How Does Congressional Budget Office Scoring Work?
The American Health Care Act is scheduled for a vote in the House Thursday afternoon. After weeks of setbacks and negotiations, the White House and GOP leaders in Congress seem confident that the amended law will have enough support among both moderate Republicans and the more conservative Freedom Caucus to pass and proceed to the Senate.
The decision to push for a vote this week has proved controversial, as there is little consensus on what the revised law will actually do. A collection of amendments added since its initial drafting—including one from Representative Tom MacArthur allowing states to , and two amendments that or increased costs for sick people. But House Republicans are invested in moving quickly—eschewing hearings on the law and allowing limited time for analysis and consideration. Perhaps more consequentially, they are voting before its specs can be reappraised by the Congressional Budget Office, the agency that evaluates a law’s potential outcomes.
