Well, in an effort to push health care, it seems the only Truth is what comes out of the mouth of Senator Reid or the President, everyone else is not telling the truth or is a partisan. Reported in todays Washington Post, President Obama "Urged Congress to push past growing doubts......"
As you likely know, the Congressional Budget office, an organization intended to review and assess the impact of legislation, stated something to the effect that the current health care bill moving though congress would likely increase the cost of health care and increase the deficit. The CBO issued a 17 page report making several important observations:
.....Among other things, the legislation would establish a mandate for legal residents to obtain health insurance; set up insurance “exchanges” through which some individuals and families could receive subsidies to substantially reduce the cost of purchasing insurance; significantly expand eligibility for Medicaid; make modifications to the Medicare and Medicaid programs; and impose an income-tax surcharge on high-income individuals....
....CBO’s and JCT’s preliminary assessment of the impact on the federal deficit for the bill as introduced is summarized in the following table. The enclosures with this letter provide estimates of the changes in the nonelderly U.S. population with health insurance coverage, the primary budgetary components of the bill’s major provisions related to insurance coverage, and a detailed table of the other provisions’ impact on federal direct spending. The estimated impact of the provisions related to health insurance coverage is based on specifications provided by the committee staff, rather than on a detailed analysis of the legislative language....
Even with a bunch of other revenue increases and savings from other government programs CBO concluded...
...According to CBO’s and JCT’s assessment, enacting H.R. 3200 would result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion over the 2010-2019 period. That estimate reflects a projected 10-year cost of the bill’s insurance coverage provisions of $1,042 billion, partly offset by net spending changes that CBO estimates would save $219 billion over the same period, and by revenue provisions that JCT estimates would increase federal revenues by about $583 billion over those 10 years.....
This report from the CBO was signed by Douglas Elmendorf, a former Clinton administration economist who was appointed to lead the CBO by the current Democrats in Congress. So, the democrats appointed the guy bearing bad news.
As written on the CBO website....
CBO's mandate is to provide the Congress with:
Objective, nonpartisan, and timely analyses to aid in economic and budgetary decisions on the wide array of programs covered by the federal budget and The information and estimates required for the Congressional budget process. So, what
As Reported by MSNBC....
"The New York Times writes that the Congressional Budget Office’s Douglas Elmendorf “told Congress that the health legislation proposed so far would not curb the federal government’s runaway spending on medical care and that lawmakers would need to take more forceful action to meet Mr. Obama’s goal of controlling costs. The testimony by Mr. Elmendorf before the Senate Budget Committee drew criticism from Democratic leaders, highlighting their rising frustration over the difficulty of paying for an overhaul. Asked about the testimony by Mr. Elmendorf, a highly regarded economist, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, snapped derisively, ‘Maybe what he (Elmendorf) should do is run for Congress.’”
And as reported in the Washington Post and other outlets President Obama said "That's Simply Not true" in regard to the CBO's assessment and its forecast of deficits.
So apparently the President and Senate Majority leader, believe the Democrat's appointed head of the CBO should either run for congress or stop lying. I know its not the CIA lying to congress but can we stop attacking the messenger. Apparently the President and Reid, both partisans, know more about economics than an Economist (Elmendorf).
One would have hoped that maybe Reid and the President could have said "The conclusions by the independent assessment arm of the Congress, the CBO, has raised some concerns about the affordability of health care. The Bill is still evolving. We look forward to their future assessments and will work hard to successfully address the CBO's concerns". I mean, isn't that a bit nicer way to say you disagree with someone.
This is not Pelosi saying the CIA lied, but at some point we need an Elliot Richardson moment where someone stands up and calls out congress and the president on the sham they are shoving down our throat, called healthcare reform.
