03.24.23

Congressional Budget Office Says H.R. 1, Republicans’ “Polluters Over People” Bill, Will Increase the Deficit

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) newly released estimate that Republicans’ H.R. 1, the “Polluters Over People Act,” will increase the federal deficit by $2.4 billion over the next ten years. CBO further warned that the bill would add another $5 billion or more to that number in a subsequent ten-year period.

“We already knew that Republicans’ H.R. 1 was throwing the American people under the polluter bus by ignoring climate change, giving away our public lands, and silencing community voices—but now we can add ‘increasing our federal debt’ to the list too,” Ranking Member Grijalva said. “I can’t say I’m surprised though. The long list of handouts and giveaways to Big Oil and other polluters in this bill wasn’t going to come without a hefty price tag for American taxpayers.

“It’s long past time for Republicans to stop pretending to care about our budget and holding our debt ceiling hostage with reckless cuts to vital programs like Medicare and Social Security. The CBO score for this bill is showing the Republican agenda for what it is—political stunts and performative pro-polluter proposals.”

 

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