Meuser Responds to Passage of One Big Beautiful Bill

The US House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. This legislation now heads to the President’s desk for his final signature.

On Thursday, House members voted 218-214 to pass OBBB. US Rep. Dan Meuser (PA-9), who represents Schuylkill County in Congress, voted in favor of One Big Beautiful Bill.

Here is Meuser’s full statement following his vote to approve the One Big Beautiful Bill:

“The One Big Beautiful Bill is a direct response to what the American people have demanded—secure borders, lower costs, greater opportunity, and an accountable government that works for them, not against them.

“This bill makes permanent the tax relief passed in President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and prevents the largest tax increase in American history. If Congress did not pass the OBBB, we’d be guaranteeing a $4 trillion tax hike on the American people—raising taxes on 165 million taxpayers and over 33 million small businesses.

“For families in Pennsylvania, this bill’s passage means avoiding a $2,500 tax hike, preserving the full $30,000 standard deduction, and expanding the Child Tax Credit to $2,200 for 1.4 million Pennsylvania households. For small businesses—which make up 99.6% of Pennsylvania employers—it makes permanent immediate R&D expensing, 100% bonus depreciation, and the 20% small business deduction, protecting more than 960,000 job creators across the Commonwealth. It also protects 49,000 family-owned farms in the Commonwealth from having their Estate Tax exemption reduced by half.

“The OBBB supports working families in every corner of the country. It eliminates taxes on tips and overtime through 2028, creates a $6,000 senior deduction, and launches Trump Investment Accounts for every child born between 2025 and 2028—giving families a stake in our nation’s economic future from day one.

“As well, it secures our border by completing the physical barrier, expanding personnel, and giving ICE and Border Patrol the resources they need to do their job. It unleashes American energy by ending costly mandates, repealing wasteful subsidies, restarting lease sales, and restarting domestic production. And it puts our budget on a more sustainable path—delivering $1.2 trillion in mandatory savings, the largest deficit reduction package in nearly 30 years.

“And importantly, this bill strengthens Medicaid for those it was intended to support. It includes common-sense work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents, removes individuals who are ineligible under the law from the rolls, and, beginning in October 2026, it ends the federal cost-share for states that choose to include illegal immigrants in their Medicaid programs—taking serious steps to address waste, fraud, and abuse in the program. It also delivers support for rural healthcare, creating a $50 billion fund to help rural hospitals and ensure continued access to care. We’re making Medicaid more sustainable, more accountable, and more focused on delivering real results for seniors, the disabled, and low-income families.

“The Big Beautiful Bill is essential to correcting course for our country, but it is just the beginning of our work to make America as great as it can be. It restores fiscal sanity, economic certainty, and puts the needs of American families and businesses first. It reflects the America First agenda we were elected to deliver—and now, it heads to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.”

Supporters of the bill, primarily Republicans, portray it as a landmark achievement and a pillar of Trump’s second-term domestic agenda, according to a report from The Hill. They argue it will usher in a “new golden age” for the country by delivering sweeping tax cuts, boosting fossil fuel production, ramping up border security, and increasing defense spending.

House Speaker Mike Johnson described the legislation as a transformative package that strengthens the nation, claiming it fulfills long-standing promises to the American people. Despite months of GOP infighting, the bill’s passage was framed as a testament to party unity and Trump’s influential leadership, with last-minute lobbying efforts credited for flipping key votes.

Opponents, led by Democrats and joined by some Republican lawmakers, denounced the bill as a harmful and reckless giveaway to the wealthy. They argue that its steep cuts to Medicaid and nutrition programs will strip critical benefits from millions of low- and middle-income Americans, all to offset tax breaks for the rich.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries staged an 8-hour speech condemning the lack of debate and warning of the bill’s social consequences. Democrats also criticized the rollback of green energy incentives and the bill’s projected $3.3 trillion increase to the national deficit, vowing to make the legislation a central issue in the upcoming midterm elections.

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