White House continues to push debunked zero-cost claim on Biden's agenda
$3.5 trillion reconciliation package is 'fully paid for,' the White House tweeted Sunday; Twitter takes no action against the false claim
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden is sticking to his claim that his Build Back Better agenda will cost the average American taxpayer nothing.
"The cost of the Build Back Better Agenda is $0," the White House tweeted Sunday.
"The President's plan won't add to our national deficit and no one making under $400,000 per year will see their taxes go up a single penny," the tweet read. "It's fully paid for by ensuring big corporations and the very wealthy pay their fair share."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TEAM BIDEN CLINGS TO RECONCILIATION BILL ZERO-COST CLAIM SHOT DOWN BY WASHINGTON POST FACT-CHECKERS
Biden and his administration have repeatedly claimed that Build Back Better, a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, will cost zero dollars, despite multiple analysts rebutting the claim from both sides of the political aisle. The president bases the zero-cost claim on the idea that the package will add nothing to the federal deficit because the cost will be offset by tax increases and other revenue-generating schemes.
Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the reconciliation bill will only raise $2.1 trillion through taxes over 10 years, falling far short of the $3.5 trillion cost. And even the $3.5 trillion figure is being contested as the true cost: The Wall Street Journal editorial board argued it's based on "budget gimmickry including entitlement phaseouts and phase-ins" and that the real cost "will be at least $5 trillion, probably far more."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WHAT'S IN BIDEN'S PLAN FOR THE IRS TO MONITOR NEARLY EVERY AMERICAN'S BANK ACCOUNTS?
The Washington Post's fact-checker, Glenn Kessler, similarly called the zero-cost claim "misleading" and argued that lawmakers "play all sorts of budget games to achieve that mythical zero within the 10-year budget framework." He said the bill's impact on the deficit could "be as low as zero or as high as $1.75 trillion over 10 years."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The White House tweet Sunday sparked a flurry of replies from skeptics.
Fox News editor Tyler O’Neill contributed to this report.