Recently the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representative approved the One Big Beautiful (or Bad) Bill by a margin of one vote.
The 1,000 and some pages bill is a massive taxing and spending reconciliation measure that extends and adds to the tax reductions approved by the Republican controlled Congress In 2017, the first year of the first Trump Administration. While it is true that middle income earners will also enjoy an extension of reduced taxes under the bill, the greatest reductions fall to the very wealthiest among us.
The bill is now before the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate where it can pass with a simple majority vote because as a reconciliation it is not subject to the normal 60 vote requirement to end debate or a filibuster in the Senate.
The bill is too massive and complicated to dissect in this Speakout, but there is general agreement that it will provide for a wealth transfer from our nations poorest 10% to our nations wealthiest 10% as a result of reducing Medicaid and SNAP benefits serving the poor by as much as one trillion dollars while affording the very wealthy the most generous tax reductions. The bill is also estimated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and leading economists to add $4 or $5 trillion to our national debt over the next 10 years. Hundreds of billions of new spending are included in the bill for national defense and border security while sharp decreases in spending are ordered for a long list of government services including low-income public assistance, K-12 and higher education, Head Start, veterans benefits, humanities, arts, libraries, museums, national parks, health research, science research, agricultural research, green energy research and development, and support for faith based and secular organizations serving the needs of the poorest of humanity at home and abroad.
The scope of the bill reflects both traditional Republican values and Trumpism. Reducing taxes and spending in the name of fiscal conservatism is not new to the Republican Party. Of course, spending is not really being reduced under the bill, it is being increased and redistributed as noted above thus adding to the $36.2 trillion national debt.
We are being told projected annual deficits will not occur because by reducing taxes new economic activity will blossom and tax revenue will grow although annual deficits grew substantially under the same tax theory advanced by Presidents Reagan, Bush the younger and Trump I. We are also being told the revenue from the ever-changing Trump tariffs (tax increase on the American consumer) will generate new revenue to balance the budget. Trump is reported to have requested that millionaires be taxed more and for Congress not to f*** with Medicare, but traditional conservatism so far has prevailed. The Trumpism portion of the bill is found in the pettiness and pure meanness of the ordered cuts which reflect his personal retribution for what he considers to be the nasty scum liberal programs listed above that have plagued our nation for decades.
Hidden deep in the bill is a provision that would deny funding to federal courts that attempt to enforce a contempt of court finding intended to compel executive officials to adhere to provisions of the U.S. Constitution, laws of Congress and treaties of the United States. We need to understand what this is all about. It is a Congressional provision that will permit executive officials to violate the rule of law with no legal consequences. It is a shocking Congressional submission to the executive, and it violates everything we have been taught about the rule of law and separation of powers. Let us hope that the US Senators see the provision for what it is and delete it from the bill. Our overwhelming expressed opposition to the provision can influence final action by the Senate.
We can anticipate the Senate will revise, delete, and add taxing and spending provisions to the massive bill and House and Senate versions of the bill will have to be resolved before it is delivered to the White House for signature.
Approval of the bill in some form is certain, but the final shape of the massive bill can be shaped by our contacting Sens. Thune and Rounds and expressing our support or opposition to the many complex provisions. The bill will be the focal point of the 2026 House and Senate elections. The American voter will then have an opportunity to vote for or against the lawmakers who voted for or against the One Big Beautiful (or Bad) Bill. That is what representative democracy holds in theory. In the meantime, we need to stay informed and exercise our freedom of expression and the right to vote.
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