Na, na, na…I can’t hear you.
“I do not believe that repealing the job-killing health care law will increase the deficit,” Boehner said. “CBO’s entitled to their opinion, but they’re locked within constraints of the 1974 Budget Act.”
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is “entitled to their opinion” but there is no reason to believe they are right about anything. This is just the first salvo of bullshit. Anyone who knows what the CBO does, knows that they are an impartial observer that gives the best estimates of how much legislation will cost or save.
Naturally, it is possible for the CBO to be wrong, and their rigorous methodology can prevent them for accounting for indirect savings and costs in their estimates. They’re not perfect. However, in a letter to Boehner (pdf) today they tell the Speaker that his repeal bill (H.R. 2) will cost $145 billion. There are no offsets in the bill, largely because the Republicans refuse to admit that the health reforms improved our fiscal condition.
We are entering the reality-free zone, where Congress operates no differently than the set of the Sean Hannity show. The GOP will cite the CBO whenever they like what they have to say. The rest of the time they’ll tell us that the CBO are hacks just like all the climate scientists in the world.
