Biden Spins Facts on Framework

In a speech announcing the framework for a pared-down spending plan, President Joe Biden made some questionable claims:

Biden said the plan is “fully paid for,” but some economists believe the White House revenue estimates are a bit rosy and warn that the balanced book relies on expiring spending plans that the White House hopes to extend in the future.

In pitching a program to replace diesel school buses with electric vehicles, the president said electric vehicles “do not expend any pollution into the air.” But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a carbon footprint.

In talking about the plan’s child care provisions, Biden said he “couldn’t afford child care” in the early 1970s, when he was earning $42,000 as a new senator and raising two young boys. We can’t say he’s wrong, but for context, that salary is about $270,000 in today’s dollars.

U.S. workers are among the most productive, not the most productive, but once again, Biden said the country had “the most productive workers” in the world.

The president spoke on Oct. 28 as congressional Democrats tried to build consensus for the plan.