I got some clarification on the House Res. 5 concerning ACA CBO estimates from someone in the CBO
I sent a friend who works in the CBO the item going around FB before posting, to get her take.
"House GOP expressly forbids the Congressional Budget Office from reporting or tracking ANY costs related to the repeal of the ACA."
Her response:
"This is false. Section 3(h) on page 25 of H.Res 5 establishes a point of order against a bill that would increase net direct spending by more than $5 billion in any of the four decades AFTER the budget window used for cost estimates prepared under the Budget Act. And it requires CBO to include in its cost estimates an analysis of whether the bill increases such costs in the long term (that requirement has been in place for quite some time).
That section (in 3(h)(4)(A) and (B) then exempts ACA related bills from that long term requirement. It has nothing to do with whether CBO can provide the normal cost estimates of legislation, including those related to the ACA. Furthermore, this a House rule; it does not apply to the Senate."
She said that the reporting on this has been very uninformed. I'm grateful that it's not what it appears, and we can focus on other items in the resolution such as Planned Parenthood persecution.