Health overhaul to cut deficit by $100 billion: Hoyer
Medical records clerks work in Clinica Sierra Vista's East Bakersfield Community Health Center in Bakersfield, California October 20, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Phil McCarten
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Thursday that sweeping healthcare overhaul legislation was on track for passage by the U.S. House of Representatives and would cut the deficit by more than $100 billion in the first 10 years.
Expanding healthcare coverage will cost about $940 billion over 10 years. But revenue increases and savings in the bill will cover those costs, and Hoyer said Congressional Budget Office estimates to be released on Thursday would show the deficit would be reduced by $1 trillion in the subsequent decade.
The healthcare overhaul will result in "the largest deficit reduction of any bill adopted by Congress since 1993," Hoyer said. An aide said the amount of deficit reduction in the first 10 years would likely be between $120 billion and $130 billion.
President Barack Obama and congressional Democratic leaders have been struggling to finish work on a final package of changes to a Senate-passed version of healthcare reform and line up the 216 House votes needed to pass it.
Hoyer said the effort is picking up momentum.
"We're on track for a Sunday vote," Hoyer said.
(Reporting by Donna Smith; Editing by David Alexander)
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And by momentum I guess he means, figuring out ways to pass bills without voting on them. Note to all voters, the Dems are forcefully expanding the government under the ruse (ie lies) of helping (some) people.
Ask Massachussets how they like their healthcare, or maybe we should ask Idaho if they want healthcare forced upon them. Google Idaho and healthcare and see what you find.
(1) Their cost estimate doesn’t include $400 billion for the Medicare “doctor fix” that Congress will have to fund separately.
(2) It includes $100 billion from Social Security, even though Social Security is already out of money and having to cash in IOU’s from the U.S. Treasury.
(3) The CBO assumes employers who decide not to buy insurance for their workers will pay the 8% fine, pay these workers enough extra to buy their own insurance, and also pay Social Security and payroll taxes on this extra money – even though the net result will be more costly to the employer than just buying the health insurance. Are you kidding?
The CBO may be non-partisan, but it still scores the legislation according to specific criteria established by the Democrats and Obama. They should use common-sense criteria because as it is they are clearly NOT non-partisan.
I think the American people deserve an honest appraisal of this legislation.
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