Healthcare Bill May Reduce Deficit

03-18-2010

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the latest version of the health reform bill may actually reduce the federal budget deficit over the next decade.  The total estimate for reducing the deficit is $128 billion. 

Though the typical process for passing legislation involves agreement from both the House and Senate on one final co-created version of a bill, the latest proposal involves making various reconciliations to the original Senate bill that passed in December.  This process would require a majority vote in the House; at which point the bill would be passed to President Obama to sign into law.  Because the House-passed version would be a version of the original Senate bill, the bill does not need to be reapproved by the Senate for passage.  After it is signed into law, the Senate has agreed to propose a package of reconciliations that would amend the new healthcare laws. 

The bill is slated for a vote 72 hours after its presentation in the House (Mar. 18, 2010), meaning the voting will take place Mar. 21, 2010.

For more information on the potential budget deficit reduction and the bill passage process, visit the BBC news.