In the end, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill, a budget and priorities package crafted by Republicans. Vice President JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote. All Democrats voted against the bill, along with Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine.
Lasting about 28 hours, it was the longest vote-a-rama in Senate history. The bill, being a reconciliation bill, only required a simple majority.
The bill contains the largest tax cut for middle-class and working-class families. There will be no tax on tips or overtime hours worked. There’s a massive investment in border security and removing illegal criminal aliens.
The bill extends the Trump tax cuts from his first administration, doubles the child tax credit to $2,000 from $1,000, doubles the standard deduction, creates the 20% small business deduction, and doubles the death tax exemption.
“The Senate’s passage of HR1 marks a turning point for energy independence and Alaskan prosperity. By streamlining permitting and unlocking access to our vast oil, gas, and critical mineral reserves, this bill gives Alaska the tools to power America while creating high-paying jobs for our communities. It’s a win for national security, a win for our state’s economy, and a win for every family struggling with high energy costs,” said Brett Huber, of Power the Future.
Nagruk Harcharek, president of the Voice of Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE) sent a statement of support:
“The Senate’s vote to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill Act included provisions that will restore the opportunity to have local control and self-determination in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). The reconciliation bill offers opportunities to strengthen our economy, invest in our communities, and uphold our Indigenous culture. Today’s development reaffirms that Alaska’s North Slope – which the North Slope Iñupiat have stewarded for thousands of years – is vital to our nation. Going forward, it is imperative that federal and congressional decisionmakers engage regularly and often with our regional and local elected leaders to ensure that our Indigenous perspective is included in the policymaking process. Through cooperation, we can drive forward lasting progress for America and the North Slope Iñupiat.”
Reportedly, Murkowski won concessions for rural hospitals, doubling the amount from $25 billion to $50 billion.
The bill must return to the House of Representatives for a final agreement on changes made in the Senate.
President Trump, in advance of the final votes, wrote that the OBBB, as it is known, “gives the largest Tax Cuts and Border Security ever, Jobs by the Millions, Military/Vets increases, and so much more,” and warned that failure to pass the bill would result in a “whopping 68% Tax increase, the largest in history!!!”
Before the bill passed, Sen. Chuck Schumer was successful in a motion to remove the name “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” from the bill’s title.
This story will be updated.
No wonder Musk is pissed! Wasted a bunch of his own time finding all kinds of waste fraud and abuse and Senators like Murkowski pack a bunch of it right back into this bill.
There is a reason why Musk left his position trying to make the government more efficient to focus on landing humans on Mars. It is easier to send people to Mars.
A lot of subsidies to “green energy” were removed, this impacts his bottom line which explains his dislike. Much of the left has tried to portray this bill as tax cuts to billionaires when in fact it maintains the current tax structure while adding more tax cuts for the working class, all while leveling the playing field for big energy companies that promote Chinese manufactured goods.
LISA BE A LADY ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIFE & RESIGN TODAY IMMEDIATELY WE THE PEOPLE COME TO MAGA IN THE NAME OF JESUS. YOUR SO EXPOSED TO ALL RESIGN
MAGA is sacrilege.
Sacrilege: violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred.
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What is sacred in your opinion, Whidbey? And, how does MAGA violate or misuse that?
Enquiring minds want to know.
Wrapping their cruelty in a flag and a cross.
What cruelty?
Vote on principles – yes, I can be bought off, those are my principles.
The problem with voting on principles is Princess doesn’t have any.
She should put up a sign vote for sale to highest bidder.
If we ever do have a Constitutional Convention, we need to amend it to let us recall worthless opportunists in the Senate.
Blah blah blah Lisa is “so concerned” but caved and voted for it. There is nothing left except partisanship.
AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE TIRED OF THIS.
Change starts at home Whidbey. Show us all how to put partisanship aside.
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Funny how the worst offenders are so quick to blame others while ignoring their own behavior.
FYI I have voted Republican many more times in my life than Democratic, and I used to be a proper Conservative (Bill Buckley and all that…). But once MAGA and Trump came on the scene I could no longer stay on that course. I’m always open to compromise, except when the opposition is unethical in the extreme and where cruelty is their objective. And that’s pretty much all I see from the MAGA cult. Give me a moderate, centrist Republican and they just might get my vote. But not the current bunch of misfits. They need to be exposed, shamed, and voted out of office.
Dona nobis pacem.
I do not really care how you voted in the past, or today, or plan to vote in the future.
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You are one of the most partisan individuals commenting here on MRAK. You make me look like I am fair and balanced. You do not have to be a card carrying member of a party to be partisan.
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Being an anti-Trumper is partisan enough. If the man cured cancer, you would be all bent out of shape because he put a bunch of doctors out of work.
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It is not Trump versus whidbey, so put your big girl panties on and stop being such a closed minded person. No… sorry, you are not always right, too bad, so sad.
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Finally, you want a moderate centrist Republican, you got on in Murkowski. Oh… no.. wait, she is basically a democrat. Then again, there is Romney… damn… same situation. I got it, how about McConnell… shoot…I know, Lindsey Graham… Oh… look. All of the centrist moderate republicans are actually just Democrats with (R) behind their names.
Chuckie is a kill joy.
Nepotic Diva tells House not to vote on bill she just voted for…
‘https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republican-senator-tells-house-not-to-vote-on-bill-she-just-voted-for/ar-AA1HMtfb?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=b05a5a2d94034f809c9cf585b25f28be&ei=62
Summer is good for you whidbey.
Poor whidbey is devolving into a meaningless insult machine. He needs to step back, and prioritize his ideals. Based on his comments here on MRAK, it appears his highest priority is wasting bandwidth to publish comments that denigrate anyone to the right of his position. I see little else.
Recall Lisa
When Murkowski was asked to respond to Rand Paul’s assertion that her YES vote for the OBBB was cast to direct $millions$ to Alaska, she feigned outrage worthy of an academy award!
Make no mistake folks, despite her AYE vote, which I do appreciate for different reasons than hers, Lisa is a leftist, which makes her a RINO! Rand’s assertion is correct though as rural Alaska will keep sucking $$.
Rand cast a NO vote on the OBBB which could have resulted in facilitating a huge TAX increase on you and me, and a greatly reduced ability to fund the deportations of illegal aliens! The calculus may have been that the tie breaker VP vote would be enough for passage without Rand, so he could save face, but the mug shot of Rand, Collins and Tillis is rather disturbing.