Washington: President Joe Biden's roughly USD2 trillion social spending and climate measure has narrowly passed the US House of Representatives, sending it to the Senate for revisions. After House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy delivered a lengthy floor address on Thursday evening to delay the final vote, the House passed the so-called "Build Back Better" plan by a vote of 220-213.
According to sources, the package includes USD555 billion in clean energy and climate expenditures, USD400 billion in child care and free pre-kindergarten funding, USD200 billion in child tax and earned income tax credits, and USD150 billion in home care for the elderly and disabled. "It sets us on the path to rebuilding our economy better than before by restoring America's backbone: working people and the middle class," Biden said following the vote on Friday.
On Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculated that the bill would add USD1.64 trillion to federal expenditure over ten years. When the bill's tax credits are added to the expenditure total, the total rises to USD2.4 trillion, well beyond Biden's initial estimate of a USD1.75-trillion package.
The White House said that putting higher taxes on the largest firms and the wealthiest Americans would collect USD2 trillion in revenue over a decade, completely funding the social expenditure agenda.
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