CBO Report: ‘Build Back Better’ Could Cost $3 Trillion Over Next Decade if Permanent

By Luca Cacciatore

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an analysis on Friday estimating that President Joe Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ (BBB) plan could increase the federal deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade if the proposed programs are made permanent, according to CNN.

The CBO also estimated on Nov. 18 that the legislation would increase the nation’s deficit by $160 billion over the next decade if the programs were not made permanent.

The $1.7 trillion BBB initiative passed by the House of Representatives last month would establish universal preschool, expand Medicaid, provide green energy tax credits, and add roughly $1.95 trillion in new taxes, Fox News reported.

“If the temporary provisions of this bill are extended, and I fully expect them to be if our Democratic colleagues have the votes to do it, this legislation will cost a whole lot more than what the American people have been told,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a critic of the plan and its extensive costs, accused the Biden administration of using “gimmicks” to downplay the bill’s price.

“As more of the real details outlined in the basic framework are released, what I see are shell games and budget gimmicks that make the real cost of this so-called ‘$1.75 trillion’ bill estimated to be twice as high if the programs are extended or made permanent,” Manchin said.

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Democrats, who hold a narrow Senate majority, will need Manchin’s vote to pass BBB.  Manchin has yet to endorse the package as proposed and will probably seek to make significant changes, according to CNBC.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is another Democrat who may seek to change the bill in the Senate. She already shot down the administration’s effort to hike tax rates on large corporations and wealthy individuals, per CNBC.