Rushmore State News

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) addressed the Senate floor on the upcoming one-month anniversary of the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, highlighting its impact on Americans and key provisions.

Thune outlined several areas funded by the bill, including military readiness, border security, and local law enforcement. He emphasized that $1.5 trillion in Byrd-compliant savings are intended to reduce waste and strengthen government finances. The legislation also contains measures aimed at increasing American energy production.

A central focus of Thune’s remarks was tax relief for Americans. “Mr. President, without congressional action, Americans were facing a massive, $4 trillion tax hike next year,” Thune said. He noted that for a typical family in South Dakota this would have meant a $2,500 increase.

Thune explained that Senate Republicans worked to make permanent the 2017 tax relief to prevent future increases: “The One Big Beautiful Bill makes the 2017 tax relief permanent. And it prevents a massive, $4 trillion tax hike on the American people.”

Additional measures include raising the child tax credit to $2,200 and indexing it to inflation; increasing the standard deduction; introducing a new $6,000 bonus deduction for seniors; eliminating taxes on tips for workers such as drivers and servers; removing taxes on overtime pay for hourly workers like nurses and police officers; allowing deductions for interest costs of new cars made in America; creating new investment accounts for children with an initial government deposit; and providing small business tax relief.

Thune stressed ongoing efforts to inform constituents about these changes: “A lot of time went into putting together this bill, and an equal amount of time – or more – needs to be spent ensuring that hardworking Americans are aware of the opportunities this bill offers.”

He concluded by urging lawmakers to prioritize communication with their communities: “Communicating about this bill should be a priority – when we’re in Washington, but especially when we’re in cities and towns across America.”