[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 30, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4867-S4868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       One Big Beautiful Bill Act

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, if there are four words to describe 
the first 7 months of the Senate Republican majority, they would be 
``promises made; promises kept.''
  The American people gave us a mandate to secure the border, 
strengthen the economy, rein in wasteful spending, and make America 
great again, and that is exactly what we have done while working with 
President Donald Trump and his administration.
  You can start with the Laken Riley Act, which was the first bill 
signed into law, and this strengthens the Homeland Security 
Department's efforts to detain criminal illegal aliens and get them out 
of our communities.
  We passed the HALT Fentanyl Act, which empowers the administration to 
take the fight to the cartels and to end our drug crisis.
  We passed Senator Hagerty's GENIUS Act, which promotes economic 
freedom and helps ensure that America leads in the development of 
cryptocurrencies.
  We passed a $9 billion rescissions package, permanently eliminating 
wasteful spending on everything from biased media outlets to far-left 
NGOs. This is just the first of many rescissions packages that we are 
going to send to President Trump's desk.
  Now, despite Democratic obstruction, which continues even today, we 
have also confirmed more than 100 civilian nominees, who are carrying 
out President Trump's agenda, and we are continuing to fight for 
confirmation votes to make certain that the President has his entire 
team in place to serve the needs of the American people.
  Most importantly, we did pass the One Big Beautiful Bill. It is now 
signed into law. There is so much good that is in this legislation that 
benefits all of the American people.
  When I talk to Tennesseans, one of the most important things for them 
is the permanent extension of President Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs 
Act. By extending these provisions, Republicans prevented the largest 
tax increase in history. It would have been a $4 trillion tax hike. 
Now, that is more than just a number. When you look at what goes into 
that $4 trillion tax hike, it would have meant fewer jobs, fewer 
opportunities, and fewer small businesses getting the doors open and 
hanging out the shingle.
  Just the other day, I was talking to a small business owner in 
Tennessee, and we were discussing the Big Beautiful Bill and the 2017 
law, and he went on to talk about the 2017 tax cuts when they first 
went in. This enabled him to hire two new employees, two individuals 
that were desperate for work.
  Bear in mind, we had come through the Obama years with high 
inflation, with a shrinking economy, and the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 
was really that spur our economy needed to get moving.
  Now, this gentleman talked about these two employees and the impact 
they had made on his business. He was so concerned that if those tax 
cuts expired, he would struggle to keep these individuals on the 
payroll. His take was that if we did not pass the Big Beautiful Bill--
make the tax cuts permanent, restore bonus depreciation, interest 
expensing, R&D expensing--that for so many small businesses like his 
there in Tennessee, the results would be catastrophic.
  But what we do know is that with the One Big Beautiful Bill, millions 
of small businesses can now see their way forward to grow their 
workforce, especially with some of the new provisions that are there: 
No tax on tips. No tax on overtime.
  As one restaurant owner in Knox County recently said to me, the 
reduced taxes on tips will help his servers get about $1,000 more in 
their pocket every single year. He also knows that helps in making it 
competitive when you are trying to recruit people to come work in the 
restaurant business.
  A server over in Chattanooga said that these tax cuts will be 
``beneficial for every server.'' ``We did earn that money,'' they said. 
So they think it is great that they are going to be able to keep that 
money in their pocket.
  These tax cuts are just some of the provisions in that bill that will 
ensure that more Americans are going to keep their hard-earned money.
  What we do know is that because of this law--and it is now the law of 
the land; it was signed on July 4--we know that Tennessee households 
are going to save about $2,600 per household, per year, on their tax 
filing.
  Millions of seniors can now count on a bonus enhanced deduction of 
$6,000. That is $6,000, every senior, every year. That would offset 
what they have paid in income taxes on their Social Security benefits.
  American families will benefit from a permanent $2,200 enhanced child 
tax credit. Working moms and dads are going to benefit from the 
employer-provided childcare tax credit, as more employers move forward 
to offer childcare for their employees.
  Family farms can pass their legacy of hard work on to the next 
generation

[[Page S4868]]

due to much needed death tax relief. We now see that raised--$15 
million for an individual, $30 million for a couple filing jointly.
  Tennessee small businesses make up 99.5 percent of businesses in our 
State. That is 99.5 percent. They are small businesses. They will keep 
their tax breaks and be able to hire more workers.
  While these tax cuts will benefit all Americans, it is hard-working 
people--middle-income workers, lower income workers--who are going to 
see the largest reduction in Federal taxes as a percentage of their 
previous tax bill. After 4 years of Bidenflation, this is much needed 
relief for hard-working Americans.
  Of course, tax cuts are just one part of the Big Beautiful Bill. We 
secured the largest ever investment in border security to complete the 
border wall and hire thousands of Border Patrol agents. We strengthened 
Medicaid for those who truly need it by enacting commonsense work 
requirements for able-bodied, childless adults. We restored fiscal 
sanity by eliminating hundreds of billions of dollars in far-left Green 
New Deal spending. These are huge wins for the American people.
  The good news is that President Trump and congressional Republicans 
are only getting started on delivering on our mandate to make America 
great again.
  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. TILLIS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.