Moral Outcry

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you already know that our invested interest (some say obsessive) in the Health Care Reform debate has been strictly focused on the abortion issue. Our firm stance is that we're are at a moment of cultural shift, and the nation cannot go the way of taxpayer-funded abortion. We are not simply ignoring all the other important aspects of the health care debate. This is just the patch of land that the Lord has given us to defend...AND DEFEND IT WE DO!

However, if you're even lightly following the news and the progress of the Health Care Bill that's before the House right now, you've probably heard someone say in the last few days, "We awaiting the CBO score." Not wanting to waste any valuable brain hard drive space, you might have chosen not to even question what that was. After all the President has assured us that America doesn't want to be bothered by legislative process, right? RIGHT? (facetiousness intended)

Well this is a big one. CBO stands for "Congressional Budget Office" and they're the nonpartisan guys that evaluate the bill to actually put a cost estimate on it. This is a huge deal for the folks that have been campaigning for the bill promising certain dollar amounts.

That CBO score was supposed to have been released as early as last Friday. Well, it's Wednesday and we still haven't seen the CBO score. AND WE STILL HAVEN'T SEEN THE FINAL THE BILL AS A RESULT. In interviews, spokesmen are deflecting direct questions by saying, "We're still waiting on the CBO score." That might have had you wondering, "Hey, will somebody please call those CBO guys back from their coffee break so we can see that score thing?" The extended delay suggests something else though that seems to have been confirmed. The House leadership isn't getting the score they want or need.

Congressional Quarterly reports:

House Democratic leaders are still struggling to produce a final health care overhaul bill at an acceptable official cost estimate, but Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Tuesday they continue to plan a final vote this week. House leaders were to huddle late Tuesday afternoon, following a noon session of the full Democratic Caucus. There were reports they are having trouble drafting a bill that meets their budgetary targets….

Rank-and-file Democrats did not talk about the details, but said that the CBO scores had come up short.  “They were less than expected” in terms of deficit reduction, said Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, who plans to vote for the bill.

CQ Politics noted:

House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., was asked by reporters about reports that preliminary CBO scores showed that the reconciliation bill does not save $2 billion over five years as required under budget rules, and that the costs of the total bill topped $1 trillion. "I don't know that yet," he replied. "We're waiting to hear back from CBO. When I left the meeting last night, we were sending it back to CBO."

Rep. Robert E. Andrews, D-N.J., who has been asked by House leaders to help promote the bill, also declined to talk about whether initial CBO estimates may have revealed problems.

Sending it back? Hmmm. Seems clear that even though they don't have the votes to pass the bill yet, these kinds of fiscal woes will scare off any fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats that may be on the fence.

The American Spectator explains:

There are several things that Democrats are up against when it comes to the CBO score. The most important is that, based on reconciliation instructions, the “fix” bill must be shown to reduce the deficit by at least $1 billion. The challenge is, that’s after assuming that the Senate bill is law. In other words, the reconciliation bill can’t claim any of the deficit reduction from the Senate bill, but rather it must reduce the deficit relative to the Senate bill. Yet the changes that are being talked about will cost a lot of money. This includes eliminating the “Cornhusker kickback” and offering enhanced Medicaid subsidies to all states, increasing subsidies for the purchase of insurance, eliminating the so-called "donut hole" on Medicare prescription drug benefits, and whatever else they put in the bill. At the same time, delaying until 2018 the enactment of the “Cadillac tax” would be scored as a reduction in revenue, and thus add further to the deficit. They’d have to make up the gap through tax increases as well as try to siphon “savings” away from the student loan bill. But evidently it seems like they’re running into trouble on this front.

Just thought I'd give you an idea of what the hold up is. I guess it's a matter of dollars and "sense." Who knows, they might have gotten a better response on Idol than the CBO. Then again, I don't like their chances with Simon.