[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 14 (Friday, February 11, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      CBO'S NUMBERS DO NOT ADD UP

  (Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, this past Tuesday, the Congressional Budget 
Office issued a report that said the President's health care plan had 
to be part of the Federal budget. This bookkeeping move added an 
additional $77 billion to the deficit over the next 5 years.
  The national press reported this story along with the news that the 
mandated premiums levied on businesses must be called what they really 
are--taxes.
  Unfortunately, the CBO report was incomplete.
  Comparing the CBO report with the JEC report I requested, there was a 
great difference between the deficit forecasts.
  The reason, CBO's study assumes that all of the President's price 
controls and efficiencies will work. In other words it was assumed that 
cost controls will work perfectly. They did a best-case scenario. Not a 
true middle-of-the-road projection.
  Indeed, history has shown that Government fiscal projections are 
almost never right.
  In order to get a more realistic estimate of the President's plan, 
today, I along with more than 60 Members of Congress have requested 
that the CBO redo their estimates. They should assume no premium caps 
or other cost controls advocated by the President's plan.
  If the President's plan is to be the starting point of discussion, 
the baseline must be credible. And the study's conclusions that have 
been brought forth must be corrected.

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