Build Back Better Passes House

Good morning to all of our regular readers, but especially those who watched all of Kevin McCarthy’s more than eight-hour-long speech on the floor last night. 

Last night, Democrats were prepared to pass President Biden’s massive social spending bill, the Build Back Better Act, in the House. Around 5 p.m. Thursday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released its cost estimate analysis of BBB, which caused a bit of confusion. The CBO estimate said that over 10 years the bill would add $367 billion to the federal deficit—contrary to the White House’s claim that the plan was fully paid for. 

Because of how CBO scores are calculated, the estimate did not officially take into account the IRS tax enforcement portion of the bill. The CBO estimated that $207 billion would be brought in by the enforcement mechanism, meaning, after some quick math, a total of $160 billion would be added to the federal deficit over a decade. 

After a speedy House Rules Committee meeting to move the BBB Act to the floor of the House, debate began. Reporters and members were told the vote to finally pass BBB would happen around 9 p.m.. Some reporters were even thinking about sneaking in a happy hour after final passage. 

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