U.S. Reps. Arrington, Pfluger urge Senate to pass One Big Beautiful Bill quickly

By Mateo Rosiles
June 13, 2025
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY

Two U.S. congressmen from West Texas have partnered to urge the U.S. Senate to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill quickly. Last week, House Reps. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, and August Pfluger, R-San Angelo, called their Senate counterparts to pass the President Trump-endorsed reconciliation bill.

This comes after the House passed the bill 215-214 in early May, sending it to the Senate for approval. On June 12, the senators heard from Senate committee chairs about their proposed amendments to the bill. However, the clock is ticking with Trump’s July 4 deadline. The bill must receive at least 50 votes in the chamber, which Republicans control 53 to 47, but it faces opposition from both Republicans and Democrats, including former Trump advisor Elon Musk. Several GOP senators, including Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, Rick Scott, R-Florida, and Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, have also raised concerns about the package's overall cost, according to USA TODAY reporting.

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On June 6, Arrington was joined by Pfluger outside the U.S. Capitol Building in a video saying that the bill has the full "America First" agenda in it, touching on:

• Tax Cuts.
• Opening energy resources
• Military readiness.
• Border security.

“So it's big and beautiful because it's going to make a big difference in the lives of the American people — keep us safe, strong and prosperous for the future,” Arrington said. Pfluger agreed with Arrington and added that the bill delivers what was promised during the 2024 presidential election.

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“We know it's not perfect, but it is an incredible bill where Republicans united and we're delivering for American families,” Pfluger said. We need the Senate to pass this bill and we need to take this step to deliver for the American people. Let's get this done.”

With the bill under the Senate’s scrutiny, USA TODAY has reported the Republicans are angling to make adjustments to it by reportedly extending 2017 income tax cuts, implementing new tax cuts for tipped wages and overtime and increasing border security spending.

Senate Republicans are also eyeing changes to state and local tax deduction (SALT) and other regulatory measures baked into the bill, such as those on artificial intelligence.

But whatever change the Senate makes will have to pass back in the House, which has a three-vote Republican margin.