Jared Golden sole Democrat to vote against Build Back Better Act

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) was the sole Democrat to vote against the Build Back Better Act on Friday.

Golden revealed his plans for voting against the massive spending bill on Thursday in a statement to the Bangor Daily News, citing tax rule changes that would likely benefit the wealthy.

Golden said he felt Democrats could “do better” than what has already been included in the social spending package. However, he did not rule out voting for the bill once it made its way through the Senate.

“Many of my colleagues argue this major line item is worth accepting to pass the rest of the bill,” Golden said in a statement to the newspaper. “I disagree: the SALT giveaway in the Build Back Better Act is larger than the child care, pre-K, healthcare or senior care provisions of the bill.”

Earlier this month, Golden published a Medium post outlining his concerns with the spending package, expressing disappointment with the child tax credit, the elimination of the SALT cap and the lack of prescription drug pricing reform.

Golden has voted against his party in the past, including on the COVID-19 relief bill earlier this year and on former President Trump’s second impeachment.

The centrist Democrat was also among the lawmakers who called for a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the bill before voting.

On Thursday, the CBO released a full cost estimate of the Build Back Better Act, estimating that the bill would increase the deficit by $367 billion over 10 years. The estimate did not, however, take into account the $207 billion in revenue that the bill would raise.

If the package does pass through the Senate and Golden decides again to vote against it, House Democrats can only afford to lose two more votes in order to pass the roughly $2 trillion spending bill.