Washington, D.C. —
Senator John Thune today criticized Senate Democrats for voting against his motion that would delay the tax increases in the current health care bill until the time when most of the bill’s new programs become effective. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) was the other lead sponsor of the motion. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) moved to table the motion which was agreed to by a vote of 56 to 41, effectively defeating the measure.
“Democrats are using a budget gimmick to hide the true cost of their $2.5 trillion health care plan,” said Thune. “The tax increases take effect on January 1, 2010, just over two weeks from today, but 99 percent of the benefits will not be available until 2014. This kind of budget trick is far from the transparency that President Obama and Congressional Democrats promised the American people while campaigning on the health reform issue. This is yet another tired Washington smoke and mirrors maneuver to hide a program’s true cost.”
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, Americans will pay almost $72 billion in taxes between 2010 and 2013 before the major new coverage programs in the bill take effect. The Thune-Hutchison motion would have sent the bill back to committee with instructions to make the tax increases align with the benefits in the bill.
“Democrats are using a budget gimmick to hide the true cost of their $2.5 trillion health care plan,” said Thune. “The tax increases take effect on January 1, 2010, just over two weeks from today, but 99 percent of the benefits will not be available until 2014. This kind of budget trick is far from the transparency that President Obama and Congressional Democrats promised the American people while campaigning on the health reform issue. This is yet another tired Washington smoke and mirrors maneuver to hide a program’s true cost.”
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, Americans will pay almost $72 billion in taxes between 2010 and 2013 before the major new coverage programs in the bill take effect. The Thune-Hutchison motion would have sent the bill back to committee with instructions to make the tax increases align with the benefits in the bill.