Baucus Shoots Down GOP Amendment

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 2:08PM
Talk Radio News Service (Admin) in Baucus Bill, Chairman Baucus, Frontpage 2, Health Care, News/Commentary, Senate Finance Committee, Travis Martinez, senator jay rockefeller

Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

While Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee welcomed and praised the work from the Republican members during the continuation of the markup of America’s Healthy Future Act, Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) worked fast to shoot down an amendment proposed by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), calling it "Unconstitutional", due to the fact that it requires a congressional agency to issue an order that has consequences towards the executive branch.

According to Baucus, the Republican Senator did not have enough data to back up an amendment that would require Congressional Budget Office certification for cuts made to Medicare advantage.

Republican committee members continued to urge a slow markup process while Democratic members requested that the committee move faster, noting that thousands of Americans continue to lose their health coverage.

With approximately 500 amendments proposed, the markup is expected to last well beyond Wednesday.

Article originally appeared on Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media (http://www.talkradionews.com/).