White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki blasted what she is calling a “fake” Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the cost of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act.
During a White House press briefing Monday, Fox News’s Peter Doocy noted, “The president says that the Build Back Better is not going to add a penny to the deficit. The CBO has this new score where they assume that social programs are going to be made permanent and, in that case, it would add almost $3 trillion.”
He asked Psaki, “So does that mean that President Biden will commit that these programs are not going to be made permanent?”
She responded, “What you’re talking about here is a fake CBO score that is not based on the actual bill that anybody is voting on. This was a ask, request, by Senator Graham to score a bill that is not currently being debated.”
Psaki stressed the administration is focused on the existing bill.
Watch part of the briefing below:
Psaki: What you’re talking about is a fake CBO score that is not based on the actual bill that anyone is voting on… Our focus is on the existing bill that will also over an additional ten years pay for the $2 trillion tax cuts that Republicans didn’t pay for. They’re welcome pic.twitter.com/WCmdDxXIDn
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 13, 2021
Psaki’s claim garnered strong reactions from some on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/TommyPigott/status/1470457271205470214
If Psaki is going to call the CBO score “fake,” the admin needs to start naming which programs they plan to ACTUALLY let expire after just a few years.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) December 13, 2021
They want credit from the left for the programs, they don’t want the heat for the price tag.
Can’t have both. https://t.co/VmzZFNUZzr
"Fake CBO score" – @PressSec
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) December 13, 2021
If @JoeBiden wants better economic coverage, maybe he should stop attacking economists
Other lawmakers commented on the score, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“The Republican-requested fake CBO score does not take into account the fact that President Biden and Democrats have committed that any extensions of the Build Back Better Act in the future will be fully offset,” Schumer said.
Schumer on CBO showing permanent programs cost extra $3T in BBB
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) December 10, 2021
"The Republican-requested fake CBO score does not take into account the fact that President Biden and Democrats have committed that any extensions of the Build Back Better Act in the future will be fully offset"
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) issued a statement on Graham’s CBO score “of an imaginary bill.”
She explained, “While Republicans play increasingly desperate and bad-faith political games with a phony score of an imaginary bill, House Democrats have proved our commitment to fiscal responsibility by passing a fully paid for Build Back Better Act.”
Pelosi calls Graham's CBO score — which is meant to pressure Manchin against supporting Build Back Better — a score of "an imaginary bill"
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) December 10, 2021
Graham's score — $3T over 10 years — assumes the BBB programs will never expire
Here's his score: https://t.co/9msymDxpWM pic.twitter.com/3a0s2hjkpi
As The Hill notes, Republicans are looking to convince Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to hit pause on Biden’s agenda.
“Joe Manchin has been wanting to know without gimmicks what would the bill cost. We now know it more than doubles. … I’ve done what Sen. Manchin said somebody should do,” Graham said during a press conference Friday.
He continued, “What I think will happen is that Joe will take these numbers and he will start making decisions about what comes next, and my hope is that Sen. Manchin will say, ‘Stop, shelve Build Back Better until we find better answers to where inflation is headed.”
