Pelosi Rips Lindsey Graham For Imaginary CBO Build Back Better Score

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:43 pm

Speaker Pelosi unloaded on Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for coming up with a CBO score for a Build Back Better bill that doesn’t exist.

Pelosi said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA:

While Republicans play increasingly desperate and bad-faith political games with a phony score of an imaginary bill, House Democrats have proved our commitment to fiscal responsibility by passing a fully paid for Build Back Better Act.

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As nonpartisan experts have repeatedly confirmed, the Build Back Better Act is fully paid for by ensuring the biggest corporations and wealthiest few pay their fair share in taxes.  The Build Back Better Act passed by the House will even pay down the deficit by more than $100 billion in this decade and $2 trillion in the next. Democrats’ fiscally sound approach stands in stark contrast to the GOP Tax Scam for the rich, which exploded deficits by $2 trillion.

Congress and President Biden have made clear: any future extensions of the life-changing provisions of Build Back Better will be fully paid for, as they are today.  Until then, Democrats are forging ahead with the Build Back Better Act to create jobs, lower everyday costs and cut middle-class taxes.”

Republicans Can’t Oppose The Real Build Back Better, So They Made One Up

Graham had the CBO score a fake bill:

The problem is that the conditions that Graham had the CBO score aren’t in the bill.

Republicans used a similar tactic during the debate over the Affordable Care Act, and for a while, it worked.

The GOP knows that once the American people experience the benefits of Build Back Better, they will never be able to get rid of it, so Sen. Graham invented his own bill.

The trick may play well with Republicans, but in the long run, BBB opponents are fighting a war that they may have already lost.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association