Psaki vs Pelosi: White House says $3.5T package 'will be paid for,' speaker suggests otherwise
Pelosi said earlier Wednesday that 'maybe' all of the spending would be offset
Markets experiencing a slowdown with September underway
The Marketgauge Group managing director Michelle Schneider and Peapack Private Wealth Management managing director David Dietz provide insight on market concerns on 'Making Money'
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki contradicted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's assessment of how much of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package will add to the debt, saying the entire package "is going to be paid for."
"This is going to be paid for," Psaki said during Wednesday's press briefing when asked about negotiations over the size of the reconciliation package. "That is something the president is committed to, something Senator Manchin has called for as well. The real choice right now is whether you're going to lower costs for people in this country on elder care, child care, cost of college, or whether you're going to allow the wealthiest Americans and corporations to continue to pay the tax rates that are hardly fair moving forward."
DEMOCRATS PUSHING SLEW OF TAX HIKES TO FUND MASSIVE SPENDING PLAN: A ROUNDUP OF PROPOSALS
But those comments seemingly contradicted Pelosi, who said earlier Wednesday that "maybe" all of the package could be paid for without adding to the debt.
"We will pay for more than half maybe all of the legislation," Pelosi said. "We will be taking some responsibility to pay for what is in there so the cost for the future will be much lower than any 3.5."
The debate over how much the legislation would add to the debt comes after Sen. Joe Manchin urged Democrats to pause their effort to pass a $3.5 trillion package, arguing such a large amount of spending could lead to unintended consequences.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
"I, for one, won’t support a $3.5 trillion bill, or anywhere near that level of additional spending, without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects inflation and debt have on existing government programs," Manchin said last week.
Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, represents a critical vote for Democrats in an evenly divided Senate with fierce Republican opposition to many of the bill's provisions.