Money Matters: $3.5 Trillion At Risk… Watchdog Says Dem Spending Bill May Cost Even More Than They Say: ‘You Have No Idea How Much It Really Costs’

With Republicans now having blocked a Senate vote on raising the debt ceiling, the two other pressing needs of the moment (and the hopes of the Biden administration) seem more uncertain than ever. As Doug McKelway reports, the president’s trillion-plus dollar infrastructure package and his $3.5 trillion expansion of the social safety net with “Green New Deal” components remain captive to the push and pull of his party’s diverse, unruly caucus.

www.washingtonexaminer.com/videos/money-matters-3-5-trillion-at-risk

A nonpartisan budget watchdog says Democrats’ massive budget reconciliation bill could cost much more than the $3.5 trillion price tag they give it and casts doubt on whether it will actually be paid for as they claim.

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) Senior Vice President Marc Goldwein told FOX Business Monday that because the bill came out just days ago it’s impossible to give it a precise total.

But Goldwein said based on what Democrats have said will be in the bill for months and factoring in a funding trick they are using to keep the price of the bill down, it could reach a grand total of upward of $5 trillion.

“To fit $5 and a half trillion into a $3 and a half trillion box, they were going to have a bunch of stuff expire early and do some things like have some things start late,” Goldwein said. He explained that the CRFB’s estimations assume many temporary programs will be renewed or made permanent by future Congresses, which CRFB describes as a common “budget gimmick” to hide the true cost of a bill.

www.foxbusiness.com/politics/watchdog-dem-spending-bill-more-than-estimated