Speaking to reporters a the White House Monday, Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the enormous cost of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better spending plan.
Jen Psaki says that Build Back Better lowers the deficit and pays for the "$2T tax cuts that Republicans didn't pay for."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 13, 2021
"You're welcome, for that." pic.twitter.com/yoJd33RWV0
Psaki referred to the score as “fake,” but it is very real and adds $3 trillion to the deficit.
"We’ve been telling you for months that the plan’s advertised cost of $1.75 trillion over 10 years includes multiple budget gimmicks that disguise the real cost. The Penn Wharton Budget Model has scored the 10-year cost at about $4.6 trillion, but the White House keeps claiming against all evidence that the cost is 'zero,'" the Wall Street Journal analyzes. "[The] CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation project that the House bill would increase the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years without the budget gimmicks and phony phase-outs."
Not to mention the plan would worsen the inflation crisis, which is why Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are opposing it. Biden will hold a meeting with Manchin over the phone Monday afternoon in an effort to convince him otherwise.
In a big warning sign, Manchin said BBB shouldn’t rely on temporary spending that could become permanent. “I don’t think that’s a fair evaluation of saying we are going to spend X amount of dollars but then we are going to have to depend on coming back and finding more money" pic.twitter.com/kxfZfL5N6H
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 13, 2021
Regardless, administration officials continue to say the bill is paid for and costs “zero dollars.”
This was a lie even before CBO came out Friday and said it would cost $3 trillion without the phony budget gimmicks. https://t.co/e6eizLHoap
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) December 13, 2021