GOP tries to discredit agency reviewing its health care bill

[riversedge]

Source: CNN




Thu March 9, 2017


Story highlights

"If you're looking to the CBO for accuracy, you're looking in the wrong place," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said


Washington (CNN)Republicans don't have a CBO score yet on their health care bill, but they're already taking shots at the CBO.

Lawmakers of all stripes are anxiously waiting for the nonpartisan and highly respected Congressional Budget Office to issue its report of the GOP's Obamacare replacement bill, which will detail how much the measure will cost and how many millions of people stand to lose health coverage.

But anticipating a report that isn't favorable to Republicans, the White House and GOP lawmakers are actively looking to delegitimize the agency's credibility.
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The No. 3 House Republican, Majority Whip Steve Scalise, said Wednesday he doesn't want to let "unelected bureaucrats in Washington" slow down the Republican promise to repeal and replace Obamacare..........................

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/08/politics/obamacare-cbo/?iid=ob_lockedrail_topeditorial

[mpcamb]

1. "If you're looking to the Republicans for accuracy, you're looking in the wrong place,"

"If you're looking to Spicer for accuracy, you're looking in the wrong place,"

Take your pick.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. The Republicons know the bill is crooked and know their own estimates are crooked. . . nt

[progree]

3. I didn't know they had an estimate, other than "it will be great!"

[Cryptoad]

4. Does the CBO use GOP Math?

[Hortensis]

5. "GOP Repeal Bill Depletes Medicare Trust Fund Faster"

You bet they're trying to discredit analysts.

The long-awaited GOP health care bill finally unveiled this week strikes an immediate blow to Medicare funding, accelerating a solvency crisis that health policy experts say could open the door to even more devastating cuts down the road.

By repealing a payroll tax on high earners that provided a critical additional revenue stream for the Medicare trust fund, the GOP's proposed American Health Care Act would speed up the fund’s exhaustion by as many as three to four years, according to estimates from health care policy experts.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/gop-health-care-bill-repeal-medicare-tax-funding-crisis

[MurrayDelph]

6. Once again showing

that facts have a liberal bias.