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How will Tom White pay for it?
HEALTHCARE LAW COST JUMPS $115 BILLION
U.S. Rep. Lee Terry today called on his opponent, State Sen. Tom White, to specify how he would pay for $115 billion in newly disclosed costs of the federal healthcare law.
The higher-than-projected costs were first detailed to legislators last week by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, and had not been factored into the bill’s final $940 billion cost when it passed in March. The new $115 billion requirement funds grants, programs and federal employees.
“Tom White supported the healthcare legislation while I did not. The cost of this initiative has now suddenly jumped by $115 billion. My opponent needs to step forward and tell us if he is willing to cut other programs to pay for this new spending or raise taxes to cover it. Either way, he owes us an explanation,” Congressman Terry said.
The CBO projections push the healthcare plan’s real cost to more than $1 trillion over a ten-year period.
The disclosure was made in a May 11 letter to U.S. Rep. Jerry Lewis, Ranking Republican of the House Appropriations Committee.
CBO stated that the Internal Revenue Service would need another $5 billion to $10 billion to implement the law’s provisions while the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would need a similar amount. Another $110 billion is allocated to fund hundreds of new grants and programs specified in the law.