Thornberry: CBO AHCA score not necessary at this time

May 09--Waiting for a Congressional Budget Office score on the House version of the American Health Care Act wasn't necessary, said U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry Tuesday in Wichita Falls, because that figure is likely to change with the Senate bill and what eventually comes out of a conference committee.

The congressman said the original bill was scored by the nonpartisan CBO and only three amendments were added to get other Republicans on board with the bill. A score by the CBO is a cost estimator that shows the affects of legislation to the federal purse.

"There will be adjustments, so it's not like this is the final version," he said. "So, the Senate can look at the CBO score when it comes in. I think the importance of getting this done, moving that process along overrode the adjustments that would be made in the previous score."

Thornberry said the AHCA is not a perfect bill, but it was an easy decision for him to vote in favor of the legislation, adding that Trumpcare, as some call it, is significantly better than President Barack Obama's health care reform law, the Patient Portability and Affordable Care Act.

The congressman said a lot of misinformation is being tossed about by the proposed replacement to Obamacare, specifically by Democrats who see this as an opportunity to get a majority back in the U.S. House of Representatives. An area that has been discussed at length is the issue of pre-existing conditions and whether or not that particular feature of the existing law will disappear. Thornberry said that simply isn't true.

"When it comes to pre-existing conditions, there are at least three levels of protection for people," he said. "I think the most is important is as long as somebody keeps their insurance coverage, their insurance coverage cannot be taken away from them even if they have or get a pre-existing condition and they cannot be charged more. As long as you stay insured, you will pay the same rates as anybody else your age regardless what your health condition is."

Thornberry said if someone is not insured for more than 60 days, they can still get health insurance with this new plan, although it might cost more for one year. He said those people would also be able to buy into the state-level high-risk pool, which is backed up by one at the federal level.

No matter the health condition of a person, he said, they will be able to get coverage and so long as they keep the insurance, they cannot be charged more.

The congressman said the House used the reconciliation process, which can only take up financial issues such as tax penalties and subsidies, because it gets the legislation through the House and onto the Senate, where it cannot be filibustered.

Thornberry also recently voted in favor of the $1.1 trillion discretionary spending bill that funds the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2017. While the bill did not fund the military as much as he'd hope, it was more important to see it through the House, Senate and to the president's desk to make sure the armed forces are financed, as well as other agencies.

He said two-thirds of the federal budget consists of the nation's safety net programs, and the remaining one-third takes care of the rest with the biggest part being military spending. The appropriations bill, which received strong bipartisan support in the upper and lower chambers of Congress, was signed into law by President Donald Trump on May 5.

Thornberry said it's important to fully fund the military because the world has not become a safer place. In fact, he said, the Russians continue to meddle in another country's politics, ISIS is spreading throughout the world, and North Korea has become more belligerent with their push for nuclear weapons. He said the president's approach to responding to threats, as seen with the strike in Syria after its presidents gassed his own people.

"It sends a message to the rest of the world that there's someone new in charge," he said.

Follow John Ingle on Twitter at @inglejohn1973.

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