Biden falsely says $2.25T spending plan will create 19M jobs
Moody's estimate finds spending plan would add about 2.7M jobs, not 19M
President Biden is seeking to convince the American people that Congress needs to pass his next big-ticket economic plan, touting the sweeping, $2.25 trillion measure unveiled last week as a once-in-a-generation investment in the nation's economy and infrastructure.
But the president and his top lieutenants have inaccurately depicted how many jobs the eight-year initiative will create, a figure that's essential to their sales pitch.
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"Independent analysis shows that if we pass this plan the economy will create 19 million jobs," Biden said in remarks at the White House last week. "Good jobs, blue-collar jobs, jobs that pay well."
The figure cited by Biden comes from a Moody's Analytics estimate, which found the U.S. economy will add about 19 million jobs between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the fourth quarter of 2030 if lawmakers pass the so-called American Jobs Plan.
But that research includes many jobs that would be created even if the government did nothing.
President Biden responds to a question after speaking about the March jobs report in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, April 2, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Over that 10-year time period, the economy is already on track to add about 16.3 million jobs, whether or not Congress passes the infrastructure bill, according to Moody's. That would mean the proposal itself will add about 2.7 million jobs, significantly fewer than the 19 million promoted by Biden and other administration officials.
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Both Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, and Pete Buttigieg, the secretary of transportation, have lauded the job-creating potential of the spending measure.
"Moody's suggests it would create 19 million jobs," Deese said during an interview on "Fox News Sunday." Buttigieg repeated that same figure during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press."
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The White House did not immediately respond to a FOX Business request for comment, but Buttigieg did acknowledge during an interview on CNN's "Situation Room" that the 19 million figure includes just 2.7 million from the passage of the American Jobs Plan.
"I should be precise about this. Moody’s modeled a scenario where the American Jobs Plan is passed. In that scenario they see the American economy creating 19 million jobs," he said. "That’s 2.7 [million] more than if this bill doesn’t pass.”