CBO can’t determine impact of GOP bill on immigration

The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday it can’t determine what impact a GOP bill disapproving of President Obama’s actions on immigration will have on the deficit.  

The House is expected to vote Thursday on the measure from Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), which would essentially nullify the president’s orders by stating that the executive branch doesn’t have the authority to defer deportations. Obama’s actions grant legal status to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants. 

{mosads}Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has already said he won’t bring it to the floor if it passes in the House, making the Yoho bill more of a symbolic gesture that allows Republicans to lodge their complaint with the administration.

If the law were enacted, there would be fewer people reporting their employment income, resulting in decreases in payroll taxes, they said. 

At the same time, the CBO said the bill would also make a small percentage of the 5 million immigrants ineligible for programs like Medicare and Social Security, saving money for those programs.  

The CBO also points out that over the next 10 years, few of the people affected by the immigration action or Yoho’s bill would reach the eligibility ages for Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Overall, the budget scorekeepers said Yoho’s measure would reduce taxes and spending for mandatory spending programs including Social Security and Medicare. 

Republicans have long said those programs need to be overhauled to save them from long-term shortfalls.