Republicans need not wait for a Congressional Budget Office score on their healthcare bill because elements of the legislation could have an unpredictable effect on the healthcare system, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday.
“Even if they were to score it, it’s impossible to score a lot of the things that will go into this,” Sanders said of the CBO. “So even if it was to be scored, I think it would be impossible to predict how that might actually affect the impact” of provisions in the legislation, she added.
Critics have questioned why Republicans are voting on the American Health Care Act this week without receiving an assessment of its economic impact from the CBO.
But proponents of the strategy have argued that CBO predictions have proven inaccurate in the past, and noted the bill could still undergo changes once it advances to the Senate.
Sanders said Thursday that President Trump had personally worked this week to shepherd the legislation to a floor vote.
“He’s made it a priority to help get that through the House this week,” Sanders said. “He’s been very directly engaged.”
