Watch Paul Ryan in 2009: 'I don't think we should pass bills that we haven't read, that we don't know what they cost'

Paul Ryan urges patience
(Image credit: Speaker Paul Ryan/YouTube)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was House speaker in 2009, when Congress was working to pass the Affordable Care Act, and she has gotten endless amounts of grief after saying in March 2010 that "we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy." On Thursday, House Republicans are voting on their partial replacement for the Affordable Care Act, the American Health Care Act, without a Congressional Budget Office score, and it's not clear House members have had a chance to read through the bill, which was amended as late as Wednesday night.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who introduced that final amendment, said Wednesday night it would be nice to have a CBO score first. "I wish that we had it, alright?" he said, but there's no time to wait "because I don't expect it probably for a couple weeks."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.