CBO Debunks Biden's Claim His Huge Spending Plan Will Be 'Fully Paid For'
Congressional Budgeting Office says Biden's plan would add $367 billion to the deficit
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The Congressional Budgeting Office (CBO) has debunked claims by Democrat Joe Biden that his radical spending plan will be "fully paid for."
Accoridng to a new CBO report on Biden's "Build Back Better" agenda, the socialist plan would add $367 billion to the deficit over 10 years from 2021 until 2031.
Biden and his allies have frequently alleged that his bill would "cost zero dollars," despite that claim being ridiculed by experts and the media.
"My plans are fiscally responsible," tweeted Biden at the end of October.
"They are fully paid for," the Democrat claimed.
"They don't add a single penny to the deficit."
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The estimate does not include things like increased tax revenue from increased spending and the IRS's intentions to help the agency improve tax enforcement.
If that estimate is added, then the cost of the bill reduces to about $165 billion.
The White House has already argued that the estimate of tax revenue from the CBO is far too conservative, and says instead that their estimate finds that they will raise about $400 billion from the effort.
The CBO rating is pivotal for the legislation to pass since Democratic moderate holdouts said that they wanted to see the estimate before deciding on whether to support the bill or not.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has said that he is worried more spending would lead to greater inflation, which is already stifling the economy and hurting consumers' purchasing power.
"If the CBO is not as expected, I think negotiations will continue but definitely make this a longer process," said a spokesperson for Manchin's office on Nov. 8.
The bill had originally come in at the hefty price tag of $3.5 trillion, but objections from moderates whittled it down to $1.75 billion.
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Some in the corporate media are already downplaying the findings from the CBO.
"This whole process is an exercise in smoke and mirrors," said CNN's Erin Burnett.
"The CBO can only score and give these estimates based on the bill given to them.
"No one actually knows the price."
Others are accusing Biden of lying.
"CBO confirms that Biden LIED," tweeted the official account of the House Republicans.
"His Socialist Spending Scam is NOT paid for.
"It will add BILLIONS of dollars to our deficit over the next decade."
