WASHINGTON -- The head of the Congressional Budget Office faced sharp questioning Tuesday from some of the Republican members of the House Budget Committee.
Lawmakers asked office Director Keith Hall about his office's accuracy, reliability and possible political biases.
The committee's new chairman, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas, presided for the first time since assuming the post.
The Republican from Rogers said the hearing was "not designed to be partisan or to invite cheap shots against the agency so vital to Congress' ability to budget independently. However, there are legitimate questions about how CBO operates and I'm hopeful that these hearings will shed light on how we can improve its operations to provide Congress what it needs in the 21st century."
Womack emphasized the office's importance, saying lawmakers rely on it for "objective, impartial" analysis.
"Without question, there are dozens of fine men and women employed by CBO including analysts, management and support staff. But more than 40 years since its founding, Congress has not undertaken a comprehensive review of CBO's structure and processes," the Republican from Rogers said.
Some Republicans have objected to the office's economic projections, claiming it underestimates the rate of growth and overestimates the effects of tax cuts on the national deficit.
Hall was questioned about the office's analysis of Republican legislation that would have repealed and replaced the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare.
U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Ga., also objected to the office's claim that repealing Obamacare would "increase the number of people who are uninsured by 23 million in 2026 relative to current law."
The decision to emphasize health care coverage instead of health care liberty was a political one, Woodall said.
"What you could have said is, 'We're going to increase health care freedom for 12 million people between now and 2026 relative to current law.' You could've said, 'We're going to expand the choices that the American people have and repeal the mandates in their life,'" Woodall said.
By focusing on what is lost instead of what is gained, the office has made a political statement, Woodall told Hall.
"The top line says, 'Americans lose something'. The fact is Americans have the right to choose something new. They lose nothing. They make new choices, and if you don't recognize that line as being political, then we have a much harder challenge," he said.
Hall disagreed with Woodall's assertion.
"We did not use language like 'lose.' We talked about how the number of people with coverage would change over time relative to the baseline," he said.
Hall insisted that the analysis had been objective.
"I respectfully disagree that our language at all was political. One of the things that we tried very, very hard to do was to be very factual about this," he added.
U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, the committee's ranking Democrat, told Hall that his office is supposed to be "an objective referee" and that criticism comes with the job.
But the health-care related attacks "should be deeply troubling to us all," he said.
"Look, I get it," said Yarmuth of Kentucky. "I would not want to defend increasing the number of uninsured Americans by 20 million or causing premiums to skyrocket, particularly when there's no viable plan for replacement."
While critical of some Republicans, Yarmuth had a more positive view of Womack.
"I think he's going to do wonderfully," he said after Tuesday's hearing. "He's been on the committee, he understands what goes on and he has good leadership skills. ... So far, he's been a joy to work with."
Afterward, Womack said it had been "a great hearing."
"I felt pretty comfortable up there in the chair and the information that was presented today is very beneficial so I thought it was productive from all sides," he said.
Womack said he had met with Congressional Budget Office staff members on Monday, telling them the focus should be on getting things right.
"Our goal here is to accurately and timely forecast, to the best of our ability, using the tools that we have, to get to the truth," he said.
A Section on 01/31/2018