Senate Begins 'Vote-a-Rama' as Fate of the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Hangs in the Balance
The Senate began a “vote-a-rama’ Monday, during which Democrats are expected to offer a myriad of amendments to slow down passage of President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Additionally, Democrats hope to highlight what they see as problems with the legislation and perhaps still persuade two more Republican senators to oppose its final passage.
The GOP can lose the votes of three senators and still have Vice President J.D. Vance break a 50-50 tie, if necessary.
The bill cleared an important procedural vote 51-49 on Saturday. GOP Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina voted against the legislation, citing its impact on the federal deficit and cuts to Medicaid, respectively.
Following the procedural vote Saturday, allowing debate to begin on the bill, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded the document, which is over 940 pages long, be read in its entirety, which took 16 hours, CBS News reported.
Schumer then promised on Monday that the Democrats would bring “one amendment after the other” to further delay the bill’s passage.
He offered the first amendment, which was a motion to appeal the ruling of Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who determined that continuing the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act rates is the current policy baseline and not an added cost of the legislation, as the Congressional Budget Office had assumed in its calculations. It was voted down 53 to 47.
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Vote-a-Rama 🧵
(Marathon session of Amendment votes on Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill)Senate kicks off first vote on Senate Minority Leader Schumer motion to appeal ruling of Budget Chair Sen. Graham (R-SC) amendment to the OBBB doesn’t violate the 1974 Congressional Budget… pic.twitter.com/j6jV5LLyB3
— Mona Salama (@ByMonaSalama) June 30, 2025
Schumer then followed up that amendment with another to return the bill back to the finance committee for review of health care costs. That amendment was also voted down 53 to 47.
Amendment #1️⃣
Senate Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY) Amendment → Motion to Commit “One Big Beautiful Bill” back to the Finance Committee with instructions regarding Health Care Costs
Schumer Amendment was rejected 47-53 along party lines pic.twitter.com/1nFDsj3BdZ
— Mona Salama (@ByMonaSalama) June 30, 2025
Democrats and some Republicans are also expected to offer amendments in opposition to the OBBB phasing out green energy tax credits.
The OBBB builds on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by increasing the standard deduction for taxpayers by $1,000 for single filers and the child tax credit to a maximum of $2,500. Additionally, the bill fulfills Trump’s campaign promises of no tax on tips and no tax on overtime. Further, it increases the standard deduction for seniors by $4,000, meaning most of the Social Security income an average recipient receives will be federal income tax-free.
Trump emphasized the importance of passing the legislation, saying if Congress fails to do so, most of the 2017 tax cuts will expire, resulting in a 68 percent tax increase.
“It’s very important. If we don’t have it, there’s a 68% tax increase,” says @POTUS on the One Big Beautiful Bill. pic.twitter.com/jw1panQS0u
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 29, 2025
PBS congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins agreed it would be the largest tax increase in the nation’s history, but said the 68 percent Trump is referring to is approximately the percentage of Americans who would see their taxes go up.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed the concerns about what impact the OBBB may have on deficits during a Bloomberg interview Monday.
.@SecScottBessent: The One Big Beautiful Bill is “an 11% cut in non-discretionary spending and we’re going to go from there… We are going to bend the curve, bring the debt levels down.” pic.twitter.com/jYNE7O4tPc
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 30, 2025
He noted the legislation has “an 11 percent cut in non-discretionary spending, and we’re going to go from there … We are going to bend the curve, bring the debt levels down.”
Bessent added, “I’m a fiscal hawk. I’ve had a lot of very good meetings with that group, and I think we’re all on the same page about how to grow the economy while controlling and bringing down expenses.”
The vote-a-rama may last until early Tuesday morning, with a potential vote on the bill overall as soon as Wednesday, which would meet Trump’s July 4 goal, according to CBS News.
The OBBB will then return to the House, where Republican leadership will look to pass the bill with whatever changes the Senate incorporated.
The House passed its version of the legislation by one vote last month.
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