Thursday, September 23, 2021

Let CBO estimate before you legislate

In my recent Times column on the expanded social safety net, the following passage was cut in the editorial process, but it is an important point, which I am afraid is being lost in the Congressional rush to get something done:

Team Biden says they won’t pass the bill onto future generations in the form of higher public debt. Whether that’s true is hard to say. The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Tax Committee have not yet scored the bill because it hasn’t been written. Let’s hope that Congressional leadership is patient enough to let the scorekeepers do their jobs before bringing the legislation up for a vote.