CBO: Infrastructure Bill Would Add $256 Billion to Deficit – By Lisa Hagen (US News) / Aug 5 2021
While a deficit increase could chip away at some Republican support, the bill is still expected to move forward as Senate Democrats barrel toward final passage.
The Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill would add $256 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years, according to a cost analysis by the Congressional Budget Office that was released on Thursday as Democratic leadership barrels toward wrapping up the entire process on major legislation.
Senators in the bipartisan negotiating group haggled for months over how to pay for $550 billion in new infrastructure spending and, after recently clinching a deal with the White House, they said much of the bill was funded – though the details were still fuzzy. But the score from the nonpartisan budget office shows the legislation would increase the deficit by billions of dollars between 2021 and 2031.
“On net, the legislation would add $256 billion to projected deficits over that period,” the CBO analysis reads, noting that the bill increases discretionary spending by $415 billion while also increasing revenues by $50 billion and decreasing direct spending by $110 billion.
Members in both parties wanted the package to be fully paid for. And while a deficit increase could chip away at some existing Republican support, the bill is still expected to move forward as Senate Democrats look to speed up the process and move toward final passage. According to the CBO score, the funding mechanisms in place would cover a little more than half of new spending for investments in roads, bridges, ports, transit and electric vehicle infrastructure.
