Written by: William Hekman
President Biden is once again being criticized for making a dubious statement that his “Build Back Better” plan will cost nothing despite the actual cost being $3.5 trillion. This high cost has even has some fellow democrats criticizing the agenda. Republicans have come out heavily against the 3.5 trillion reconciliation package, saying that it “ultimately provides benefits to wealthy liberal elites at the expense of working-class families.” Senators Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, two moderate Democrats, have also voiced issues with the package. Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy of Florida stated she will vote against it, “I don’t think we can afford everything, unless something changes, I have no choice but to vote no on every subtitle (in the bill) and final passage.” Other moderate democrats in the house may follow suit, which would certainly kill any chance of it being passed.
Biden tweeted out on Saturday, “My Build Back Better Agenda costs zero dollars. Instead of wasting money on tax breaks, loopholes, and tax evasion for big corporations and the wealthy, we can make a once-in-a-generation investment in working America. And it adds zero dollars to the national debt.” The tweet received rebuttals and backlash from a number of people. Congresswoman Claudia Tenney tweeted in response, “Simple math for President Biden: $3.5 trillion does NOT equal zero.” Tenney followed up with another tweet saying, “I have to admit, I thought this was from a parody account when I first read it. It was disturbing to see it was actually from our President. Does he think he can spend an unprecedented $3.5 trillion and not add a penny to the debt? This is who is in charge? Scary.” Some also criticized Biden for pushing misinformation on his agenda, such as Seth Dillon, the CEO of the satirical news site Babylon Bee, “It’s good to know ‘grown-ups’ are in charge now and leading the fight against misinformation.” Dillion also referenced the Hunter Biden laptop story and the border crisis as examples of how the Biden administration has pushed misinformation.
Moderate Democrats have pushed a smaller bill that would cost around $1.5 to $2 trillion, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seems not to want to budge on the matter. Many moderate Dems fear that a passage of $3.5 trillion could spell disaster for not only the country but for their party as they hold a slim majority in both the Senate and House.
Photo from: YouTube Screenshot
