(NAFB) – The Congressional Budget Office reports enacting health care reform and its related legislation would reduce the Federal deficit by 138-billion dollars over a 10-year period. This is as the result of changes in direct spending and revenue. The figure was 8-billion more than Democratic leaders had estimated. A signal that this number is good news came from the White House when President Obama rescheduled his trip to Asia to June. It’s anticipated he will spend a lot of time helping get the legislation passed and moved to his desk.
House majority leader Stony Hoyer said – it is the largest deficit reduction measure in 25 years. Still, many Democrats have had serious concerns about the Senate version of the bill – even with a package of “fixes.” For many the biggest obstacle has been the overall cost of the bill – and claims that it would significantly expand the reach of government into one-sixth of the economy.
How many in the House will vote for the Senate package with fixes depends on who you talk to. Capitol Hill is awash in “whip” counts. But with the higher than expected CBO numbers, it appears House Democrats have the best chance they have had for awhile to gain a favorable vote.
