U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy. (Special to the American Press)

President Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law by Trump on Friday. U.S. Sen. Cassidy, R-La., one of the 218 to vote in favor of the bill, said the bill’s passage was the result of “Republican’s hard work.”

While opponents of the bill have criticized cuts to social and health programs and increases in defense spending, and voiced concerns over long-term environmental effects, Republicans championed the bill as a salve for issues affecting the middle class. Cassidy is no exception.

He called the legislation “great news” for working and middle-income Americans, citing how it prevented the “largest tax hike in history;” cut taxes on tips over time; “secured the southern border; and expanded oil and gas production off the Louisiana coast, which should result in $100 million more funneled into Louisiana for coastal restoration issues, he said.

“We got it done. … Bottom line, this bill helps families who feel as if they’ve been left behind for decades. I worked hard to get a lot of stuff in this bill, stuff that’s good for our country, good for our state and good for families.”

Cassidy, who is the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spearheaded the “Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA). This legislation, which was included in the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” is the first federal school choice legislation to be signed into law.

ECCA establishes a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit, up to $10 billion annually, for individuals and organizations’ donations to scholarship-granting organizations, which distribute school-choice scholarships.

This legislation is a step towards empowering parents to make educational decisions for their children, Cassidy said.

“President Trump and I are in agreement, a child should never be stuck in a failing school when mom or dad, usually mom, knows there’s a better school right around the corner.

He also “worked to strengthen and protect Medicaid” in the “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

The bill calls for cuts to Medicaid that will total about one trillion dollars over the next decade. This has raised concerns for rural hospitals and small-town patients who rely on Medicaid for healthcare.

To address this, Cassidy said he helped to create the Rural Health Transformation Program, which allows states to access, allocate and distribute rural health funding. The fund will provide $10 billion a year, over five years, to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which will distribute funding to eligible states.

“I’m a doctor who treated Medicaid patients for decades, and I’ll always fight for the disabled American who needs Medicaid to enhance their life, to save their lives.”

He also worked to expand the “no tax on tips” portion of the bill to include barbers, beauticians and those in the food service industry, he said.