December 10, 2021 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published an estimate of the Democrats' tax and spending reconciliation bill, requested by House Budget Committee Ranking Member Jason Smith (MO-08) and Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (SC), that confirms the bill's true cost to be $4.9 trillion and $3 trillion in new debt. "This analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirms that Washington Democrats are misleading the public about the true cost and impact of their tax and spending agenda," said Ranking Member Smith. "For weeks, Democrats have ignored independent analyses that showed what CBO today has now confirmed - their reckless reconciliation bill will ultimately cost $4.9 trillion and add $3 trillion to the debt. In the past, Democrats heralded the CBO as the 'gold standard.' It is irresponsible and disrespectful to American taxpayers that Democrats remain in denial about the true impact of their agenda while at the same time they are doing nothing to tackle the highest spike in consumer prices since 1982, as confirmed by the Department of Labor this morning. In fact, their proposal will only make the recent spike in prices worse. Democrats are wasting precious time attempting to ram through an agenda that will bankrupt the economy, benefit the wealthy, and build the Washington bureaucracy." "CBO has provided a true cost of the bill over ten years - assuming the programs never go away - which they will not. Their analysis is stunning," said Ranking Member Graham. "The true cost of the bill has more than doubled and the effect on the deficit is eightfold. This score should stop the effort to pass Build Back Better in its tracks because it will dramatically expand government and do great harm to energy production. We're calling on the Democratic Party to shelve Build Back Better to give the American consumer and economy breathing room to recover. I very much appreciate CBO scoring Build Back Better without budget gimmicks. We all know that the new provisions will not sunset - they never do." On November 9th, Smith and Graham wrote to CBO requesting a supplemental score of the Democrats' tax and spending reconciliation bill to show the cost of the bill if provisions within the bill were made permanent, as is the stated intent of Congressional Democrats and the White House. The bill sunsets various, costly programs solely to make them appear less expensive on paper. These include the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit expansions which the bill currently sunsets after 2022, the expanded Obamacare subsidies which the bill currently sunsets after 2025, and the Child Care and Universal Pre-Kindergarten provisions which the bill currently sunsets after 2027. CBO's analysis confirms that the Democrats' tax and spending bill over the next ten years: • Costs $4.9 trillion • Adds $3 trillion to the debt • Adds $266 billion in interest on the debt-When added to topline costs brings total to $5.1 trillion.

National defense is a core, constitutional function of our government.

We must do whatever necessary to protect our homeland from terror, and we must take the fight to the enemy. Rather than making up the plan along the way, we must continue to develop and carry out a clear strategy for confronting our Nation's enemies. Instead of fighting with yesterday's tools, we must ensure sure that our Service Members have every resource necessary to defeat these threats.

First, we must protect the Homeland; we must keep terrorists out of America, secure our borders, and stop cyber-attacks. Second, we must eradicate the terrorists, and prevailing in the war against radical Islamist extremism must become our top national security policy. Third, we must ensure that our country is ready to tackle the threats of our time -- and beyond. Finally, we must defend our freedom.

Our ability to do that depends on the willingness of our Nation's leaders to face the world with clear and open eyes, and the determination to secure America's values and interests. The safety of our Nation remains my top priority. Congress must fulfill its duty to "&provide for the common defense&", and we must meet that responsibility.