Updated 10:30 p.m. ET | GOP seeks help from CBO on ObamaCare spending

Updated 10:30 p.m. ET | GOP seeks help from CBO on ObamaCare spending

A top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee wants a CBO report on the health care law’s $872 billion spending and said that GOP leadership “must give us some answers on the issue of ObamaCare premiums” before lawmakers are allowed to vote on the legislation.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., said that Republicans would need to get an CBO report before they can make decisions on the GOP’s ObamaCare replacement.

LoBio added that a CBO study on the impact of a GOP replacement should also be made available for review by House Democrats before the Republican-controlled Congress is allowed to take up the legislation, which has already passed the House.

“They are working on a bill,” he said, declining to identify which House GOP lawmakers were involved.

“They are moving forward.

The House will come back for a vote.

So, that will be our responsibility to get it done.

If the CBO doesn’t provide answers, I want them to provide the answers I ask.

The GOP is working to get the votes and will get the bill on the floor if they can.”

LoBiosd said Republicans are also looking to get a CBO score on the ACA’s replacement program.

“We are working with all the people involved in this process — including the CBO — to see what that score would look like.

So if they have a preliminary estimate, which I hope they do,” LoBius said, “we’ll provide it.

And then once we have a final result, we will share that with the House.”

The Republican House majority also will take the lead in crafting and voting on the healthcare bill after the November election.

Republican Speaker Paul Ryan, R – Wis., has already announced the GOP will bring a replacement bill to the floor by the end of the year.

The president has also said he will push for passage of the bill in the House if his goal is to avoid a government shutdown, though Republicans have signaled they will fight any effort to keep government open.

At the White House, a White House spokesman, Stephanie Grisham, said the president supports the efforts of congressional leaders to produce a bill that is acceptable to both parties.

“The president fully supports a bill on repeal and replace that is designed to address the fundamental problems facing Americans,” Grishar said.