Build Back Better paid for by tax revenue, savings, Democrats say

Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A congressional committee's analysis of the Build Back Better legislation says it will raise $1.47 trillion in revenue, a figure that, together with other savings will more than pay for the bill, Democrats said Thursday.

The Joint Committee on Taxation analysis of the revised bill released Thursday doesn't account for $250 billion in prescription drug savings and $400 billion in increased Internal Revenue Service collection efforts. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said those additional revenue streams show the BBB bill is "solidly paid for."

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the House ways and means committee, said "we've met every obligation we've had."

"The bill is paid for," he added, according to Roll Call.

But the legislation still doesn't have the votes.

Pelosi declined to reveal the timeline for a House vote on the bill -- and a social spending package -- during her Thursday news conference.

"We're going to pass both bills, but in order to do so, we have to have votes for both bills," she told reporters.

The White House and congressional Democrats have been negotiating the terms of the two bills for weeks, with moderates balking at the price tags. NBC News reported that five House Democrats considered to be centrists -- Ed Case of Hawaii, Jared Golden of Maine, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Stephanie Murphy of Florida and Kurt Schrader of Oregon -- asked Pelosi for a cost estimate on the BBB before considering the legislation on the House floor.

In reaction to the JCT analysis, the Treasury Department estimated the bill will generate $2 trillion in savings.

"The bottom line is that the Build Back Better Act under consideration in the House of Representatives will be fully paid for and reduce the deficit," the Treasury Department said.