Max Baucus: “the debate on this bill is winding to a close, so let me return to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The…”

“the debate on this bill is winding to a close, so let me return to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Congressional Budget Office is the referee we all turn to as an impartial judge of whether we are accomplishing what we set out to do, so I will take a moment and quote from the Congressional Budget Office. It is very appropriate as it relates to the prior conversation on the other side. Let me read excerpts from the most recent Congressional Budget Office statement on deficits, debt, and coverage and whether this is deficit neutral. This was released Saturday. This is a statement by the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation. They are our scorekeepers. They determine how much we are spending and how much revenue we are taking in on legislation and what the net result is. Here are the highlights of the letter: Enacting both pieces of legislation--H.R. 3590-- That is basically our Senate bill that passed the House and the President signed-- --and the reconciliation proposal--would produce a net reduction in Federal deficits of $143 billion over the 2010- 2019 period. That is a direct quote from the CBO. Further quoting: Enacting H.R. 3590 by itself would yield a net reduction in Federal deficits of $118 billion over the 2010-2019 period.”