Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) hit back at one lawmaker who laughed at her claim in her House speech that the Democrats’ multitrillion-dollar spending program would lower the debt.
Pelosi spoke to the House, extolling the alleged benefits of the large $1.75 trillion spending program for Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda.
“It will be among the greatest legislative undertakings that any of us have ever done,” Nancy Pelosi said.
The bill, which is still being negotiated in the United States Senate, will expand social programs and create several policies supported by far-left progressives. Originally planned to be a $3.5 trillion measure that would have had free college tuition, increased Medicare and Medicaid, paid family leave, and a lot more, Democrats were forced into negotiations because moderate Senators like Democrat Joe Manchin (W.Va.) are worried about increasing economic inflation.
Despite reductions to the bill, Pelosi asserted this Friday that it will be bigger and better than the Affordable Care Act, the health insurance law enacted under President Obama.
“So if you are talking about how we want to have quick and lasting difference for families and workers, creating jobs, guarding middle class tax cuts, lowering the cost of living for families, and making the wealthiest pay their share, all the while helping to lower the national debt,” Pelosi said.
She then suddenly stopped speaking as someone in the House let out a laugh.
“Did I hear someone laugh over there?” she said.
“Did I hear a laugh from the people who added $2 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the country, 83% of it going to the top 1%?” she yelled back.
“This is more than paid for,” Pelosi said.
In reality, the funding for Democrats’ $1.75 trillion bill is being discussed in negotiations. Some Democrats want to add on a huge tax cut for the wealthy into the bill by altering the cap on local and state tax deductions. These so-called SALT tax reductions were capped at $10,000 by Trump’s 2017 tax reform law.
House Dems put forward a program last week to raise the SALT cap to $72,500 through the year 2031, which would lower government funds by around $50 billion each year through 2025.
Ironically, Pelosi said “Build Back Better” would not raise the deficit when Democrats are arguing for a tax cut for wealthy people that would not get paid for. And she snapped at a Republican for apparently laughing at this contradiction. Now we are all laughing.
Author: Blake Ambrose
