Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has joined with conservatives urging the new congressional GOP majority to replace the head of the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office, claiming that it aided Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber and the administration’s bid to pass health insurance reform.
“The CBO is more responsible for giving us Obamacare than Jonathan Gruber is, and as culpable as Democrats in Congress or President Obama. CBO was critical to passing the bill, as Gruber attests, because it provided supporters the numbers they needed to justify their claims,” said Gingrich in his latest newsletter.
While many in Washington view the CBO and Director Douglas Elmendorf as a balanced and fair arbiter of budget issues known for bluntly addressing some of the nation’s most critical issues, there are others, notably Gingrich and Americans for Tax Reform boss Grover Norquist, who believe the CBO bends to the demands of the Obama administration.
The latest ammo against keeping Elmendorf is comments Gruber made about tricking Congress into passing health insurance reform.
Gingrich cited comments from Gruber that the evaluation by CBO of Obamacare and its taxes was a make-or-break moment, and Gingrich charged that CBO leaned in Obama’s direction.
“So when Gruber describes the deception involved in passing Obamacare, it included at the very least the CBO’s acceptance of Gruber’s ‘tortured’ manipulations, and at worst the opening of CBO models to be adjusted by a paid agent of the White House’s political goals,” wrote Gingrich.
“The agency needs a new director for the new Congress, one dedicated to the profound change required to produce honest and accurate scores. This is the first and perhaps most important step Congress can take to show it is dedicated to real change,” he added.
Liberals, however, scoff at the charges Elmendorf and the CBO skewed its evaluations to favor Obamacare, noting Elmendorf’s comments that it would raise, not lower, costs, a huge blow at the time.
Supporters suggest that the GOP is using the Gruber affair to install a CBO boss more supportive of Republican economic views. The Washington Post editorial board, for example, said the Republicans want somebody “more amenable to GOP doctrine, perhaps an economist willing to mark down the fiscal impact of tax cuts by counting the projected economic growth they supposedly create.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
