{"id":11582067,"date":"2025-07-28T10:58:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T14:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11582067"},"modified":"2025-07-28T10:58:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T14:58:50","slug":"andy-harris-big-beautiful-bill-is-a-win-for-maryland-guest-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/28\/andy-harris-big-beautiful-bill-is-a-win-for-maryland-guest-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy Harris: Big, beautiful bill is a win for Maryland | GUEST COMMENTARY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marylanders deserve the truth about the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) \u2014 and they\u2019re not getting it from the mainstream media. Much of the coverage has been filled with spin, fearmongering and outright falsehoods about what this bill does and doesn\u2019t do. Let\u2019s set the record straight.<\/p>\n

First, I was initially hesitant to support this bill \u2014 and for good reason. As a fiscal conservative, I raised concerns about its potential to add to the deficit. Those concerns were not just for show; I withheld support to ensure Maryland taxpayers wouldn\u2019t be saddled with more Washington debt.<\/p>\n

Because conservatives pushed back,\u00a0major changes were secured\u00a0before the final vote. Among the wins:<\/p>\n

Stronger Medicaid integrity provisions were included to stop states from improperly paying benefits \u2014 including to illegal immigrants \u2014 while protecting care for truly needy Marylanders.<\/p>\n

Green New Scam rollbacks, ensuring Maryland families and businesses aren\u2019t burdened with radical energy mandates that drive up costs. This is especially essential as offshore wind adversely affects watermen, communities and constituents in my district.<\/p>\n

Strengthening work requirements: The One Big Beautiful Bill strengthens common-sense work requirements for able-bodied adults receiving federal government assistance on the taxpayer dime \u2014 an important step toward restoring the dignity of work and ensuring taxpayer dollars aren\u2019t used for those who choose not to work.<\/p>\n

These changes are real, tangible victories for Marylanders who expect their representatives to fight for fiscal responsibility. The OBBB also contains wins that will make the lives of all Marylanders better:<\/p>\n

No taxes on tips \u2014 more money in workers\u2019 pockets<\/h4>\n

Maryland\u2019s restaurant and hospitality workers work hard for every dollar they earn, and they shouldn\u2019t have to share their tips with the IRS. Thanks to the OBBB, qualified tips are no longer taxed, putting more money directly into the hands of servers, bartenders and hotel staff across our state. This is especially meaningful for younger workers and single parents juggling multiple jobs just to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

Relief for seniors \u2014 protecting retirement security<\/h4>\n

The bill also delivers meaningful tax relief for seniors, ensuring they keep more of their retirement income. At a time when many older Marylanders are living on fixed incomes while dealing with rising health care and energy costs, this is a major step forward. Seniors have spent their lives working and paying into the system; they deserve to keep more of what they\u2019ve earned.<\/p>\n

Tax relief for Americans<\/h4>\n

The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers real tax relief for hardworking middle-class Americans, putting more money back into the pockets of those who need it most.<\/p>\n

No tax on overtime pay<\/h4>\n

The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers a major win for hardworking Americans by ensuring no tax on overtime pay. This means extra hours worked truly pay off, allowing workers to keep the money they earn when they put in the long hours to provide for their families.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the media is busy telling a different story \u2014 painting the bill as some sort of attack on working families and suggesting conservatives \u201ccaved.\u201d That\u2019s simply false. No eligible Marylander is losing Medicaid coverage. No eligible person is losing SNAP benefits. Rural hospitals are not being \u201cdefunded.\u201d And the Freedom Caucus didn\u2019t \u201cfold\u201d \u2014 we fought, we negotiated and we secured major spending policy wins that would never have been in this bill without conservative leverage.<\/p>\n

This is what responsible legislating looks like. We said \u201cno\u201d to reckless spending until the bill was improved. We worked with President Donald Trump and his team to make sure the final product delivered for taxpayers. And now, the One Big Beautiful Bill reflects conservative priorities Maryland families can feel good about \u2014 lower spending, stronger safeguards against waste and real accountability for Washington.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is this: The One Big Beautiful Bill is a win for Maryland. It gives workers a break and<\/em> provides real relief for seniors \u2014 all without raising taxes or adding new burdens on Maryland families.<\/p>\n

The critics may keep shouting, but for Maryland\u2019s seniors, service workers and hard-working taxpayers, the benefits of this bill will be felt every day \u2014 and that\u2019s what really matters.<\/p>\n

Andy Harris (X:\u00a0@RepAndyHarrisMD<\/a>) is a Republican representing Maryland in the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rep. Andy Harris writes that changes to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act make it a win for Maryland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":11154854,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-28T14:58:53Z","apple_news_api_id":"88d23c78-6000-4b18-8ad6-8f5e585ad33a","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-28T14:58:53Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AiNI8eGAASxiK1o9eWFrTOg","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[97,83,96],"tags":[24457],"feature":[],"location":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[1471],"class_list":["post-11582067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-latest-headlines","category-opinion","tag-social"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"97","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Andy Harris: Big, beautiful bill is a win for Maryland","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"inside","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1753761600","print_slug":"TBS-L-ANDY-0729","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"Rep. Andy Harris writes that changes to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act make it a win for Maryland.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"

Marylanders deserve the truth about the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) \u2014 and they\u2019re not getting it from the mainstream media. Much of the coverage has been filled with spin, fearmongering and outright falsehoods about what this bill does and doesn\u2019t do. Let\u2019s set the record straight.<\/p>

First, I was initially hesitant to support this bill \u2014 and for good reason. As a fiscal conservative, I raised concerns about its potential to add to the deficit. Those concerns were not just for show; I withheld support to ensure Maryland taxpayers wouldn\u2019t be saddled with more Washington debt.<\/p>

Because conservatives pushed back,\u00a0major changes were secured\u00a0before the final vote. Among the wins:<\/p>

Stronger Medicaid integrity provisions were included to stop states from improperly paying benefits \u2014 including to illegal immigrants \u2014 while protecting care for truly needy Marylanders.<\/p>

Green New Scam rollbacks, ensuring Maryland families and businesses aren\u2019t burdened with radical energy mandates that drive up costs. This is especially essential as offshore wind adversely affects watermen, communities and constituents in my district.<\/p>

Strengthening work requirements: The One Big Beautiful Bill strengthens common-sense work requirements for able-bodied adults receiving federal government assistance on the taxpayer dime \u2014 an important step toward restoring the dignity of work and ensuring taxpayer dollars aren\u2019t used for those who choose not to work.<\/p>

These changes are real, tangible victories for Marylanders who expect their representatives to fight for fiscal responsibility. The OBBB also contains wins that will make the lives of all Marylanders better:<\/p>

No taxes on tips \u2014 more money in workers\u2019 pockets<\/h4>

Maryland\u2019s restaurant and hospitality workers work hard for every dollar they earn, and they shouldn\u2019t have to share their tips with the IRS. Thanks to the OBBB, qualified tips are no longer taxed, putting more money directly into the hands of servers, bartenders and hotel staff across our state. This is especially meaningful for younger workers and single parents juggling multiple jobs just to make ends meet.<\/p>

Relief for seniors \u2014 protecting retirement security<\/h4>

The bill also delivers meaningful tax relief for seniors, ensuring they keep more of their retirement income. At a time when many older Marylanders are living on fixed incomes while dealing with rising health care and energy costs, this is a major step forward. Seniors have spent their lives working and paying into the system; they deserve to keep more of what they\u2019ve earned.<\/p>

Tax relief for Americans<\/h4>

The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers real tax relief for hardworking middle-class Americans, putting more money back into the pockets of those who need it most.<\/p>

No tax on overtime pay<\/h4>

The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers a major win for hardworking Americans by ensuring no tax on overtime pay. This means extra hours worked truly pay off, allowing workers to keep the money they earn when they put in the long hours to provide for their families.<\/p>

Meanwhile, the media is busy telling a different story \u2014 painting the bill as some sort of attack on working families and suggesting conservatives \u201ccaved.\u201d That\u2019s simply false. No eligible Marylander is losing Medicaid coverage. No eligible person is losing SNAP benefits. Rural hospitals are not being \u201cdefunded.\u201d And the Freedom Caucus didn\u2019t \u201cfold\u201d \u2014 we fought, we negotiated and we secured major spending policy wins that would never have been in this bill without conservative leverage.<\/p>

This is what responsible legislating looks like. We said \u201cno\u201d to reckless spending until the bill was improved. We worked with President Donald Trump and his team to make sure the final product delivered for taxpayers. And now, the One Big Beautiful Bill reflects conservative priorities Maryland families can feel good about \u2014 lower spending, stronger safeguards against waste and real accountability for Washington.<\/p>

The bottom line is this: The One Big Beautiful Bill is a win for Maryland. It gives workers a break and<\/em> provides real relief for seniors \u2014 all without raising taxes or adding new burdens on Maryland families.<\/p>

The critics may keep shouting, but for Maryland\u2019s seniors, service workers and hard-working taxpayers, the benefits of this bill will be felt every day \u2014 and that\u2019s what really matters.<\/p>

Andy Harris (X:\u00a0@RepAndyHarrisMD<\/a>) is a Republican representing Maryland in the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1753715423","print_workflow_exported_username":"Philip Caldwell","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"metered","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":11154854,"title":"TBS-L-FREEDOMCAUCUS-02","filename":"TBS-L-FREEDOMCAUCUS-02.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/TBS-L-FREEDOMCAUCUS-02.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/tbs-l-freedomcaucus-02\/","alt":"","author":"36","description":"Rep. 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