Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy expressed his strong opposition to the initial Senate draft of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” claiming it was a dead proposal. As a prominent figure in the Conservative Freedom Caucus, Roy is advocating for the complete end of the Green Energy Tax Credit that was established under former President Biden. He criticized the Senate’s approach, pointing out that their plan would only phase out green energy subsidies without an active timeline, shifting some costs of federal food aid back to the states, which he addressed at a press conference.
Roy mentioned that he and his colleagues from the Freedom Caucus have had frequent discussions with the Senate about possible amendments, stating that the current Senate draft would not be able to gain approval in the House. For any legislation to move forward, both the House and Senate need to agree on the same provisions before sending it to the White House.
“I’ve communicated clearly to both Senate leaders and conservatives that what’s being proposed isn’t working to eliminate the so-called ‘green new fraud’ grants or deal with Medicaid adequately,” he said. He added that he and others are unlikely to support any bill resembling the current form, which includes elements like the Inflation Reduction Act provisions that raise concerns.
Roy and other conservatives are facing challenges regarding tax credits for wind, solar, and battery storage, and he noted that House Republicans are not inclined to accept a complete rollback of the green energy tax, particularly those allowing projects to begin construction within 60 days of bill passage to qualify for a tax break.
The Senate’s proposal lays out requirements for these projects to start within a 60-day window and offers more lenient terms for wind and solar tax credits. Some Texas lawmakers have also raised the idea of linking dollar spending cuts with additional tax cuts, while the Senate’s plan seeks a permanent extension of tax cuts that expired in 2017, a crucial demand for several GOP senators who believe the tax code should be stable.
“Most of us, including myself and the conservatives in the Freedom Caucus, want tax permanence,” Roy stated, though he emphasized the need for careful calculations. “We have to recognize the reality of the deficit.” He further remarked that while he appreciated the Senate’s objective to remove new taxes on electric vehicles from the bill, the most significant Medicaid reforms were notably absent from both the House and Senate versions.
Opposition from moderate Republicans has led to the exclusion of changes to the FMAP rate in their proposals. Roy expressed doubt about meeting the July 4 deadline for sending tax and spending bills to the president, highlighting significant differences between the House and Senate proposals. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance indicated that they aim to have the bill on the president’s desk before the August recess.
