"The CBO says..." Gospel Truth or Meaningless Information

“The CBO says…”  One can often hear both Democrats and Republicans proudly pontificating on the findings of the CBO when those findings further their political agenda.

“The CBO says that the President’s Health Care Reform Act reduces the deficit by $147 billion dollars over ten years.”  Democrats squeal with joy.

One can also hear those same legislators dismiss the CBO findings when those findings throw cold water on their ambitions.

“The CBO says that repealing the President’s Health Care Reform Act will add $230 billion to the deficit.”  “Their analysis is wrong because they only take into consideration the facts that they are given.” Republicans sneer.   (Editor’s note:  What other facts could they analyze other than the facts that they are given to analyze.)

What is the CBO?  And why do people care what it thinks?

The CBO is the Congressional Budget Office.  In simple terms, it is a nonpartisan body that is charged with providing Congress and the President an impartial analysis of the monetary effects a proposed piece of legislation will have on the country’s pocketbook.  Its’ analysis and subsequent findings can provide weight and validity to any proposed legislation.  A positive finding can provide the impetus to push a piece of legislation through Congress.  A bad analysis can bring the end to what seemed like a good idea at the time.  Is it important?  It would seem so.  Democrats spent months tweaking their health care bill so that it would meet the CBO sniff test.

So why does Congress have the CBO if lawmakers only listen to it when it suits their needs?  Good question.  The simple answer is because the CBO can only provide analysis and cannot force Congress to act in any particular manner.  Put another way, Congress often ignores the CBO findings because they can…and because sometimes, oddly enough, politics wins out over common sense.  

One thing is certain.  Failing to heed the CBO’s advice has led us to the need to raise the country’s $14 trillion dollar debt ceiling (credit card limit) in the next few months.  And more is coming.  This week alone Republicans passed new House Rules that will make way for programs that will increase the national debt by $1.01 trillion dollars.

Next week House Republicans have vowed to repeal Obama’s health care bill.  They will undertake this charade to appease their Tea Party handlers knowing full well that their efforts will be blocked either in the Senate or by the President’s veto.  Once their repeal efforts are rebuffed they will attack the bill incrementally and make every effort to stop its’ funding; once again ignoring the CBO's analysis. 

So as Congress wastes time on this repeal strictly for the purpose of political theater they are missing a most important point.  While they  generously approve hundreds billions of dollars that we don’t have to build hospitals and clinics in Iraq and Afghanistan and pour billions more into foreign aid, over 50 million Americans who put them in office are suffering without affordable quality health care.  To politicize this is both fiscally and morally wrong.