photo by: Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, voted with GOP colleagues to pass the Senate's version of a budget, tax and policy bill also supported by U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas. The measure heads to the U.S. House for consideration.

TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall of Kansas voted with fellow Republicans to secure passage of the Senate’s controversial budget and tax bill featuring domestic policy priorities of President Donald Trump.

Vice President J.D. Vance capped lengthy debate by casting a tie-breaking vote to send the amended “big, beautiful bill” back to the U.S. House for reconsideration. The president urged federal lawmakers in the House and Senate to complete work on the package by July 4.

“The lefty fake news media has failed to tell the truth about this bill, that it will deliver a win for every single American,” Marshall said. “This is President Trump’s legacy and we are entering America’s golden era.”

Marshall said colleagues aligned with the president were obligated to vote for the Senate bill. “If you supported President Trump, you should support this bill,” he said.

In addition, Marshall said the legislation would spark such a massive expansion of the U.S. economy that it would “help shrink the debt.” The claim conflicted with a congressional budget estimate the bill would add at least $3.3 trillion to the nation’s debt over the next decade. The Senate bill would increase the federal debt limit by $5 trillion.

Moran said he voted for the Senate’s bill because it would extend federal income tax provisions Trump signed into law in 2017 and invest $320 billion in immigration enforcement and the military.

The bill also would slash federal safety net spending on food stamps. It would allow wind and solar tax credits if construction of those renewable energy projects began within a year of the law’s enactment or go into production before the end of 2027.

Moran said the Senate’s amended version of the bill would “bolster our economy and strengthen the safety of our nation.”

His post-vote statement focused on amendments to the bill designed to moderate damage to rural hospitals in wake of cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

“I was able to make changes to the legislation to make certain Kansas hospitals will not face any immediate cuts upon enactment of this legislation,” Moran said.

Moran lauded a $50 billion, five-year fund providing emergency assistance to rural hospitals at risk of closure.

Meanwhile, Moran touted $12.5 billion in appropriations to the Federal Aviation Administration to modernize air traffic control infrastructure. It included language giving farmers greater flexibility in acquiring credit and updated farm subsidy programs.

In May, the U.S. House delegation from Kansas split along party lines on the original version of the bill. Republican U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, Derek Schmidt and Ron Estes voted for that package, but Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids dissented.