‘Big Beautiful Bill’ clears House and Senate. How did those representing Memphis vote?

• The House approved President Trump’s tax and Medicaid cut package after Senate approval.
• The bill includes tax breaks, business benefits, and cuts to clean energy tax credits.
• It also cuts Medicaid, impacting millions of Americans, and increases spending on border security and defense.
• Memphis representatives were split on the vote, with Cohen voting against and Kustoff voting for the bill.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved President Donald Trump’s legislative package of tax reductions and Medicaid cuts on July 3, days after the U.S. Senate approved the package in a narrow vote.

Vice President JD Vance’s vote broke the tie in the Senate.

The House passed the measure in a 218-214 vote, with two Republicans, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voting alongside Democrats against the bill.

The “Big Beautiful Bill” allows tax breaks for tips and overtime, implements new benefits for businesses and rolls back clean energy tax credits created under former President Joe Biden.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, spoke for a record 8 hours and 44 minutes in an attempt to delay the passage of the legislative package.

“I rise today in strong opposition to Donald Trump’s disgusting abomination… that guts Medicaid, rips food from the mouths of children, seniors and veterans, and rewards billionaires with massive tax breaks,” Jeffries said.

Jefferies’ speech broke the previous record set by former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who, as the GOP leader in 2021, spoke against a Democratic spending measure.

Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty voted “yes” on the package on July 1. Memphis representatives in the House voted on the package later, and were split on how they cast their votes.

Here is what to know about the “Big Beautiful Bill” for Memphis, and how local representatives voted.

What does the Big Beautiful Bill include?

The bill delivers on some of Trump’s campaign promises.

The bill preserves Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, invests billions into the military and border security and fulfills a major 2024 campaign promise by extending federal tax breaks for low-wage tipped workers, such as waiters and hairstylists.

The tax cuts, which amount to about $3.7 trillion that the federal government won’t have in its coffers over the next 10 years, would impact the lowest earners in the U.S. Those making under $17,000 a year are likely to lose Medicaid and access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. They should also expect a roughly $1,000, or a 10%, drop in after-tax income, due to the benefits losses, according to USA Today reporting.

Earners between $17,000-$50,999 a year would also feel the impacts of the bill, and could see a $705, or 1% decrease, in after-tax income.

The bill would make deep cuts to Medicaid, leaving nearly 12 million Americans uninsured, and knocking 2 million people off SNAP, according to the  Congressional Budget Office.

The bill also increases spending for border security, defense, energy production, construction of a border wall, migrant detention beds and hiring more immigration enforcement personnel.

 The Congressional Budget Office has stated the bill would increase the U.S. deficit by trillions of dollars.

Who voted for the Big Beautiful Bill?

Congressman Steve Cohen, a Democrat representing Memphis, joined other Democrats in voting against the bill on July 2.

In May, when an earlier version of the bill was voted on, Cohen also voted no.

“The GOP’s One Big Ugly Bill fails every basic moral test,” Cohen said in a statement. “They are taking food and health care away from poor people so that the wealthiest individuals who have ever lived can become even wealthier. It is cruel, indefensible, and it is likely the worst bill that has ever been presented by Congress for the citizens of Memphis and Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional District. I was proud to vote ‘NO’.”

Congressman David Kustoff, a Republican representing parts of Shelby County and a wide swath of Western Tennessee, voted for the legislative package.

“The One Big Beautiful Bill will secure our border, unleash domestic energy production, and help get able-bodied Americans back to work. It will also ensure a more efficient federal government and execute the largest spending reduction in history,” Kustoff said in a statement.

This article was originally published by The Commercial Appeal.