White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says Americans “should” believe that President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending package will not add to the national debt because “it won’t.”
On Wednesday, a reporter asked, “Does the President still believe that Build Back Better will not add a dime to the national debt?”
“Correct, it won’t,” Psaki responded.
The reporter asked, “Why should Americans believe that?”
“Because it won’t,” the press secretary said.
Watch the video below:
REPORTER: "Does the President still believe that Build Back Better will not add a dime to the national debt?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 19, 2021
PSAKI: "Correct, it won't."
REPORTER: "Why should Americans believe that?"
PSAKI: "Because it won't."
*Tries to move on to another question* pic.twitter.com/c3jkmgtneM
Speaking to reporters in September, Biden said, “It is zero price tag on the debt we’re paying. We’re going to pay for everything we spend.”
In a tweet, he made a similar claim as he said, “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.
My Build Back Better Agenda costs zero dollars.
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 26, 2021
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.
However, The Washington Post’s fact-checker Glenn Kessler said the president’s statement is “misleading” as “we’re pretty certain a deficit score of zero would only be accomplished with some dubious gimmicks that help disguise the true cost of Biden’s agenda.”
He noted that the Congressional Budget Office estimated that plan would add “256 billion to the federal budget deficit over 10 years, but for complicated reasons that is a lowball figure.”
Additionally, Mark Zandi and Bernard Yaros Jr. of Moody’s Analytics noted that while the plan is “largely paid for” and does not add “meaningfully” to the deficit “on paper,” there is “a risk that spending and tax credits in the plan that are slated to ultimately expire will not” which would lead to a larger deficit.
Psaki has previously insisted that “no matter what the cost or size of the topline investments are, we have ways to pay for it.”