Governing is fundamentally about setting priorities.
Earlier this year, while millions of Americans struggled with soaring health insurance premiums and the risk of losing coverage, congressional Republicans declined to allocate funds to assist them.
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According to the Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget:
With the enhanced subsidies from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) nearing expiration, several policymakers have introduced plans to extend these benefits. More information about the ACA subsidies can be found here. We estimate that extending these enhancements without offsets would lead to an approximate increase in the deficit of $30 billion for a one-year extension and $350 billion over a decade for a permanent extension.
To mitigate these costs, several proposals have included income cut-offs for subsidies, new program integrity measures, or additional reforms. Many have also recommended a temporary rather than a permanent extension.
The financial impact could have been reduced or offset by opting for a temporary extension or implementing reforms to the subsidy program.
Despite the potential impact on people’s lives, Republicans argued that the country couldn’t afford it.
However, just a few months later, they appear eager to allocate $1 billion to Donald Trump for a ballroom that was supposed to be privately funded.
