Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, joined from left by, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks to reporters after passage of the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday. (AP Photo)

CHARLESTON — President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is now on its way back to the U.S. House of Representatives after Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie in the U.S. Senate, but both U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice voted on the prevailing side.

H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed the Senate Tuesday just after noon in a 51-50 vote, with Vance performing his constitutional duty to break the tie. The vote came Tuesday after the 940-page bill was read in full Sunday into Monday, and after senators held an amendment vote-a-rama Monday into Tuesday morning.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, named such for Trump’s nickname for the bill, is a budget reconciliation package. The bill is the primary vehicle for extending the 2017 tax cuts put in place during Trump’s first term, which would return $2 trillion to taxpayers over a 10-year period. The bill includes more than $1.3 trillion in cuts to help pay for the extended tax cuts.

The bill eliminates taxes on tips or overtime with caps, as well as tax deductions for taxpayers in certain high-tax states. It has increases in child tax credits and creates savings accounts for children aged 8 or younger. The bill provides billions in new defense and border/immigration enforcement spending. It also rolls back many provisions in the 2023 Inflation Reduction Act.

“The Republican Reconciliation bill is a clear reflection of our priorities: securing our borders, rebuilding our military, preventing the largest tax increase in U.S. history, and unleashing American energy,” said Capito, R-W.Va., in a statement following the vote Tuesday. “I was proud to vote in favor of this common-sense legislation that not only delivers on the promises we’ve made to the American people, but will put West Virginia and our entire nation on a path to greater economic growth, national security, energy independence, and opportunity.”

The inside of the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. (File Photo)

“Passing President Trump’s agenda out of the Senate provides lasting tax relief, establishes common-sense reform to our social programs while protecting those who are most vulnerable, and represents a refocus on placing the American dream back in reach for all Americans,” said Justice, R-W.Va.

“Throughout this process, I worked closely with both President Trump and my Senate colleagues to not only safeguard West Virginia’s interests, but bring prosperity to the state and provide opportunity to the working men and women of this country,” Justice continued. “West Virginia elected me to be their voice in Washington and deliver lasting positive results just as I did while Governor – I am confident this bill is a strong step in the right direction and I will continue my work with President Trump to make life better for West Virginians.”

The bill is being done through the reconciliation process, which avoids the specter of a filibuster by allowing the bill to be passed by a simple 51-vote majority in the 100-member Senate. H.R. 1 will now head back to the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed its version of the bill in May. Congress placed a self-imposed deadline of July 4 – Independence Day – to work out any differences between the House and Senate and get the bill to Trump’s desk.

Much of the focus from opponents of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has been on proposed reforms to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that more than 11 million people could lose health care coverage provided by Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act expansion due to changes in the Senate version of the bill.

“Senators Capito and Justice once again failed to stand up for West Virginia, caving and passing Donald Trump’s disastrous billionaire-first budget,” said Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party.

“This budget won’t make life better for West Virginians, it will rob them of their health insurance, take food off the table, and kill good-paying jobs — all to line the pockets of the GOP’s billionaire donors,” Pushkin continued. “This budget is nothing short of an attack on working families across West Virginia. Democrats in West Virginia are mobilizing to hold Republicans accountable everywhere because the stakes have never been higher.”

The bill would curtail investments in renewable energy projects, putting construction jobs at risk. According to the CBO’s most recent estimate of the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the bill could add $3.3 trillion to the federal deficit over a 10-year period, cut Medicaid spending by more than three-quarters of $1 trillion, and cut SNAP spending by more than one quarter of $1 trillion.

“Both Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice said they went to Congress to help West Virginians; however, they both voted Monday on a bill that will make life more expensive, unmanageable, and vulnerable for all but the wealthiest of us,” said Ellen Allen, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care.

“Not only did they lay the groundwork to dismantle health care for hundreds of thousands of West Virginians, their vote will saddle and hamstring our sons, daughters and grandchildren with backbreaking debt that will make it all but impossible for us to reclaim these losses,” Allen continued. “This will have negative consequences for generations to come.”