On the recordFebruary 18, 2011
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, seeing the gentleman from California down on the floor reminds me: When this bill passed, the Congressional Budget Office told us there would be $142 billion in savings over 10 years; but less than 30 days later, the chief actuary at CMS, Dr. Foster, came forward and said the bill was going to cost $318 billion additionally over that time. {time} 1010 That's a $450 billion swing, and even in the United States Congress, we ought to be able to get a little closer than that. I filed a resolution of inquiry with Chairman Waxman, who was then chairman of Energy and Commerce, who said let's sort this out. What did they know, when did they know it? Was Congress given inaccurate information before we voted on this very large bill? I was never allowed to bring that forward. We could have solved that last year and settled that part of the debate last year. Ms. DeLAURO. CBO: Repeal of the health care bill would add $230 billion to the deficit in the first 10 years. The Rehberg amendment would add $2 billion in 2012, a total of $5.5 billion over the next several years. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).
