Fact Check: Senate's version adds $500 billion more debt than House version!

Fact Check: Senate's Version Adds $500 Billion More Debt Than House Version!

What We Know

The claim that the Senate's version of a recent bill adds $500 billion more to the national debt than the House version is supported by several analyses. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the Senate bill would add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt over a decade, which is significantly higher than the $2.4 trillion cost of the House version (New York Times, source-1).

Furthermore, the CBO's initial estimate does not account for additional borrowing costs, which could push the total debt increase closer to $4 trillion (Reuters, source-2). This discrepancy is largely attributed to the Senate's inclusion of permanent tax cuts, which were not as expansive in the House version.

Analysis

The Senate's bill has been criticized for its higher cost compared to the House version, with a difference of approximately $900 billion in projected debt increase over the next decade. The CBO's methodology for estimating the costs has been contested by some Republican lawmakers, who argue that the extension of existing tax cuts should not be considered a new cost (New York Times, source-1).

The Senate's approach to budgeting, which includes ignoring the costs of extending the 2017 tax cuts, allows them to present a more favorable fiscal picture. However, this method has raised concerns among fiscal conservatives who fear it will exacerbate the national debt (Reuters, source-2).

Additionally, independent analyses, such as those from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, suggest that the Senate bill could increase borrowing by an additional $500 billion to $1.2 trillion compared to the House version (Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, source-8). This further supports the claim that the Senate's version adds more debt.

Conclusion

The claim that the Senate's version of the bill adds $500 billion more to the national debt than the House version is True. The evidence from the CBO and other independent analyses clearly indicates that the Senate bill's projected debt increase is significantly higher than that of the House bill, with estimates ranging from $3.3 trillion to potentially over $4 trillion when accounting for additional borrowing costs.