Senate Set To Begin 'Vote-a-Rama' On $3.3 Trillion Megabill Monday Morning
The U.S. Senate is poised to kick off a pivotal "vote-a-rama" on Monday at 9 a.m. ET, marking a critical phase in the debate over a sweeping $3.3 trillion legislative package championed by former President Donald Trump and key Republican allies. The final vote on the so-called "megabill" could come as early as Monday evening, provided Senate rules and timelines are met.
The legislation—described by Trump as a "big, beautiful bill"—includes expansive tax cuts, significant changes to federal entitlement programs, and a restructuring of energy and infrastructure spending. It has drawn fierce debate on both sides of the aisle and is seen as a potential cornerstone of conservative economic policy going into the 2026 midterms. Unlimited Amendments, High Stakes
The vote-a-rama will allow senators to introduce an unlimited number of amendments to the bill, a procedure typically used during budget reconciliation debates. Each amendment will be considered and voted on in rapid succession before the chamber proceeds to a final up-or-down vote. Only a simple majority of 51 votes is needed for passage.
The timing of Monday's vote-a-rama was finalized late Sunday, after earlier expectations pointed to a possible overnight start. According to ABC News, floor proceedings on Sunday were dominated by opening arguments, procedural maneuvering, and back-channel negotiations as leadership tried to secure the necessary votes ahead of the final push. Sunday Debate Set the Stage
Sunday's session served as the formal prelude to the amendment marathon. Senators engaged in hours of floor debate, making their cases for and against the bill's provisions. Democrats warned that the legislation could balloon the federal deficit and gut critical safety-net programs. Meanwhile, Republicans framed the bill as essential to economic revitalization and fiscal correction.
A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released Sunday estimates that the package could add up to $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, intensifying already polarized rhetoric from both parties. The Financial Times noted that the debate has exposed deep divisions even within the GOP, with some senators pressing for a more aggressive approach to federal budget cuts. What Comes Next
Once the amendment process concludes, the Senate will hold a final vote on the full bill. If passed, the legislation would move to the House of Representatives for consideration later this week.
As the Senate enters what could be a marathon day of legislative action, all eyes will be on moderate Republicans and key swing votes whose decisions could ultimately determine the bill's fate.
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DW
42 minutes ago
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Canada ended its digital tax for Trump. Could others follow? – DW – 06/30/2025
Canada has withdrawn a tax that could have reaped billions in revenue to bring Donald Trump back to the table. It raises the possibility that other taxes targeting big tech could be in the US president's sights next. Canada has cancelled its digital services tax (DST) to entice the United States to return to the negotiating table for a long-awaited trade and defense deal. The tax, which was due to take effect on Monday, would have applied a 3% levy on revenues earned within Canada by companies — from any country — whose services are digitally based and earn more than $20 million CAD (€12.4 million) a year. But the DST was the target on Friday of a now familiar missive from US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform. There, he labelled the tax as a "direct and blatant attack" on the US and set the clock ticking on new tariffs for his northern neighbor as he put trade negotiations on ice. While DSTs from Canada and other nations avoid naming specific companies among their targets, there is an inescapable reality that such instruments catch a swathe of American companies in their nets — among them digital behemoths like Meta, Google, Amazon, Airbnb and Uber. Compounding the tax's impact was its retroactive nature, capturing all revenues back to 2022 in a boon that would have yielded more than $2 billion to Canada's finances. Binning the tax on the day it came into effect has potentially avoided Canada feeling the brunt of harsher Trump tariffs and the loss of a trade deal with a major trading partner. At the very least, it's brought the US president back to the negotiating table. Last year Canada bought nearly $350 billion in US products and exported more than $412 billion to the US. "Obviously the revenue from digital services taxes will be much lower than any costs from potential trade conflicts," said Bertin Martens, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel. "This is the right road to take at this moment for Canada, at least." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Big tech companies make billions in revenue globally and there are few places that haven't been touched by the presence of the dominant US players in e-commerce, digital advertising and social media. But taxation of these businesses largely falls to the country where they are headquartered. For the majors, it's usually in the US, or even low-taxing countries like Ireland or Luxembourg. It's why other countries are turning to DSTs to recoup revenue for operating within their borders. While Canada's DST has been shelved, other countries across the Atlantic have been reaping revenues for years. France, Italy, Spain and the UK have revenue taxes for digital services providers, with criteria requiring a company to meet a minimum level of global revenue, a fraction of which is made within their borders. France, Italy and Spain apply a tax of 3% on those revenues, the UK 2%. France is even looking to increase its rate to 5%. "Big US tech companies that operate in Europe and elsewhere in the world pay very little, if any, taxes in the countries where they operate and collect substantial revenue and profits," Martens told DW. "But nothing of that can be taxed in the country itself, and so, in the absence of an OECD agreement on how to do this, countries have taken this in their own hands." The US has historically taken a dim view towards foreign digital services taxes under the last three administrations — Democrat and Republican — with a view that they amount to import tariffs on services. 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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Biden administration opposed DSTs but worked to broker a global trade deal via the OECD. That agreement was scuttled by Trump upon his return to the White House, leaving the prospect of unilateral DSTs back on the table. Despite American opposition to these agreements, Allison Christians, a tax law professor at McGill University in Canada, said the idea that major tech corporations should only be taxed in their home country is "antiquated." "They're headquartered in the US, yes, but they're capitalized all over the world, and they're collecting data all over the world, and they're making profit all over the world," Christians said. That, she said, makes it harder for local companies to compete with their "highly digitalized" US rivals. Martens agrees that DSTs are a response to the desire for other nations to have a level playing field. "There is this distorted playing field between local companies and foreign — in this case US — companies, in online markets," Martens said. "Local companies obviously pay local taxes in the country where they are established, and US companies can avoid that or circumvent that through preferential tax deals with tax havens like Ireland or Luxembourg, or even through repatriation of lots of their profits to the US. Martens said a global agreement like those brokered by the OECD would be a better way to proceed. But without US support, national-level taxes are likely to remain, at least until they appear again as a trade negotiation tool. "[DSTs] have become tangled up in this Trump administration trade policy debates, and that makes a debate even more complicated," Martens said.
Int'l Business Times
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Business Owner Raided by CBP Agents Says They Refused to Show a Warrant: 'I Feel Like My Rights Were Violated'
A California car wash owner says Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stormed his business without showing a warrant, part of an escalation in workplace immigration raids. Since President Donald Trump returned to office, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has renewed its aggressive focus on immigration enforcement. A central element of this strategy has been worksite raids, often at small businesses. On June 22, armed CBP officials arrived at Bubble Bath Hand Car Wash in Torrance, California, in unmarked cars, according to the Washington Post. Surveillance footage shows them entering restricted areas and shoving both staff and the owner, Emmanuel Karim Nicola-Cruz, who says his multiple requests to see a warrant were ignored. "They weren't answering any of my questions," Nicola-Cruz told the outlet. "I feel like my rights were 100% violated. I feel absolutely, absolutely betrayed. We have American flags all over the property. We're an American business." One worker was pushed into a gate, and others fled into the car wash tunnel. DHS said the worker was attempting to escape, but denied any misconduct. The shop has since lost business, and its owner, who has not been charged, says his family now fears further retaliation. The incident is one of dozens across the country that immigration advocates say reflect a pattern of rights violations. From Florida construction sites to Nebraska meatpacking plants, ICE raids have increasingly targeted small operations, where owners are less likely to push back. In many cases, workers are arrested while business owners remain untouched. Some raids have involved questionable tactics, including entering private areas without judicial warrants and using so-called "Blackie's warrants," which do not name specific individuals. Though DHS claims the raids aim to disrupt illegal hiring practices, the outcomes suggest a different motive: increasing migrant arrest numbers. Even some business owners who cooperated with immigration checks and used tools like E-Verify have faced surprise raids. Originally published on Latin Times
Int'l Business Times
an hour ago
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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Forces Kill 48 As Ceasefire Calls Mount
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