US Senate narrowly passes One Big Beautiful Bill with huge deficit implications

NEW YORK, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The US Senate on Tuesday narrowly passed its version of the Trump administration's tax and spending measure dubbed One Big Beautiful Bill, which is expected to add around $3.3 trillion of deficit through 2034.

The Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill by 51 to 50 after a marathon voting process that started Monday morning. US Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie by casting a vote.

Senators spent the past few days reading out and debating the 940-page bill, which was unveiled late Friday.

The legislation includes more spending on border security, defense and energy production, with cuts to healthcare, nutrition programs and electric vehicle subsidies. The bill extends US President Donald Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is set to expire at the end of 2025.

The mega-bill would add about $3.3 trillion of deficit in the next decade, higher than the $2.8 trillion of deficit in the version passed by the House of Representatives on May 22, according to the latest estimate by the Congressional Budget Office on Sunday.

Moreover, the House of Representatives needs to approve the revisions to its version of the bill which was passed on May 22.

Earlier, Trump urged lawmakers to pass the bill before July 4.

The cuts of spending on healthcare and nutrition programs and the extension of tax cuts drew criticism from Democrats and opposition from a few key Republicans in the Senate.

The bill is "the most dangerous piece of legislation in the modern history of our country" and it is a gift to the billionaire class while causing massive pain for working families, said Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont in a social media post on Sunday.

"This bill is literally a death sentence for low-income and working-class people," said the independent senator in debating on the floor of the Senate.

"Republicans are about to make a mistake on healthcare and betraying a promise" on Medicaid, said Republican Senator Thom Tillis from North Carolina on Sunday.

Tillis voted against a motion to proceed with the spending package on Saturday and announced his retirement plan on Sunday after Trump attacked him and suggested backing a primary challenger to the two-term senator.

A few more Republican senators also opposed the bill over proposed cuts to Medicaid, with Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski voting with Democrats on several key amendments to the bill on Monday.

It was reported that three Republicans opposed the bill in the final voting, including Tillis, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, which only allows for very few opponents or holdouts from themselves.