Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX) does not like having his credibility questioned. Defending his vote for Obamacare in what appears to be a restaurant in his home district, a video on YouTube shows Rodriguez claiming:
If we had not done anything in the next eight years based on CBO, congressional budget office, numbers it would have cost us $4.1 trillion.
When the veracity of this statement is questioned by a female constituent, Rodriguez is offended: “Ma’am don’t accuse me of not saying the truth.” Rodriguez then slams his papers on a table and adds: “I am not going to take it either. If you want to dialogue in a civil manner, but don’t say that I am not saying the truth.”
But is Rep. Rodriguez telling the truth? Where exactly did he get that $4.1 trillion figure from?
Here are the final CBO and Joint Committee on Taxation cost and revenue estimates for Obamacare. Where exactly does it say that doing nothing would cost $4.1 trillion? Where exactly does it say passing Obamacare would save us $4.1 trillion?
It doesn’t.
Here is what CBO Director Doug Elmendorf actually wrote about Obamacare this May:
The central challenge is straightforward and stark: The rising costs of health care will put tremendous pressure on the federal budget during the next few decades and beyond.
In CBO’s judgment, the health legislation enacted earlier this year does not substantially diminish that pressure. In fact, CBO estimated that the health legislation will increase the federal budgetary commitment to health care (which CBO defines as the sum of net federal outlays for health programs and tax preferences for health care) by nearly $400 billion during the 2010-2019 period.
We have phoned Rep. Rodriguez’ offices in both Washington in Texas and sent his staff emails asking for clarification on where the Congressmen is getting his numbers from. We have yet to receive an answer. We sure hope he didn’t just make the number up and then erupt in anger when a constituent had the audacity to call him on it.