Budget groups had warned that the sweeping tax and spending plan would dramatically raise the government debt, but the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives narrowly passed it.
According to the Xinhua news agency, the bill was adopted by a vote of 215 to 214.
One Republican legislator voted “present,” meaning he did not support or oppose the bill, while all Democratic lawmakers and two Republican lawmakers voted against it.
The measure adds new tax advantages for tips, overtime, and auto loans while maintaining the corporate and individual tax cuts implemented during US President Donald Trump’s first term in 2017.
Additionally, it provides more money for deporting immigrants and raises defense expenditures.
In an effort to save federal spending, the bill also tightens the qualifying requirements for low-income people to receive food assistance and healthcare programs and repeals a number of green energy policies supported by former US President Joe Biden.
The bill is forwarded to the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, where changes are probably in store.
“The House of Representatives has approved THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL! Perhaps the most important piece of legislation in our nation’s history will ever be signed into law. Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media channel.
Budget organizations, meanwhile, have voiced serious concerns.
In an announcement released on Wednesday, Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said, “The House’s reconciliation framework has been an insult to fiscal responsibility, adding more than $3 trillion to the debt and setting up a massive cliff of tax cuts and spending expirations that could cost trillions more to extend.”
The Treasury Department’s most recent statistics shows that the US national debt has risen to above $36.2 trillion.
Speaker Mike Johnson had limited space for dissent due to the House majority’s 220-212 vote, so he made last-minute compromises to appease different Republican factions.
Johnson referred to the law as “generational, truly nation-shaping legislation,” highlighting its importance in determining the destiny of the United States.
Much of Donald Trump’s populist campaign pledges, such as higher military spending, improved border enforcement, and new tax benefits on tips and auto loans, are enshrined in the 1,100-page law.
It eliminates the green-energy incentives put in place by former US President Joe Biden and prolongs the corporate and individual tax cuts that were implemented in 2017.
On top of the current $36.2 trillion federal debt, the tax-cut package is expected to increase it by around $3.8 trillion over the next ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
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