On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” White House American Rescue Plan Coordinator and Biden Senior Adviser Gene Sperling argued that the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan reduced the deficit and the fact that “we did not need another major, multibillion-dollar COVID package” is part of the reason deficits declined.
Sperling stated, [relevant remarks begin around 3:30] “It’s still been a year of coming back from COVID. You have global inflation. Our inflation is coming down. It’s only about 2% the last six months, but it’s still too high and people see some key food prices high. And gas prices have come down almost $1.70, but people might like them to be a little lower, and so we understand. I think there [are] different polls that show different things, but we understand people’s frustration. What I disagree with you about is people’s support of the president’s proposals. The American Rescue Plan is why growth surged, it’s why revenue surged and deficits came down.”
He later added, “[W]hen he came into office, the deficit was at 3.3 trillion. Because the American Rescue Plan worked, because growth came back fast, because revenue surged, because we did not need another major, multibillion-dollar COVID package, deficits have now come down 1.7 trillion.”
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