During an interview with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan over the weekend, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said that the debate over the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion social spending bill “shouldn’t be about numbers.”
“The head of your caucus, the progressive caucus, was on another network this morning and Rep. Jayapal said $1.5 trillion is just too small,” Brennan said. “That’s the number that Senate moderates, Joe Manchin in particular, want to get down to. President Biden, according to our reporting from Ed O’Keefe, our correspondent, says you’re going to have to settle for about $2 trillion. Is that an acceptable ceiling for you?”
“So here’s where I think the problem is,” Ocasio-Cortez responded. “It’s that when we talk about top line numbers, there’s a lot that is hidden in that discussion. And so the reason why this conversation shouldn’t be about numbers, but it should be about what substantive programs are willing to be excluded or that–”
“That’s coming from the White House,” Brennan responded.
“Yeah, but the White House isn’t making the demands to exclude universal childcare or universal pre-K,” Ocasio-Cortez responded, later adding that “The budget bill that House progressives are trying to fight for, the Biden Build Back Better agenda, includes universal pre-K, free community college, expansion of Medicare; we’re fighting for expansion of Medicaid. And these are the things that we are saying, in addition to the very real climate threat that we have, emissions reductions, are worth standing up for.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments come as the United States debt continues to grow as a result of the Biden administration increasing government spending to record levels.
