Congressman Shadegg Calls CBO Calculations Little More than Disneyland on the Potomac

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 9, 2009

Contact: Sara Mueller

(202) 225-3361

CBO Calculations Little More than Disneyland on the Potomac Score Counts Revenues, Omits Expenditures

Shadegg: “Only in Washington could a score this bizarre be taken seriously. The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) score of Baucus’ plan at $829 billion is based on 10 years of revenues raised but only seven years of expenditures. This kind of score makes Enron accounting look prudent and thoughtful.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman John Shadegg (AZ-03) issued the following statement in response to theCongressional Budget Office’s (CBO) wildly misleading report on the Senate Democrats’ plan to nationalize health care in America :

“Could you make your company’s profits or your personal finances look stunningly good if you issued an ‘independent financial analysis’ that counted ten years of income but only seven years of expenses? That’s exactly what the CBO did in their analysis of liberal Washington ’s calculated takeover of America ’s health care system.

“The real spending in Senator Max Baucus’ health care plan starts in 2013. But the revenue stream begins in 2010, including significant new tax revenues and cuts to Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Where else in America , besides in Washington , can you sell a program as being fiscally responsible based on an analysis that counts ten years of revenue but only seven years of spending?

“Only in Washington could a score this bizarre be taken seriously. The CBO’s score of Baucus’ plan at $829 billion is based on 10 years of revenues raised but only seven years of expenditures. This kind of score makes Enron accounting look prudent and thoughtful. In reality this plan will cost taxpayers over $2 trillion dollars.

“This latest, bizarre twist in the health care reform charade just goes to show that Democrats in Congress will stop at nothing to socialize health care, not even the widespread promotion of abjectly fraudulent figures. No American should trust Washington ’s fuzzy math.”