Congressmen are asking the CBO about the VAT. Are any from Ohio?

In late March I used a fantastic column by the unparalleled Charles Krauthammer to challenge Ohio's media to ask the congressional supporters of Obamacare whether they would attempt to implement the VAT to pay for it.

Krauthammer stated:

American liberals have long complained that ours is the only advanced industrial country without universal health care. Well, now we shall have it. And as we approach European levels of entitlements, we will need European levels of taxation.

Well, late last week news came from the head of the Congressional Budget Office that Members of Congress have taken an interest in the VAT:

White House advisor Paul Volcker made news this week by calling a value-added tax (VAT) "not as toxic an idea" as it's been in the past for tackling the nation's deficit problem. Today, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf confirmed he's been getting "a lot of questions" about the VAT tax from Congress.

"Many people in Congress are interested in it," he said of the VAT, a national sales tax that adds between 10 and 20 percent to purchases in European countries where it's been implemented. "We've had conversations with a number of members and their staffs."

Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy was one of the biggest proponents of Obamacare in Congress. Steve Driehaus recently had a union-staffed pat-me-on-the-back party in support of his vote for it.

Now that we have confirmation that Congress has expressed an interest in the new tax, Ohioans have a right to know if 1) either of those members of Congress are the ones who have reached out to the CBO, and 2) whether they would ever consider implementing the VAT.

Clearly, it's become newsworthy at a national level. I wonder if the Fourth Estate will find it so in Ohio.