U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed large-scale tax cut bill, called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," is facing setbacks in the Senate voting process. Trump is demanding the Republican Party approve the bill by signing it on the upcoming Independence Day, July 4, but the Democratic Party is continuing discussions and delaying the vote.
According to CNN and others on the 29th (local time), the U.S. Senate officially began discussions on the bill at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., starting in the afternoon. Currently, the Republican Party holds 53 of the 100 seats in the Senate, and it passed the first hurdle for the bill’s approval, the "procedural vote" (the stage where it is decided whether to move the proposed bill to the next procedure), with 51 votes in favor and 49 against.
In response, the Democratic Party mobilized procedural objections, demanding a reading of the entire bill, which caused some delay in the discussions. Senate clerks had to read the bill over 16 hours from 11:08 p.m. to 3:03 p.m. the next day. The bill spans 940 pages.
After the discussions commenced, it is expected to take up to 20 hours. Each party can use 10 hours for the discussions, and the Democratic Party is expected to allocate the full 10 hours. According to foreign media, it is uncertain how much time the Republican Party will lead the discussions.
Once the discussions conclude, the Senate will enter the "Vote-a-Rama" procedure, known as the "voting marathon." In this procedure, senators can propose amendments without limit and put them to a vote; already, Republican Senator Susan Collins from Maine has indicated she will submit amendments.
The Democratic Party is expressing complete opposition to the bill, while there are ongoing disputes within the Republican Party. If the bill is enacted, it would result in a tax cut amounting to $3.8 trillion (approximately 5,183 trillion won), and in order to cover this, budget cuts to welfare policies such as Medicaid (a public health assistance program for vulnerable groups) and food stamps (a program supporting food consumption for low-income individuals) are inevitable.
The final vote on the bill could take place as early as July 1, but there is a possibility of further delays as another vote in the House of Representatives will be required.