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Mike Braun

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WASHINGTON — It seems that lawmakers who supported the Inflation Reduction Act may not have been as forthcoming about the numbers within the measure.

Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act in July of last year intended to help Americans out with rising inflation as well as push new climate initiatives. It also extends the Affordable Care Act to reduce the cost of health insurance

A report from Goldman Sachs released this week shows that the plan will cost about $1.2 trillion over the next several years, which is three times what was initially advertised by lawmakers.

“Smoke in mirrors here on any of this stuff,” said Sen. Mike Braun reacting to the report on CNBC. “Especially on reconciliation bills that had no Republican votes and we’re borrowing not 30 cents on every dollar here.”

If the numbers from Goldman Sachs are accurate, some are wondering how that big of a price tag could have slipped through the cracks.

Braun believes that there were hidden tax credits in the measure that are costing the government more money than was initially predicted.

The Congressional Budget Office originally forecast that the law’s energy and climate provisions would cost taxpayers $391 billion between 2022 and 2031.