President Joe Biden condemned United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Senator Joe Manchin for withholding support for the almost $5 trillion Build Back Better bill.
Breitbart reported that Biden issued a condemnation against Manchin on Sunday, December 19, citing a statement released by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. Biden reacted because Manchin's no vote for the Build Back Better Bill has effectively killed it "in its current form."
According to the United States Senate Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget, "a permanent Build Back Better Act could cost $4.8 trillion."
"Last month, we estimated the Build Back Better Act in the House of Representatives would cost $4.9 trillion if made permanent and add $3 trillion to the debt if extensions were not offset. Based on CBO's score of the House-passed Build Back Better Act, this update of our prior analysis finds extensions would nearly double the cost of the bill from over $2.4 trillion to nearly $4.8 trillion. If all extensions were enacted without offsets, it would increase the deficit impact of the bill from $158 billion to $2.8 trillion," the Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget said in its report.
The high cost and lack of transparency in the actual cost of the budget is one of the reasons Manchin decided in a statement released also on Sunday to oppose the Build Back Better Act, which otherwise known as H.R. 5376.
"The American people deserve transparency on the true cost of the Build Back Better Act. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined the cost is upwards of $4.5 trillion which is more than double what the bill's ardent supporters have claimed. They continue to camouflage the real cost of the intent behind this bill," he said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in the statement that Manchin's decision contradicted what he has shown and previously said to Biden. Psaki called Manchin's actions as contrary to "good faith" for it was "sudden." Psaki identified various instances that Manchin showed support for the bill that does not show consistency to his comments made in public.
"Senator Manchin's comments this morning on FOX are at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances. Weeks ago, Senator Manchin committed to the President, at his home in Wilmington, to support the Build Back Better framework that the President then subsequently announced. Senator Manchin pledged repeatedly to negotiate on finalizing that framework 'in good faith'," Psaki said.
"If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator's colleagues in the House and Senate," she added.
Psaki disclosed that prior to making the said statements, Manchin has presented in person to The White House a counter framework to the bill that would allow them to work on a "compromise acceptable to all" since it covered many of the bill's priorities and even though it "was missing key priorities."
Psaki also rebuked Manchin's announcement saying the bill will gravely impact inflation citing a report by the Penn Wharton Budget Institute that claimed "the Build Back Better Act will have virtually no impact on inflation in the short term, and, in the long run."
She said that the bill would actually help families lower their costs and challenged Manchin to explain to these families the opportunity they would lose because of his "no" vote. Psaki cited paying vital medicines such as insulin for $35 as against current payments of $1,000 monthly.
In addition, Psaki similarly called the other claims made by Manchin on the negative effect of the bill such as on the budget deficit and climate privates as "wrong." Psaki stressed that they will persist with Manchin to "be true to his word" because the bill, she claimed, is valuable for the people's welfare.
"But we will not relent in the fight to help Americans with their child care, health care, prescription drug costs, and elder care-and to combat climate change. The fight for Build Back Better is too important to give up. We will find a way to move forward next year," Psaki said.
