How Sens. Todd Young, Jim Banks voted on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'

Indianapolis Star

2 days ago

Indiana's two U.S. Senators voted for President Donald Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill," a massive array of spending and tax cuts with significant implications for government programs, like Medicaid.
U.S. Sens. Jim Banks and Todd Young, who are both Republicans, joined senators on July 1 to advance the bill, which narrowly passed the chamber on a vote of 51-50 after Vice President JD Vance voted to break the tie. It now heads back to the House where representatives will vote on approving the proposed budget reconciliation bill in the coming days, just before the self-imposed deadline of July 4.
Banks and Young in statements following the vote praised the bill for providing tax cuts for working-class Americans.
"This bill delivers on President Trump's promises to secure the border and strengthen our military, while also making the largest spending cut ever," Banks said in a statement. "I'll keep standing with President Trump in the Senate to get results for hardworking families in Indiana."
Young echoed those sentiments.
'While I wish this legislation included additional fiscal reforms, this is a strong bill that will benefit Hoosier families and increase the security and prosperity of all Americans," Young said in a statement. "I urge my House colleagues to pass this legislation and send it to the President's desk.'
The vote came after a marathon of amendments and debate that started June 28 and continued until the bill's final passage in the Senate on July 1.
More: Big Beautiful Bill 101: What you need to know about Trump's tax bill
As it passed the House in May, the Trump-endorsed bill contained some campaign promises, like eliminating the tax on tips, extending and significantly expanding his 2017 state and local tax cuts, as well as massive cuts to and work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP, which provide health care and food assistance to low-income families.
The Senate proposal extended but held steady the state and local tax caps and placed some limits on how much tip income can evade taxation. While the Senate kept the Medicaid work requirements put forward in the House, it also proposed a gradual decrease, from 6% to 3.5%, in the amount of provider taxes that help states pay for their share of Medicaid. Senate Republicans revealed updated language over the weekend that delayed the decrease one year to start in 2028. They additionally offered a $25 billion stabilization fund to help rural hospitals that could be hit by Medicaid cuts.
At a state budget committee meeting in mid-June, state leaders voiced concerns that provider tax caps would make Indiana unable to afford the Healthy Indiana Plan, a Medicaid health insurance plan for low-income adults. Independent of the Medicaid provisions in this federal legislation, Indiana already passed legislation seeking to institute work requirements for the Healthy Indiana Plan.
More: Hoosiers could be kicked off Medicaid under Trump's 'big beautiful bill.' What to know
As multiple independent polls in the last few weeks showed a majority of voters disapproved of the bill, a Trump administration official visited Indianapolis on June 24 to defend the legislation. Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration, said provisions reducing taxes for small businesses are popular on Main Street ― though critics argue the bill is far more beneficial for Wall Street.
As the bill returns to the House, the outstanding question is whether there is enough support for the legislation after substantive changes made in the Senate. The House version of the bill narrowly passed the chamber in May on a vote of 215-214.