Op-Eds
Tyler Morning Telegraph: Moran: One Big Beautiful Bowl of Soup
Washington,
June 26, 2025
When I was a kid, my mom used to make beef vegetable soup when the weather got cold. It was one of my favorite meals, and it provided sustenance and warmth during those infrequent cold winter days in East Texas. Her soup was packed full of things I loved — tomatoes, corn, peas, carrots and potatoes. Oftentimes, though, it had the one thing I avoided most as a child — lima beans. Why were lima beans included? Simple: My dad loved them, and he advocated for their inclusion as strongly as I advocated for their quick disposal in the trash bin. But when I sat down at the table, I only had two choices to make when the soup was in front of me — either eat or go to bed hungry. My mom made clear that she wasn’t a short-order cook and was not going to make each person something different. You had to take it or leave it in its final form, even if you didn’t like everything in it. The reconciliation package now in the U.S. Senate offers the same circumstance and same choice. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans worked steadily to put together the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for months. The goals are clear: keep taxes low for every American — and in doing so, increase their liberty; spur domestic economic growth over the next decade; reduce spending to begin reversing the spiraling debt and deficit crisis; and root out waste, fraud, and abuse wherever possible.Our economy is in deep need of real sustenance, and this One Big Beautiful (bowl of soup) Bill that we crafted in the House provides just the nourishment it needs. Over the past four years, Americans have borne the brunt of skyrocketing inflation, a hidden tax that has hit lower- and middle-income families harder than any others. Throughout the past four years of the Biden administration, consumer prices increased more than 20%, real wages fell by more than 3% and interest rates hit their highest levels in 23 years. By contrast, the 2017 Trump tax cuts spurred economic growth across the board and lowered taxes for the American people. The bottom 20% of earners saw their federal tax rates fall to their lowest levels in 40 years, and families making between $20,000 and $30,000 received a 13.5% tax cut — the largest of any income group. If we fail to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill, Americans will see the largest tax increase in American history as soon as next year. I recognize that once this bill is finalized, it is going to be just like that big bowl of beef vegetable soup that my mom made. There are several parts of this bill that I love — especially those that help working families and retirees. Making the Trump tax cuts permanent for middle-income families, preserving and expanding the doubled standard deduction, and the 199A small business deduction, eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, and providing relief for seniors — these are big wins for all Americans. But there are going to be a few lima beans that I wish weren’t there. I even recognize the political need for some salt in the stew, even though I would prefer none at all. None of us will get everything we want. And, all of us will find something in it we do not like. Such is life. And such is any large piece of legislation in Congress.
At the end of the day, we only have two choices — yes or no. In making that choice, I urge my colleagues and the American taxpayer to see the bigger picture, understand the economic sustenance that is being served up with all its pro-family, pro-farmer, pro-America, and pro-growth ingredients, and not get caught worrying about the one or two lima beans in the bowl that you don’t like. In the end, I am certain that the American economy and the American taxpayer are ready for another serving of the 2017 Trump tax cuts (and more!). And I suspect we’ll all want a second helping — because this One Big Beautiful Bowl of Soup is exactly what the economy needs to get us back on track. |