A piece of legislation touted by President Donald Trump as the “big, beautiful bill” may have passed the House of Representatives, but is finding more opposition from the upper chamber.
According to The Hill, Republicans senators are hoping the 1,116-page bill gets a rewrite on a couple different fronts, including Medicaid reform, clean energy incentives and the debt that may result from the bill.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has already spoken out against the bill because it raises the federal debt limit by $4 trillion over the next two years.
“We’ve never, ever voted to raise the debt ceiling this much. It’ll be a historic increase. I think it’s not good for conservatives to be on the record supporting a $4 trillion or $5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling,” he said. “The anticipated deficits per year now will be $2 trillion a year for the next two years. It’s not conservative, I can’t support it.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said there are already enough votes against the bill to stop it in its tracks.
“There should be a goal of this Republican Senate budget resolution to reduce the deficit not increase it. We’re increasing it. It’s a non-starter from my standpoint,” he said.
Johnson added he is ready to vote no.
“I actually want to reduce the deficit,” he said.
The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will add $3.8 trillion to the debt. Johnson thinks it will be more like $4 trillion.
“I think I’ve got at least four right now that this is not going anywhere,” Johnson said about the no votes. “Three in addition to myself. We’ve got the four we need.”
