{The Congressional Budget Office has released its estimated cost of the Senate Finance Committee healthcare bill, and Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) seems pleased with the results. The official score states that the bill will cost $829 billion over ten years and that it will reduce the deficit by $81 billion over that same time period. These rosy numbers, however, don’t paint a complete picture. Baucus included some significant gimmicks in the bill that look good on paper, but are unlikely to work well in reality. The bill assumes that in 2011 Congress will allow a 25 percent cut in the Medicare reimbursement rate to doctors. Congress has acted to prevent such cuts every year since 2003 and preventing the proposed 2011 cut would eventually add $245 billion to the bill’s costs. This bill has been positioned as a moderate compromise, but, just like the liberal House bill, it would increase deficit spending while leading to a massive government takeover of the healthcare sector.}

ACORN Receives Million Dollar Grant Usually Reserved for Firefighters

This week the Department of Homeland Security revealed that an ACORN office in Louisiana had been awarded a $1million Fire Prevention and Safety Grant. This is despite the fact that in recent weeks Congress has strongly moved to prevent any federal funds from going to the organization. These grants primarily go to fire departments, fire marshals, or colleges conducting fire prevention research. Only three organizations in Louisiana received grants, and ACORN was awarded 80 percent of the total money that went to the state. Homeland Security has frozen the funds for now, but I will work with my colleagues to ensure that ACORN does not use these funds to continue its boldly political mission.

Speaker Pelosi Discusses New Tax to Pay for Big Government

In a TV interview this week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi promoted a new value added tax (VAT) to pay for healthcare and other government costs. With $1.6 trillion in debt this year and more trillion dollar deficits looming in the future, Democrats are looking to create new taxes to fund government growth. A VAT operates like a national sales tax except the fee is applied at each stage of production. Businesses would collect a VAT on their sales to other businesses. While a VAT is not currently included in healthcare reform legislation, almost every European country with national health care has implemented this hidden tax. Clearly, Speaker Pelosi knows that she cannot endlessly create new government programs without finding a way to pay for them. As a member of the Congressional Anti-VAT Coalition, I will oppose any such new taxes that would hold back private growth to pay for a rapidly expanding government.

House Considers Resolution to Remove Chairman Rangel for Tax Lapses

This week, the House voted on a resolution to force Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) to step down from his post until the conclusion of an Ethics Committee investigation into his misstated tax returns and Congressional disclosure forms. Among his many lapses, Rangel failed to pay taxes on income from a vacation home, failed to report a checking account with $250,000 in it, and claimed three different "primary" residences for tax purposes. The motion failed along a mostly party line vote, with Democratic leadership standing up for Rangel. This comes in the same week that the Ethics Committee voted to expand its probe into Rangel’s affairs. Rangel cannot effectively operate as the Capitol’s top tax writer when he has skirted our nation’s laws, and he should step down until the investigation is completed.

Quote of the Week

“It’s not April 1, is it?”
--Unnamed White House Aide, to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.