The US Senate began voting on Monday on a massive spending plan, dubbed the "big, beautiful bill," after weeks of contentious negotiations.
According to foreign media, Republicans who control both houses of Congress were divided on how much social welfare programs should be cut in order to extend tax breaks.
President Donald Trump wants Congress to pass the bill by July 4, writes A2 CNN.
After the House of Representatives passed its version of the bill last month by a single vote, the legislation went to the Senate. Because of changes made by the Senate, the bill will return to the House for another vote.
Senators hurried through the halls of the Capitol building on Monday, heading to the Senate floor for various votes on amendments, then returning to their private meeting rooms where they aired their grievances out of sight of reporters.
There could be up to 20 hours of debate as senators argue for or against adding amendments to the nearly 1,000-page bill in a process called a "vote-a-rama."
"We're definitely still perfecting some things," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday.
A change to the Medicaid cuts proposal recently proposed by Florida Senator Rick Scott could cause the loss of health insurance coverage for about 20 million Americans, according to one estimate.
When asked about the report, Thune said there is "a lot of analysis out there," A2 CNN reports.
"The thing (Scott's) bill doesn't do is it doesn't go into effect until 2031. So I'm not sure how you can argue that it's going to kick people out of health insurance tomorrow," Thune said.
Democrats, who have repeatedly denounced the bill, particularly for cutting health coverage for millions of poorer Americans, are expected to use all ten of their allotted hours for debate, while Republicans are likely not to. (A2 Televizion)
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