After decades of providing thorough and independent analysis to Congress so that legislators can make informed votes on the bills befor them, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is suddenly on the chopping block because their reports on the latest health care bills have not been politically beneficial to the GOP.

That's not a good reason for the Freedom Caucus to push to eliminate 38% of the CBO's staff in some sort of retaliatory measure, though. Don't blame the CBO for showing the likely repercussions, blame the GOP for drafting such damaging repercussions.

We ask U.S. Representatives Morgan Griffith and Mark Meadows, who back this move to punish the CBO, to drop this attack. This country needs a body that exists to fairly analyze legislation. Eliminating the CBO ensures that debates over bills becomes even more partisan, with the actual merits of the legislation lost in the shuffle.