12.19.21

Statement from Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Graham

WASHINGTON – Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today issued a statement after U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) announced his decision not to support the Democrats’ Reckless Tax and Spend bill, citing recent analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

“I very much appreciate Senator Manchin’s decision not to support Build Back Better, which stems from his understanding of the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the bill.

“I’m also appreciative of CBO’s response to my and Congressman Smith’s request to score the bill without sunsets – which are in fact budget gimmicks.

“The CBO analysis confirmed Senator Manchin’s worst fears about Build Back Better. He has always stated that he will not support a bill full of gimmicks, a bill that added to the debt or a bill that made inflation worse.

“The CBO analysis of Build Back Better definitively determined without program sunsets, it would add $3 trillion to the debt and would cost $5 trillion over 10 years, which would have a detrimental effect on our current inflation problem.

“It is now time for Congress to focus on roaring inflation, particularly in the energy sector, as well as a broken supply chain, and potential threats coming from the new COVID-19 variant.”

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