Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-11) expressed optimism that President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ (BBB) will be passed by the Senate and on the president’s desk by July 4.

The Lancaster/York County representative spoke to R.J. Harris on the broadcaster’s morning show and said that he believes that there is a lot of momentum for the bill.

“You know, people did not believe, many people did not believe that we will be able to get this passed in the House by Memorial Day,” said Smucker. “That was a target that (Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.) had set out months ago, and many doubted that we were able to get that done, but we’ve seen amazing leadership from the speaker to get us to this point, and I think that’s going to carry us through. You’re seeing a lot of momentum for this bill. I think it is great for America, great for the American people, and I think we’re going to get it done by July 4.”

Smucker was queried on the criticism over the past two days from Elon Musk as well as Rep. Scott Perry (R-10) on the bill.

“I think Elon Musk, what he’s saying, his voice is important here,” said Smucker. “I’ve appreciated what he’s doing through through DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). Many times we have an unsustainable fiscal path trajectory going forward that won’t end well if we do not find ways to reduce federal spending and reduce the debt going forward, and Musk has talked about that. That’s one of the reasons that he was willing to spend time on DOGE to find waste and fraud in government.”

Perry has been vocal about wanting more cuts in the BBB, but voted for the package anyway as a sign of support for the president.

Perry is now advocating for the president’s rescission package that would call back funding already allocated by Congress for USAID, as well as NPR and PBS that would save approximately $9.4 billion.

“Scott and I worked very closely together to include in this bill what we thought was very, very important spending cuts or reductions in spending that’s projected over the next 10 years to ensure that the bills deficit neutral,” remarked Smucker. “The last thing we want to do is add to the debt.”

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported after the bill passed the House that it would leave 10.9 million Americans uninsured and will add $2.4 trillion to the national debt.

The BBB includes approximately $3.75 trillion in tax cuts – extending the expiring 2017 individual tax income tax breaks and temporarily adding new ones that Trump campaigned on, including no taxes on tips.

“In the words of Elon Musk, this bill is a ‘disgusting abomination,’” said Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, reviving the billionaire former Trump aide’s criticism of the package.

Smucker countered by saying that the bill would provide for a reduction in spending of $1.7 trillion over 10 years.

“It’s a great first step, and then we have to follow that with reductions in discretionary spending,” he added. “We’ll be going into the appropriations process. And so for those who suggest that this bill doesn’t do enough to reduce the debt, I agree with that, but it’s a really, really important first step. We’re going to have to we’re going to have to take many other steps to ensure that we change our fiscal trajectory.”

The fifth-term congressman said that the alternative to not passing the BBB is “the largest tax increase in history.”

“It’s a very good bill. It pays for itself if we achieve the economic growth that we think we will see, and if we get higher economic growth, if we get growth similar to what we saw after the initial tax cuts and Jobs Act, will actually reduce the debt.”

Smucker also disputed Democratic talking points that the BBB is a tax cut for billionaires at the expense of everyday working Americans.

“It is not true,” he claimed. “You look at the results of the tax cuts and Jobs Act, it benefited Americans at the lower income levels more as a percentage of their income, more than those at the higher end, more than the millionaires and billionaires they like to talk about. But the real success was it put money in everyone’s pockets, but also increased wages.

“Anyone who says that our tax code isn’t progressing is just flat out wrong. It’s the most progressive system of any country, across across the world. And what I mean by that is the rich, those at the higher income levels, are paying a greater share of their income than those at lower income levels. That’s the way our tax system works.”