Conservatives, Angry Over CBO’s Health Law Numbers, Fail In Bid To Slash Agency’s Budget
"Just like you wouldn't drive a car while blindfolded, you shouldn't be voting on legislation without knowing what the real costs are, intended or unintended," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., told House colleagues in defending the agency.
McClatchy:
House Soundly Rejects Conservative Bid To Enviscerate Congressional Budget Office
Conservative House Republicans, enraged by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s findings that Obamacare’s repeal would leave millions without health care coverage, failed Wednesday in a bid to cut the agency’s budget and staff, a move that would have dramatically weakened its effectiveness. The House rejected, 309-116, an effort by four conservative Republicans, including Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., to eliminate the CBO’s Budget Analysis Division. (Siripurapu, 7/26)
The Hill:
CBO Survives Two House Amendments Targeting Funding
“We rely on CBO’s analysts to provide, fair, impartial, and fact-based analysis. Without that analysis, Congress could not do its work or stay within the very budget constraints we set up for ourselves in law,” Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Va.) and Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Ma.) wrote in a “dear colleague” letter opposing the amendments. (Elis, 7/26)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
McClatchy:
House Committee Blocks Bill To Let VA Doctors Prescribe Pot For Pain
Republican lawmakers have blocked a vote on a bill that would have allowed Veterans Affairs doctors to recommend medical marijuana as a pain treatment in states where the drug is legal. The House Rules Committee stopped a proposed “Veterans Equal Access” amendment from moving to debate on the House floor by keeping the measure out of the House’s proposed VA funding bill for next year. (Kime, 7/26)
