Pay-for

The government is debating whether to include various pay-fors in order to fund the new infrastructure bill.

The bill is instead paid for by a jumble of pay-fors, including $40 billion from the Federal Reserve surplus account, which acts as a cushion to help the Fed take potential losses.

Why is it, she [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] retorts, that these questions arise only in connection with useful ideas, not wasteful ideas? Where were the 'pay-fors' for [George] Bush's $5 trillion wars and tax cuts, or for last year's $2 trillion tax giveaway to billionaires?

With the passage of a deficit-financed $1.9 trillion relief bill just hours away, Democrats in Congress may soon pivot to new agenda items, including President Biden's Build Back Better plan for infrastructure and other critical investments. And those lawmakers will inevitably face intense pressure from fiscal moderates to include tax "pay fors" in spending legislation.

"Other industries were probably better prepared to fend off being a pay-for," said Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James. "This is the first time they've really been on the menu."