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Title: A ‘Budget-Busting’ Law? Republicans and Democrats both misrepresent the fiscal effect of the health care law.
Source:
factcheck
URL Source: http://factcheck.org/2011/01/a-budget-busting-law/
Published: Jan 19, 2011
Author: factcheck
Post Date: 2011-01-19 16:27:49 by go65
Keywords: None
Views: 2543
Comments: 3
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office states that repealing the health care law would worsen the federal deficit over the next 10 years — by $230 billion. So how does the House Republican Leadership support its claim that the law itself is "budget-busting" and would add $701 billion to the deficit? And how does Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi justify claiming it will "save taxpayers $1.3 trillion"? Both sides are spinning shamelessly. We judge that CBO’s projection, which is both official and nonpartisan, is the best available. But even that estimate is uncertain, as the agency itself concedes. For one thing, there is doubt about whether all of the Medicare savings in the law will actually materialize. Those reductions are supposed to offset part of the law’s new spending, but they could put too great a burden on hospitals. Pelosi’s $1.3 trillion claim is deceptive. She’s projecting CBO’s estimate 20 years into the future, something the agency says is an imprecise and uncertain calculation. Furthermore the law raises taxes to pay for much of its new spending, so saying it "saves taxpayers" anything is misleading. Her figure is actually a reduction in the projected federal deficit. As for the GOP’s claim that "the bill would add over $700 billion in red ink over the next decade," we judge it to be mostly bogus. It rests largely on a claim that hundreds of billions of dollars in projected Medicare savings are being "double-counted." But CBO is simply not doing that. The GOP’s $700 billion figure also includes more than $200 billion for a permanent "doctor fix" to prevent a cut in Medicare payments to doctors. But that is not even a part of the new law, and many Republicans endorse the "doctor fix" anyway. The GOP claims the law will cost $115 billion to administer, but that isn’t true. CBO actually puts those costs at roughly $10 billion to $20 billion over the next 10 years.
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#1. To: go65 (#0)
BULL S#*T
Go56 isn't about anything as minor as reality interfere with his agenda... ;)
In the end, the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. ... The heresy of heresies was common sense. ME: Thanks for admitting that you ARE trying to spin this (AZ shooting, and terrorism) onto Palin, and conservatives in general. ME: THERE IS NO MORE MONEY. It's so bad. Expect collapse. Camden, NJ is becoming what the Republicans desire - a place where government intrusion into the life of the citizenry is disappearing. In order to balance its budget, the city is laying off 25% of its workers, including 50% of the police, 30% of the firemen. Plan a visit soon!
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office states that repealing the health care law would worsen the federal deficit over the next 10 years — by $230 billion.
#2. To: bayhorse (#1)
-- George Orwell, 1984 --
Brian S(ocialist): I have never hidden that fact...
GO65: There will be no more money when the U.S. dollar has no value, until that time we can keep printing more. 
#3. To: go65 (#0)
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