The claim that the Congressional Budget Office had estimated that Obamacare would cost 2.5 million jobs was thoroughly debunked in February — but that hasn’t stopped conservative groups from trotting it out in attacks on Democratic members of Congress.
The Libre Initiative, a conservative Hispanic group, announced a new ad Thursday hitting Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), who is seeking re-election, for her support of the health care reform law — and it features the 2.5 million figure.
“Hispanics are concerned about Obamacare. It was supposed to help,” the narrator says. A graphic with “2.5 million fewer jobs” appears on the screen.
“But instead, over 2 million fewer jobs because of Obamacare. Thousands less in Arizona.”
The ad is part of a $700,000 multi-week campaign that includes another ad against Rep. Ron Barber (D-AZ), who is also seeking re-election.
What the CBO actually reported was that Americans would work fewer hours, equivalent to 2.5 million full-time jobs — “almost entirely” by choice. In fact, the CBO director wrote a blog post countering the interpretation that the law would ‘cost’ 2.5 million jobs, which had gained steam among conservatives.
In a FAQ explainer, CBO director Doug Elmendorf, answering if 2.5 million people will lose their jobs by 2024 because of the health care reform law, said: “No, we would not describe our estimates in that way.”‘
House Budget Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI), with an assist from Elmendorf, also explained during a hearing that the figure did not correlate with people being laid off or less demand from employers.
Asked about the ad’s apparent discrepancy with the CBO’s own portrayal of its findings, the Libre Initiative’s executive director Daniel Garza gave the following statement to TPM:
The Congressional Budget Office said in February that the overall effect of the law will be to reduce the total number of jobs. According to CBO Director Elmendorf, ‘There is a broader question as to whether the society and the economy will be better off’ as ‘total employment, investment, output, and tax revenue will be smaller.’ That’s a question for Representative Kirkpatrick’s constituents to decide.
