Last Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office released a cost estimate for H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act (Rules Committee Print 117-18 incorporating a manager’s amendment by Congressman Yarmuth); the next day, the House passed a slightly modified version of that bill.
Today, CBO has released four related slide decks:
- "Economic Effects of Expanding Subsidized Child Care and Providing Universal Preschool,"
- "Economic Effects of Offering a Federal Paid Family and Medical Leave Program,"
- "Economic Effects of Expanding Home- and Community-Based Services in Medicaid," and
- "Paying for Drugs in Medicare Part D Under Current Law and Under Proposals to Redesign the Program."
In the first three slide decks, we describe channels through which the policies in question—which are included in the House-passed Build Back Better Act—could affect the economy. Understanding those channels will be important to the development of our next economic forecast if the policies are adopted. (The economic effects that the slide decks describe are not reflected in CBO’s cost estimate for the bill.)
In the fourth slide deck, we provide background on Medicare Part D, describe common elements in proposed redesigns of the Part D benefit (which are included in the Build Back Better Act), and discuss their potential effects.
The slide decks were prepared to answer questions asked by Members of Congress, to enhance the transparency of our work, and to encourage external review of that work.
Phillip L. Swagel is CBO’s Director.