Americans for Prosperity-Update

AFP wants to keep you up to date on the happenings in the world of public policy. Below are updates on a number of interesting federal policy developments:



Cost of President’s Health Care Scheme Doubles:  The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) updated its cost estimates of the President’s new health care law. In what shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, the bill won’t cost $940 billion over ten years as the President promised but instead will cost a staggering $1.76 trillion over the same period.

$1.2 Trillion Deficit: CBO also re-released its deficit projections for this year. Renewing the payroll tax holiday and extending unemployment benefits without offsetting them with spending cuts will increase this year’s deficit to $1.2 trillion.

Senate Rejects a Range of Energy Amendments: Over the past week the Senate voted on four amendments of interest; they all needed 60 votes to pass. Senators rejected an effort to finally permit the Keystone pipeline (56-42), rejected an effort to delay EPA’s painful Boiler MACT regulations (52-46), stopped an effort to extend various wasteful alternative energy subsidies (49-49), and thankfully rejected an attempt to subsidize natural gas powered vehicles (51-47). AFP will include all of these key votes in our congressional rankings.