Hearing of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee - Opening Statement of Sen. Murphy, Hearing on "CBO Analysis of Senate Healthcare Repeal Bill

Hearing

I'm really glad to have Dr. Hall here today. I got to visit with him yesterday at GAO -- excuse me, CBO -- and it's really important to have CBO here today. I'll just express my deep concern about the actions of the majority party in the House and the Senate with respect to the continued relevance and independence of the Congressional Budget Office.

"We don't just rely on CBO--our constituents rely on CBO. The only way that we're able to have a real, meaningful debate in this country about the impact of legislation that affects people's lives is because of the nonpartisan analysis that CBO provides us. The House health care bill, which was rammed through with almost no public debate, with no time for any legislator to read that legislation, was done so without a CBO score. And so hundreds of Members of Congress voted on a piece of legislation that reorders one fifth of the American economy, that as we eventually found out, strips health care from up to 23 million people without a nonpartisan analysis. And for those of us who believe in CBO, I think there is a deliberate campaign to try to reduce its relevance, because why have CBO if you are not going to ask it to give its opinion on a piece of legislation that is that big and that sweeping ahead of the vote.

"Similarly, we are headed towards a potential debate and vote on a piece of legislation next week that's equally sweeping that none of us have seen--that theoretically CBO is working on today but may release their analysis with only a handful of hours or days prior to the vote. That is, if the Senate majority decides to wait for their analysis before the vote. In addition, leading up to CBO's analysis of the House bill, there were some very sharp attacks on CBO from Members of Congress--attacks that got a little bit too personal at times. We should be investing in CBO's relevance by demanding that on major pieces of legislation, we see a CBO score before we vote. And we should refrain from compromising CBO's nonpartisanship and independence by trying to frame them in a political context."

"My fear is that the way in which Congress is interacting with CBO is changing radically. So here is the list of the CBO publications related to health care legislation released in 2009 and 2010, and it is a very long list. CBO started sending out reports in early 2009 and then began releasing estimates of the committee products once committees began their work, so that by the Fall of 2009, there were complete CBO reports that members could look at for the basis of considering legislation on the floor.

"What's happening here is very different. Republicans are not going through the committee process, there is no bill being produced by committee, they are negotiating a product in secret, and then having confidential conversations with CBO.

"So to the extent that you are interested -- and these are your words -- in a "level playing field", what do you about this relationship of confidentiality can be taken advantage of to effectively hold the CBO score until the last possible minute, giving members of the minority party a very small amount of time to look at that legislation. This policy of waiting to release it until it was made public made a lot more sense back when committees functioned and you had a CBO score on the committee bill.

"I don't think we can ask you to make that change in policy unilaterally. I raise it in the context of this hearing because I just think that you're being used by the Republican majority for political purposes. And I think it compromises your independence and it will encourage Democrats, when they're in the majority, to similarly use you -- use that confidentiality -- to hold the CBO score until the last minute. That is at the basis of my worry about the way in which Republicans are acting today.

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