Politics | US Chamber of Commerce Wanted: Economist to Trash Health Bill Foes look for an expert to prove that Obamacare kills jobs By Jane Yager Posted Nov 16, 2009 9:01 AM CST Copied Bruce Josten, chief lobbyist of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the President's health care reform, is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Pro-business groups opposed to the president's health care reform are raising funds to hire a "respected economist" to study the impact of the reform—and find that it is a threat to jobs and the economy. In an email obtained by the Washington Post, a top official at the Chamber of Commerce writes: "The economist will then circulate a sign-on letter to hundreds of other economists saying that the bill will kill jobs and hurt the economy. "We will then be able to use this open letter to produce advertisements, and as a powerful lobbying and grass-roots document," he adds. The email, proposes spending $50,000 for the study, also says the idea was "suggested by our Congressional allies"—a sign of intensifying attacks by opponents as Dem health reform plans move into the Senate. Read These Next A space capsule carrying ashes of 160 people crashed in the ocean. The death toll in the Texas floods has risen to 27, including 9 kids. See the best BBQ cities in the US. Iraq's national game of deception brings out the best bluffers. Report an error