The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers for Alabama
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By U.S. Sen. Katie Britt
The week of Independence Day, the U.S. Senate took on the tall order of passing President Trump’s sweeping domestic policy package – the One Big Beautiful Bill. After more than 26 hours of voting, the Senate passed the bill, which was then sent to the House of Representatives for final passage. On July 4, President Trump signed it into law.
Needless to say, it was a busy – but very rewarding – week.
There’s been a lot of national conversation about how transformational this bill is. But let’s talk about what it means for Alabama.
To start, Alabamians can expect to keep more of their hard-earned money because of this bill. We extended President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and, as a result, prevented the largest tax hike in modern history.
Alabama families were staring down an average of a $2,200 tax increase – we made sure that didn’t happen. We made sure to take care of our seniors, as well, who will now be able to deduct up to $6,000 – $12,000 for couples filing jointly – from their taxes annually.
The Republican Party is now more big-tent than ever. President Trump ushered in a new era for the GOP, one where manufacturers, servers, technicians — hardworking Americans — are our foundation. It’s why working-class provisions like no tax on tips and overtime were a centerpiece of this bill. It’s why we shifted the tax code to favor investments in manufacturing and expanded opportunity zones to spur investment into parts of the state that are too often neglected.
We also put families and parents front and center in this bill. I’m proud to have been the tip of the spear to address the affordability and accessibility of child care by updating critical tax provisions – which hadn’t been touched since 1986 and 2001, respectively.
We secured permanent child care tax relief for the first time in nearly 25 years. This combined with an increased child tax credit, savings accounts for newborns and incentives for paid family and medical leave will provide much-needed relief to those raising our next generation.
As a proud daughter of Alabama’s Wiregrass, I also know the unique needs of our rural communities. It’s why I fought hard to ensure that our rural hospitals weren’t forgotten, to the tune of $500 million being secured for Alabama’s rural health care providers. This funding will quite literally be life-changing for rural Alabamians across our state.
As part of our focus on rural America, Alabama’s farmers will receive critical resources from this legislation. They needed our help, and we delivered.
Our bill included significant reference price increases. We also secured $105 million for the Feral Swine Eradication Program, a lifeline for farmers working to protect their crops. We also made permanent the doubled Death Tax Exemption, protecting Alabama farmlands and family-owned businesses for generations to come.
Alabama’s military communities will also reap the benefits of this bill. I’ve spent my entire tenure in the Senate working to ensure Alabama remains a national leader in supporting our warfighter and strengthening national defense.
The One Big Beautiful Bill invests $25 billion into the Golden Dome, and Redstone Arsenal will no doubt play a crucial role in its execution. It also provides $100 million for infrastructure upgrades at Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center, while securing more than $4 billion for the Space Launch System program managed by Marshall.
Additionally, Alabama’s shipbuilding capabilities will benefit from $29 billion to expand our nation’s maritime industrial base.
Higher education will get an important boost, as well, particularly at our Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) – a source of great pride for our state. The education and research conducted on those campuses are foundational to Alabama’s future.
One program that supports HBCUs is the 1890 Scholars Program, which boosts educational and career opportunities for students in critical fields like agriculture, food science and natural resources. I was proud to advocate for $60 million for this program to invest in the next generation of Alabamians who will strengthen our communities and economy.
And that’s just scratching the surface of what we accomplished for our great state. But it paints a picture of the good we’ve done – and the good that’s yet to come – because of this legislation.
I’m proud to have delivered these wins for the people of Alabama. And I can guarantee you – this is just the beginning of the investments in our people and our priorities that I’m committed to securing throughout our state.
