Health Care Looting

From Section 2002 of the new Health Care bill in congress (as reported by WSB Radio's Jamie Dupree):

"Amounts appropriated under this section, and outlays flowing from such appropriations, shall not be taken into account for purposes of any budget enforcement procedures including allocations under section 302(a) and (b) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act and budget resolutions for fiscal years during which appropriations are made from the Fund"

Yes, that says what you think it does: They will spend the money, but it doesn't get counted in the cost of the bill. So when the Congressional Budget Office reports the cost of the bill, that part of it is excluded.

According to Jamie Dupree, similar wording also appears in Section 164, and it is possible that it might appear elsewhere.

So how much does this bill REALLY cost? Who knows? But like burglary victims, we won't know how much our politicians have stolen until it's gone.