Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Candidate Spending Analysis – Pat Toomey
Total Net Spending Agenda:
-$2.509 billion (savings)
Energy, Agriculture,
and the Environment: Unknown
A. Renewable Energy:
“A focus on renewable energy, conservation, low-carbon energy
like natural gas, nuclear energy and cleaner-coal technology are all part of
the solution.”
http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/content/cap-and-trade-vs-pa-we-can-protect-environment-without-losing-thousands-jobs-pittsburgh-post
Cost: Unknown.
Note: H.R. 2846 (111th
Congress), the American Energy Act,
would address a number of energy issues including opening more areas to natural
gas exploration, streamlining the nuclear regulatory process, and providing tax
incentives for the use of clean-coal equipment and to assist in the operation
of coal-to-liquid fuel facilities. A
cost estimate is unavailable. NTUF is
unable to estimate any other costs here due to the lack of details in Toomey’s
proposal.
Health Care: -$2.513 billion (savings)
A. Tax Incentives to
Purchase Health Insurance:
“We can start by giving individuals who buy their own health
insurance the same tax benefits that employers enjoy when they buy health
insurance for their employees. This will
make it much easier for millions of Americans to buy their own health insurance
plan.”
http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/content/health-care
Cost: Unknown.
Note: The impact on
outlays would depend upon the extent to which subsidies or “refundable” credits
for insurance are offered. In his Fiscal Year 2008 Budget, President George W.
Bush offered a health insurance tax credit proposal that had a refundable
component. At the time, NTUF estimated
the potential cost at $2.856 billion per year.
However, NTUF is unable to estimate any other costs here due to the lack
of details in Toomey’s proposal.
B. Purchase Insurance
Across State Lines:
“[W]e should also allow individuals and businesses to buy
health insurance anywhere in the country.”
http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/content/health-care
Cost: $56 million ($280 million over five years).
Source: Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate for H.R.
2355, the Health Care Choice Act of 2005 (109th Congress), a bill to
amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for cooperative governing of
individual health insurance coverage offered in interstate commerce. The bill was reintroduced in the 111th
Congress in the form of H.R. 3217.
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/66xx/doc6639/hr2355.pdf
C. Tort Reform:
“Pat also believes we can lower [health care] costs
dramatically by enacting comprehensive tort reform.”
http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/content/health-care
Cost: -$2.575 billion
(-$10.3 billion over five years).
Source: In a 2009 letter
to Senator Orrin Hatch, CBO stated “Tort reform could affect costs for health
care both directly and indirectly: directly, by lowering premiums for medical
liability insurance; and indirectly, by reducing the use of diagnostic tests
and other health care services when providers recommend those services
principally to reduce their potential exposure to lawsuits.” The agency estimated potential savings of
$10.3 billion over five years.
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10641/10-09-Tort_Reform.pdf
D. Association Health
Plans:
“[W]e should allow small businesses and groups to join
together to form association health plans to lower the cost of providing health
care.”
http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/content/health-care
Cost: $6 million ($31 million over five years).
Source: CBO cost estimate for H.R. 525 (109th Congress),
a bill to improve access and choice for entrepreneurs with small businesses
with respect to medical care for their employees. The bill was reintroduced in the 111th
Congress in the form of H.R. 2607.
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/62xx/doc6265/hr525.pdf
E. Renewable Health
Plans:
“We should also encourage a market for renewable health
plans to help people with preexisting conditions keep their health insurance.”
http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/content/health-care
Cost: Unknown.
Veterans: $3 million
A. Military Absentee
Ballots:
“Pat will make passing the Military Voting Protection Act a
priority in the U.S. Senate.”
http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/content/veterans
Cost: $3 million ($9
million over three years).
Source: CBO cost estimate for H.R. 2393 (111th
Congress), the Military Voting Protection Act of 2009.
https://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/105xx/doc10567/hr2393.pdf
Miscellaneous: $1 million
A. Spending
Transparency:
“[Pat] also supported legislation to increase transparency
in Congress so taxpayers can see exactly how their money is being spent…. When Pat is elected to the Senate, he will
continue to push for these and other policies that save taxpayer dollars and
erase the deficit.”
http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/content/spending
Cost: $1 million ($4
million over five years).
Source: CBO cost estimate
for S. 3335, the Earmark Transparency Act,
as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs on July 28, 2010.
https://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/118xx/doc11854/s3335.pdf
B. Social Security –
Personal Accounts:
“Mr. Toomey would retain the current system and promised
benefit levels for current beneficiaries and those close to retirement.
“For younger workers, however, he would establish the option
of investing part of their Social Security contribution in private accounts –
or personal accounts, take your pick – that would allow them to take advantage
of the potentially more generous yields of private markets.”
http://www.toomeyforsenate.com/media/latest-news/toomey-sestak-set-apart-tax-policies
Cost: Unknown.
Note: A number of
variables would determine the overall cost of this proposal, including (1) the
amount that individuals are allowed to invest in a private account; (2) how
those accounts are classified for budgetary purposes by CBO (see The Budgetary Treatment of Personal
Retirement Accounts, Mar. 2000,
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/18xx/doc1892/pra.pdf); and (3) whether individuals
are guaranteed a minimum return or not.
For a recent discussion of personal accounts, see CBO’s analysis of the Roadmap
for America’s Future Act of 2010, http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10851.
PDF
Policy Paper
