Vol. 2 Issue 2, January 19, 2011
NTU State of the Union Address Coverage
The National Taxpayers Union would like to invite you to our second annual coverage of the President's State of the Union Address. Starting at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, January 25th, join with policy experts, activists, and fellow citizens in a national dialogue on the President's agenda and how it affects taxpayers.
The conversation will cover four social media outlets to help you discuss the speech in the most effective way you see fit. Using @NTU on Twitter, users can link with other NTU Members by using the hashtag #SOTU and #NTUSOTU. The NTU Facebook page and blog, GovernmentBytes.com, will also be open for comments throughout the entire night. For a special real-time interactive experience, NTU.org will also host a dedicated chat room for anyone to discuss developments as they happen.
Be sure to mark your calendars for next Tuesday's NTU coverage of the President's State of the Union Address!
NTUF Preliminary Analysis of H.R. 2
H.R. 2, the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act," sponsored by Eric Cantor (VA), would repeal last year's controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The bill would also repeal the health-related sections of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which used the budget reconciliation process to modify the PPACA before it was sent to the President for his signature.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stated that it has not yet completed a detailed analysis of the budgetary impact of repealing those laws. In the meantime, it released a preliminary estimate of the changes in direct spending and revenues, reporting that H.R. 2 would increase the deficit by around $230 billion over the next ten years. This figure includes the repeal of costs to expand health care coverage under the law, savings that were assumed to occur in Medicare, and taxes established in the law (Americans for Tax Reform has compiled a comprehensive list of all the new taxes in the health care law). After a few days and numerous questions regarding this estimate, CBO provided some additional information: the bill would lower revenues (i.e., taxes) by $770 billion and lower spending by $540 billion.
Since BillTally only looks at the spending effects of legislation, these numbers are more helpful. However, the estimate excludes any changes in discretionary spending. It also fails to provide a year-by-year breakdown of the outlays. Under BillTally's methodology, a five-year budget window is used to determine the cost of legislation. Much of the spending in the PPACA occurs beyond that five-year window as components of the complex law are gradually implemented. Until CBO publishes its complete analysis of H.R. 2, NTUF will rely on data gleaned from CBO analyses released last year to estimate the cost of the health care package. Over Fiscal Years 2011 through 2015, H.R. 2 would decrease outlays by $102.679 billion, or $20.536 billion annually.
Estimated Budgetary Impact of H.R. 2 for FY 2011-2015 (in millions of dollars) | |||||||
| FY11 | FY12 | FY13 | FY14 | FY15 | FY11-15 | Page in CBO Release | |
| Direct Spending | $5,000 | ($1,000) | ($22,000) | $3,000 | $39,000 | $24,000 | Page 20 (Excluding education outlays) |
| Specified and Certain Estimated Authorizations | $11,361 | $12,570 | $14,164 | $15,160 | $15,424 | $68,679 | Pages 51-53 |
| Implementation Costs for Federal | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $10,000 | Page 48 |
| Sum of Known Costs | $18,361 | $13,570 | ($5,836) | $20,160 | $56,424 | $102,679 | |
Note: Page numbers reference the CBO document entitled, "Selected CBO Publications Related to Health Care Legislation, 2009-2010." | |||||||
About NTUF
The National Taxpayers Union Foundation is a research and educational organization dedicated solely to helping citizens of all generations understand how tax policies, spending programs, and regulations at all levels affect them now and in the future. Through NTUF's timely information, analysis, and commentary, we're empowering citizens to actively engage in the fiscal policy debate and hold public officials accountable every day.
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This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to aid or hinder the passage of any legislation or as a comment on any Member's fitness to serve. Cosponsor information obtained from GovTrack.us.