By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Republicans will seek to push President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill forward on Saturday with a procedural vote that could kick off a marathon weekend session.
The bill would extend the 2017 tax cuts that were Trump’s main first-term legislative achievement, cut other taxes and boost spending on the military and border security. Nonpartisan analysts estimate a version passed by the House of Representatives last month would add about $3 trillion to the nation’s $36.2-trillion government debt.
Senate Republicans have been deeply divided over plans to partly offset that bill’s heavy hit to the deficit, including by cutting the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income Americans.
Republicans are using a legislative maneuver to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to advance most legislation in the 100-member chamber. Their narrow margins in the Senate and House mean they can afford no more than three Republican no votes to advance a bill that Democrats are united in opposing, saying it takes a heavy toll on low- and middle-income Americans to benefit the wealthy.
Trump has pushed for Congress to pass the bill by the July 4 Independence Day holiday. The White House said early this month that the legislation, which Trump calls the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” would reduce the annual deficit by $1.4 trillion.
While a handful of Republicans in both chambers have voiced opposition to some of the bill’s elements, this Congress has so far not rejected any of the president’s legislative priorities.
A successful vote to open debate would kick off a lengthy process that could run into Sunday, as Democrats unveil a series of amendments that are unlikely to pass in a chamber Republicans control 53-47.
TAX BREAKS, SPENDING CUTS
Democrats will focus their firepower with amendments aimed at reversing Republican spending cuts to programs that provide government-backed healthcare to the elderly, poor and disabled, as well as food aid to low-income families.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer summarized the reasons for his party’s opposition to the bill at a Friday press conference: “It has the biggest cuts to food funding ever” and could result in more than 2 million people losing their jobs, as he highlighted the Republican rollback of clean energy initiatives ushered in by the Biden administration.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune stressed the tax-cut components during a Friday speech to the Senate.
“The centerpiece of our bill is permanent tax relief for the American people,” he said as he showcased legislation that contains a new tax break for senior citizens and other taxpayers. The measure, Thune said, will “help get our economy firing on all cylinders again.”
It also would raise the Treasury Department’s statutory borrowing limit by trillions of dollars to stave off a first-ever default on its debt in coming months.
If the Senate manages to pass Trump’s top legislative goal by early next week, the House would be poised to quickly apply the final stamp of approval, sending it to Trump for signing into law.
But with Senate Republicans struggling to find enough spending cuts to win the support of the party’s far right, Trump on Friday loosened the leash a bit, saying his July 4 deadline for wrapping it all up was “important” but “it’s not the end-all.”
Among the most difficult disagreements Senate Republicans struggled to resolve late on Friday was the size of a cap on deductions for state and local taxes and a Medicaid cost-savings that could hobble rural hospitals.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone and William Mallard)
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