[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 118 (Wednesday, July 9, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4268-S4269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       One Big Beautiful Bill Act

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, on Independence Day, it truly was an 
Independence Day for the citizens of this Nation. And our President, 
President Trump, made history. He signed into law the One Big Beautiful 
Bill, a once-in-a-generation victory that fulfills his promise to make 
America great again.
  Across the board, this legislation will do so much for the citizens 
of this great Nation. And, of course, it will have such a positive 
impact on the lives of hard-working Tennesseans. It provides the 
largest tax cut in our Nation's history and that, no doubt, is going to 
supercharge our economy.
  Now, for the State of Tennessee, Tennessee households will save an 
average of $2,600 each year in taxes. The families in our State will 
see an average take-home pay boost of over $10,000 each year.
  These are numbers that we have received from the Council of Economic 
Advisers. By providing the largest ever investment in border security, 
this legislation empowers the Department of Homeland Security to 
complete President Trump's border wall and also to hire thousands of 
Border Patrol agents.
  By eliminating hundreds of billions of dollars in far-left Green New 
Deal spending, it puts our Nation on a more sustainable fiscal path. By 
bolstering our military, it ensures that we can, indeed, achieve peace 
through strength. By enacting commonsense permitting reforms, it helps 
to make American energy dominant again.
  Now, these are some of the top-line accomplishments. For months, 
Republicans worked to include as many wins as possible in the One Big 
Beautiful Bill. I have long fought to eliminate taxes on Social 
Security, which is why I am so pleased that we were able to secure a 
$6,000 enhanced deduction for each of our seniors. And that is an 
annual deduction--$6,000 per individual, per year. It also makes 
permanent the enhanced child tax credit while expanding access to 
childcare provided by employers.
  These measures, which I have argued for, will empower working parents 
to keep their jobs while having the time to rear their children.
  Year after year, I have introduced legislation that would require our 
Border Patrol to DNA test and fingerprint children who arrive at our 
Nation's borders without their parents. These measures would help end 
the modern-day slavery of human trafficking, and they were signed into 
law as part of the Big Beautiful Bill.
  To support our military and our research communities in Tennessee, I 
was pleased to secure increased funding for our Oak Ridge National Lab 
and the U.S. Coast Guard in Memphis.
  The legislation also levels the playing field for Tennessee's 
independent music creators by including my HITS Act, which provides 
them with additional tax relief for writing off their recording 
expenses.
  In short, Tennesseans and Americans have so much to celebrate with 
this legislation, but because it was delivered by President Trump and 
Republicans, our friends across the aisle have resorted to 
fearmongering and lying about it.
  Some have claimed that the Big Beautiful Bill will kick Tennessee 
families off Medicaid. That is false. In fact, Tennesseans will see 
zero cuts to their Medicaid benefits. Instead, the legislation actually 
strengthens Medicaid by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in a 
program that saw more than $1 trillion in improper payments over the 
last decade.
  Those numbers come from a government audit. Twenty-five percent of 
the payments that are made by Medicaid are improper payments. So by 
placing work requirements, which are common sense, on childless, able-
bodied adults in Medicaid expansion States, it protects benefits for 
vulnerable Americans who rely on Medicaid, including pregnant women, 
seniors, low-income families, and people with disabilities.
  It also removes Federal benefits for more than 1 million illegal 
aliens who are receiving free healthcare paid for courtesy of the U.S. 
taxpayer.
  Other Democrats have claimed that the One Big Beautiful Bill is a tax 
cut

[[Page S4269]]

for billionaires, and that also is false. In fact, low-income workers 
will see the largest percentage reduction in their tax liability.
  In Tennessee, it will prevent the potential loss of 129,000 jobs, 
$11.5 billion in wages, and $22.5 billion in GDP.
  Some Democrats have even claimed that the One Big Beautiful Bill 
fails to provide tax relief to seniors on Social Security. As I 
mentioned earlier in my remarks, the legislation provides a $6,000 
bonus deduction to millions of low- and middle-income seniors.
  Now, it is really unfortunate for the Democrats as they continue to 
try to demean the bill that is now the law of the land. The American 
people will see through their lies because they will see all of the 
benefits that are coming from this legislation. When they do, one thing 
will be clear: This legislation that is now the law of the land, the 
One Big Beautiful Bill, is a victory for hard-working American 
citizens.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.