IV 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 883 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 2, 2009 Mr. Herger (for himself, Mr. Camp, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin, Mr. Nunes, and Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Members of the House receive the necessary cost information regarding health care reform legislation at least 72 hours before any vote on such legislation.

Whereas it is imperative that Members of the House of Representatives have the necessary cost information before any vote on health care reform legislation in the House; Whereas, on September 24, 2009, The Hill newspaper reported that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has committed to a 72-hour waiting period between posting healthcare legislation online and a final vote on the bill; Whereas the Office of the Actuary (OACT) for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for estimating the financial effects of proposals to create national health insurance systems; Whereas Peter Orszag, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, stated on February 23, 2009, that the single most important thing we can do to improve the long-term fiscal health of our Nation is slow the growth rate in health care costs; Whereas the OACT is the only non-partisan Government office capable of estimating changes in national spending on health care of pending legislation and recently estimated that one version of health reform legislation pending in Congress would dramatically increase, rather than decrease, total United States spending on health care; Whereas, when Congress debated the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–173), the New York Times reported on March 25, 2004, that Democrats complained that they had been misled when they were denied access to CMS’ analysis; Whereas Representative Charles Rangel, then the Ranking Member on the Ways and Means Committee stated, on March 25, 2004, in reference to the OACT’s analysis of that Act, that there is a need that we have integrity with professional actuaries and that they can report the information as needed, not wanted, by the Congress; Whereas Representative Pete Stark, then the Ranking Member on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, stated on March 25, 2004, that there is no doubt in my mind that [that Act] would not have been enacted had these estimates and analyses [from the OACT] been made public during the process; and Whereas it is critical for Members and the American public to have a complete and full understanding of the cost and impact of health care reform: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives should not consider H.R. 3200, H.R. 3962, or any related health care reform legislation in the 111th Congress until the Office of the Actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has made its estimate the financial effects of such legislation publicly available for at least 72 hours.