White House officials are trying to cut through the focus on the price tag of President Biden
The administration argues that the Democratic-only reconciliation bill essentially won’t cost anything since the legislation, which could be as high as $3.5 trillion but is in flux, will be offset by tax increases on corporations and wealthy Americans.
Democrats believe the argument will have a dual effect of assuaging concerns from moderates about the size and cost of the package while also beating back the Republican narrative that Biden is overseeing a “tax and spend” agenda. But efforts to win over centrist lawmakers on the cost component have thus far been unsuccessful, despite Biden’s direct intervention.
Still, prominent outside groups aligned with moderates say there’s merit to the White House’s argument.
“Presumably, when the bill is done, the offsets will equal the new spending and it will have a net cost of zero. And for those who are concerned about deficits and debt and the size of government, which is a lot of Democrats, this would answer that,” said Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy at the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way.
“I think it’s both accurate and that there’s a public relations aspect to it that has the benefit of being true,” Kessler said.
On Thursday afternoon, hours before House Democrats delayed a vote on the Senate-passed infrastructure bill, Biden and other administration officials tweeted that former President Trump
“Here’s the deal: unlike my predecessor’s tax plan, every penny of my Build Back Better Agenda is paid for,” Biden tweeted.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki
“A lot of high-income individuals pay lower tax rates than nurses and teachers. Nobody thinks that’s fair,” Psaki said at a White House briefing. “Yes, we’re asking them to pay more.”
White House seeks to flip debate on agenda price tag