H.R. 4213, The ‘Extenders’ Bill: An Update
More Taxes, More Spending, And More Debt
After a widespread backlash over its extravagant price tag, Democrats have created an illusion that their tax “extenders” bill costs less than earlier this week. In reality, however, they have made some provisions more generous, but simply shortened the “official” duration of the spending, while further increasing taxes. In the end, their sleight-of-hand fails to mask the truth: the measure remains a bloated replay of the “stimulus” doctrine that has failed to deliver on its promised job creation.
The legislation, scheduled for the House floor this week, was a $31-billion package when originally passed in the House (on 9 December 2009). It grew to $95 billion by the time it passed the Senate (on 10 March 2010); and by earlier this week, it had swollen into a $174-billion package. Recent modifications brought the official figure down to $127 billion, still a fourfold increase from where it started. Here are some key budget facts about the revised American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 (H.R. 4213):
The final bill continues temporarily extending a handful of tax relief provisions that expired at the end of 2009, while permanently increasing other taxes. But the revised measure increases net taxes by an additional $3 billion compared to the version earlier this week, resulting in an even higher overall permanent tax burden than before. It also pretends to save money by shortening, by 1 month, the extension of the “stimulus” bill’s “one-time” unemployment insurance and health insurance benefits, while leaving the extension of Medicaid assistance to States at its earlier levels. The updated package similarly reduces the length of the temporary “doc fix,” to prevent cuts in Medicare physician payments, thereby reducing the bill’s official cost by $40 billion. Meanwhile, the funding for the wide variety of miscellaneous provisions – ranging from changes in the highway spending formulas, pension relief for corporations, subsidies for local bonds for infrastructure projects, and even funding for the Wool Trust Fund – remain the same.