CFA & ATR Urge Co-Sponsorship of Bunning's 72-Hour Bill

Thursday, October 8, 2009 10:49 AM by Mattie Duppler

Today, CFA and ATR sent a letter the all members of the U.S. Senate, urging them to co-sponsor Sen. Bunning's bill that would require all bills and their final CBO score be posted online for 72 hours before a vote on them could take place. As we noted yesterday, the provision that the FINAL CBO score be put online is a critical step because it requires an actual bill be available before members vote, and not just a bill with "conceptual" language, which can be quite different from the final product. From our letter:

CBO director Elmendorf himself pointed out in the context of the deliberations of Sen. Bunning’s amendment to the healthcare bill in committee:
A formal cost estimate would require, we have said this to people on the House and Senate side, would really require two weeks of work by us, once a package is settled. And that may seem like a long time, but it - there are a lot of complications in doing this right, as you need it to be done and it is the interaction effects among the provisions, it is reading the legislative language. 

Given the impact federal legislation has on all American taxpayers, a preliminary score simply is not good enough, and Congress should take its time to weigh all its decisions carefully, while seeking more input from the public, who should be given the opportunity to partake in political discourse.

Click here to read the entire letter.

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