Read First, Then You Decide: Who Really Wins?

Introduction

The Big “Beautiful” Bill provides massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, while leaving millions of families behind. In fact, the Big “Beautiful” Bill (“Bill”) is responsible for massive cuts to food assistance, health care, education programs, and student loan services. It is 870 pages long and packed with hundreds of different provisions, making it difficult for people like you and me to know what it truly contains—but Tom Cole voted for it. So, let’s break down that vote. 

Tax Breaks 

The Bill provides more than $4.5 trillion in tax breaks—primarily for billionaires. According to policy experts, the Big “Beautiful” Bill is set to cut taxes for the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans by more than $14,700 annually per household and for the richest 1 percent by more than $50,000 per year. In contrast, the average family earning less than $50,000 will benefit from $250 in tax cuts in 2027, less than $1 a day. Supporters claim the Bill provides relief, but this is misleading. These tax breaks barely scratch the surface for working families. 

Top Marginal Tax Rate Cut  

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) cut the top marginal tax rate from 39.6 percent to 37 percent. Tax rates are typically adjusted to account for inflation, but the Bill made the current 37% rate permanent. Making this rate permanent will cost the U.S. approximately $340 billion through 2034. The top marginal tax rate applies to the earnings in the highest bracket. When people talk about these cuts, what they really mean is that the wealthiest will pay less on the money they earn, not you and me. These “Trump tax cuts” are framed to “protect” the average worker from tax hikes. The reality is that this permanent rate will only provide modest relief for the average American, increase the federal deficit, and enrich the wealthiest Americans.

Estate Tax

The Bill also increases the Estate Tax exclusion. The 2017 TCJA temporarily raised the exemption threshold from $5 million to $10 million. The Bill permanently raises the amount to $15 million and is expected to cost the U.S. $212 billion through 2034. This means that the first $15 million someone leaves behind as an inheritance is tax-free. And remember, we are talking about only a few thousand families who leave behind tens of millions of dollars. To stress the point, only the extremely wealthy benefit from tax change at this level. I support tax breaks for the 99% not just for the 1%. You deserve relief, too. 

Temporary Relief 

The Bill does offer some relief for those living paycheck to paycheck, but only temporary relief in the form of capped deductions. Some of these include: no tax on tips, 250 hours of overtime pay exempt from taxes, seniors 65 and older can deduct an additional $6,000, and car owners can deduct interest on auto loans.  This is great, but these deductions expire in 2028, while the others we have discussed are now permanent. So truthfully, who really wins with this bill? 

My Approach

Article V, § 57 of the Oklahoma Constitution requires that each bill passed by the Oklahoma legislature contain a single subject. This prevents pork barreling and special-interest riders from being attached to legislation and forces each bill to focus on the merits of the bill, law, proposal, or program itself.

Congress has the power to slash programs. But it should do so transparently. The legislature should never be able to hide behind a bill that slashes taxes on tips AND slashes funding for SNAP at the same time. These are completely separate concepts, and they should be argued and voted upon in separate bills—not as separate provisions in a single 870-page bill. This forces transparency and accountability upon the members of the Oklahoma legislature—transparency and accountability that I want to impose upon the United States Congress.

Conclusion

Donald Trump promised to balance the budget. Tom Cole has stressed the need for a balanced budget. And yet the Big “Beautiful” Bill will deliver trillions in tax cuts to the top 1 percent while adding up to $4.5 trillion to the national debt.1 This bill is structured for the wealthy, not for average Americans like you and me. While specific deductions offer temporary relief, we are still left with a structural disadvantage that continues to divide us: temporary relief for the working class and permanent relief for the wealthy. 

The truth is, Tom Cole voted against the interests of working families—he voted against you and me. He put the people of Congressional District Four in the back seat when he voted to reduce more than $1.1 trillion from SNAP, Medicaid (Soonercare), and other programs Oklahomans rely on. Cole is out of touch with everyday Oklahomans. And instead of putting in the work to meet us where we are, he continues to vote for the rich and further Trump’s agenda. 

It is my firm belief that the United States does not have a spending problem, nor a budget problem—it has a priority problem. We choose to prioritize fiscally irresponsible tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and fund them by slashing programs that save lives, fund medical research, provide access to higher education, feed families, insure pregnant mothers, and otherwise provide benefits to the most vulnerable among us. And this is why it is so critical that we force the Single Subject Rule on Congress and the federal government. Force Congress to vote on each provision separately and let us, the People, see where their priorities lie.

Beyond the Single Subject Rule, I want to see cuts that actually benefit hardworking Americans, such as no taxes on Social Security. And I want to see the tax cuts over the past decade rolled back and re-imposed. No more tax breaks for the 1%—it is time that tax breaks affect the 99% and that the top 1% pay their fair share of taxes, just like you and me. I do not ask for any more than that—equal treatment at all levels of income

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Corey Husak, 7 Ways the Big Beautiful Bill Cuts Taxes for the Rich (2025), Center for American Progress, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/7-ways-the-big-beautiful-bill-cuts-taxes-for-the-rich/

Estate Planning and Other Tax Strategies Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (2025), Husch Blackwell, https://www.huschblackwell.com/newsandinsights/estate-planning-and-other-tax-strategies-under-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act

One Big Beautiful Bill Act Tax Deductions for Working Americans and Seniors (2025), IRS, https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/one-big-beautiful-bill-act-tax-deductions-for-working-americans-and-seniors

Sahil Kapur, Despite DOGE, Trump’s Agenda Calls for Adding Trillions of Dollars to the U.S. Debt, NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/doge/doge-trumps-agenda-calls-adding-trillions-dollars-us-debt-rcna191665

Tom Cole, A Responsible, Balanced Budget (2017), https://cole.house.gov/media-center/weekly-columns/responsible-balanced-budget