A bill pushed by conservative Republicans in the House, which would restrict abortions after 20 weeks, would also raise the deficit by increasing Medicaid costs, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
From Politico:
The Congressional Budget Office, which judges the budgetary impact of all legislation, says “Depending on the number of additional births under H.R. 1797, such Medicaid costs could range from about $75 million over the next 10 years to more than $400 million over that period.”
CBO officially estimates that the bill increases federal deficits by $75 million between 2014 and 2018, and $225 million between 2014 and 2023.
The bill, which passed the House with votes from 222 Republicans and six Democrats, is not likely to make it into law, as President Obama has said he would veto it. The legislation first got attention when Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., who sponsored the bill, said that there was no need for an exception for rape or incest because the number of pregnancies resulting from rape is “very low." After some controversy, Republicans quietly added in the exception, and put Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., in charge of pushing the bill through.
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