Republicans change their tune on Congressional Budget Office after health care report

tupungato/iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — After the Congressional Budget Office released its report Monday on the Republican-backed American Health Care Act, estimating that 14 million more people will be uninsured next
year — a number that grows to 24 million by 2026 — supporters of the plan were quick to levy complaints against the office despite previous praise.

“The CBO looked at a portion of our plan, but not the entire plan,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price. “We disagree strenuously with the report that was put out.”

“We think that CBO simply has it wrong,” he later added.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer led the preemptive impingements of the office last week, saying, “If you’re looking to the CBO for accuracy, you’re looking in the wrong place.”

“Anyone who can do basic math can understand their projections for Obamacare the last time were way, way off the mark,” said Spicer. “I think when they come out with this score, we need to
understand their track record when it comes to healthcare.”

The CBO says it stands by its estimates and notes that there can be some variation. A spokesperson for the agency pointed ABC News to the section of their current report that details “uncertainty
surrounding the estimates.”

The current director of the CBO, Keith Hall, was chosen for the post by Republicans. In February 2015, then-Representative Price, as chair of the House Budget Committee, along with his senate
counterpart Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., selected Hall. At the time, Price offered nothing but praise for the former chief economist of the International Trade Commission.

“Keith Hall will bring an impressive level of economic expertise and experience to the Congressional Budget Office,” said Price in a statement upon Hall’s appointment. “Throughout his career, he
has served in both the public and private sector, under presidents of both parties, and in roles that make him well-suited to lead the CBO.”

“In particular, during his time at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Dr. Hall has worked on providing Congress with non-partisan economic analyses –- a role similar to the responsibilities
he will now assume as CBO director,” Price continued.

Spicer similarly promoted the CBO and its predictions on his personal Twitter account on several occasions from 2012 to 2016, to knock the Affordable Care Act and other Democratic policies.

“New From @RNCResearch: CBO Confirms ObamaCare Is Bad For The Economy And Workers,” tweeted Spicer in February 2014, linking to a Republican National Committee compilation of news stories on the
CBO’s estimate.

“CBO projects job losses with minimum wage increase,” reads another Spicer tweet from the same month with a link to a Reuters story covering the office’s report.

In 2014, before he joined the CBO, Hall co-wrote an op-ed in The Hill opposing components of the Affordable Care Act, a position that aligns with Republicans currently trying to replace the plan.
He said the legislation, known informally as Obamacare, would shrink the workforce and cited a report from his future employer.

“CBO recently found that the ACA will significantly penalize work, causing an exodus from the labor force the equivalent of more than 2 million full-time workers in just a few years,” Hall wrote
with co-author Charles Blahous.

Now, after the CBO’s negative findings on the American Health Care Act, Price himself wasn’t willing to completely dismiss the analysis. Asked if he was encouraging “lawmakers to disregard [the]
report” Monday, Price had a straightforward answer: “No. We will read the report, look into the report, beyond the top lines.”

Despite outcry about the CBO report amongst Republicans, many latched onto its conclusion that the American Health Care Act would reduce the federal deficit by more than $330 billion by 2026 and
eventually lower average premiums for single policyholders by “roughly 10 percent” in the next decade.

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., no stranger to speaking his mind, even when it comes to criticism of his own party, summarized the GOP’s position Monday, telling reporters, “We like the CBO when
they agree with us. When they don’t, they’re a bunch of losers.”

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

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