bill is to benefit the wealthy.”
Senate Democrats put forth dozens of motions and amendments during a more than 24-hour vote-a-rama that began after 9 a.m. ET on June 30.
The bill includes making permanent the 2017 tax cuts; allocating money for border security, such as finishing Trump’s wall along the southern border; $150 billion for the military, and cuts and reforms to Medicaid.
The Freedom Caucus, a conservative group in the House, has criticized the Senate version over its price tag.
Speaking to reporters after the passage in the Senate, Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said, “We’ll see,” when asked whether the House can pass the Senate version.
“I appreciate the narrow margins they have over there, the challenge of the speaker and his team have in front of it, but I think we gave them a really strong product. I think we took what they sent us and strengthened and improved upon it,” Thune said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who was one of the holdouts, said that she ultimately voted in favor of the bill so the House could improve it. She said there were two options: kill the bill or make it better.
“We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ (You know who you are!), and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk. We are on schedule—Let’s keep it going, and be done before you and your family go on a July 4th vacation. The American People need and deserve it. They sent us here to, GET IT DONE!” he said.
During a press conference following the Senate passage, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act “dangerous” and warned it “will hurt everyday Americans and reward their billionaire donors.”
In a statement, House GOP leadership said it is ready to pass the bill.
“Republicans were elected to do exactly what this bill achieves: secure the border, make tax cuts permanent, unleash American energy dominance, restore peace through strength, cut wasteful spending, and return to a government that puts Americans first,” said Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and House GOP Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.).
