Senate Finance Committee Rejects Amendment For Tighter Abortion Regulations

The Senate Finance Committee voted no today to an amendment introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) which states that “federal tax payer dollars will not be used to pay for subsidized abortions or the new plans and programs created in this bill.”

The amendment failed by a 10-13 vote.

Prior to the introduction of the amendment, the America’s Healthy Future Act stated “federal funds continue to be prohibited from being used to pay for abortions unless the pregnancy is due to rape, incest or the life of the mother is in danger.”

In its current state, the bill requires insurance companies to segregate private money, which comes from premiums, and federal money to ensure public funds are not being used to pay for abortions.

Sen. Hatch’s amendment also stated that women would have the choice to purchase a separate policy that includes abortion coverage.

Prior to the Committee’s vote, Chairman Baucus said, “Basically this is a health care bill, this is not an abortion bill. We are not changing current law.”

Hatch Predicts An Elderly Rebellion Over Rationed Care

By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) appeared perturbed when he argued that senior citizens in the U.S. will rebel against the government if it attempts to over take health care. Hatch, alongside Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), said that there are at least five Republican health care proposals already drafted that are better than the Democrats' plan.

“They’re gonna ration care,” Hatch said. “There’s no use kidding about it, they hate to hear that word on the Democrat side, but how else can it be?” He issued a direct challenge to Democrats, urging them to “prove me wrong.”

Among the many Republican hang-ups over the Democrat proposal is the fate of the elderly and poor. Hatch asserted that Medicaid will go bankrupt as 9 out of every 10 seniors will lose their end-of-life care.

Similarly, the Republicans asserted that poor people will be hit hard due to an employer mandate that will force companies to cut the lowest paying jobs just to stay in business. Hatch said he cannot imagine that Democrats could support a proposal that “would double unemployment in Utah” and other states.

Both senators admitted that reform will be difficult, but as the health care debate continues to heat up, finding solutions to issues has become more complex. Democrats are finding the “best way to go in the wrong direction,” according to Hatch, who later repeated his belief that “the seniors won’t be happy.”

Senate Begins Grilling Of Sonia Sotomayor

Republican senators today began their attacks on Judge Sonia Sotomayor, nominated to replace Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. On the first day of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic senators praised Sotomayor’s record, saying it demonstrated “judicial modesty,” while Republicans expressed skepticism.

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), now the ranking Republican on the committee, called Sotomayor’s comments on use of experience and background in judicial decisions “shocking and offensive” and distributed a thick stack of her past speeches to the media. The speeches were marked up to highlight passages where Sotomayor spoke about the differences her background would produce in her decisions. Sessions criticized the use of any factors outside of the facts and law of a case in making rulings.

Senators Sessions and John Cornyn (R-Texas) both said they planned to ask Sotomayor about her views on a range of issues, including abortion, property rights, the right to bear arms, and capital punishment. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) as well said he was “deeply concerned by [Sotomayor]’s assertion that the law is uncertain.”

Speaking more generally, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized President Obama’s “empathy” standard used to select Sotomayor as his nominee. Graham went so far as to say that he would have to vote against Sotomayor under that standard, which he called “absurd” and “dangerous,” since it would encourage voting on the basis of agreement on issues and would therefore discourage potential nominees from expressing their opinions. He did, however, worry about Sotomayor’s speeches made while she has been a sitting judge, since those might cast doubt on her objectivity when deciding cases. Graham did recognize that “unless [Sotomayor has] a complete meltdown,” she would be confirmed, bringing laughter from audience.

Democrats generally supported the nominee by describing her record as centrist and reserved, and repeating her personal story of being raised by a poor, single mother and working to raise herself up to a federal judgeship. By the time it was Sotomayor’s chance to speak, the audience had heard the story several times.

A couple of Democrats took the opportunity to criticize the previous administration. Senator Specter (D-Pa.), a recent defector from the Republican party, spoke of President Bush’s wiretapping program, saying that a split among circuit courts in different areas of the country has prevented adjudication of the legality of those programs. He expressed hope that a new Supreme Court would resolve this disagreement and generally agree to hear more cases. Senator Feingold (D-Wisc.) lauded the Supreme Court’s role as a check on the president, offering as examples the Court’s rulings that Guantanamo detainees have rights to U.S. courts, and saying that an important quality in justices is a willingness to stand up to the president.

In Sotomayor’s short opening statement, she said that her judicial philosophy was simple: “fidelity to the law.” She said that her record would show that she applies the law according to Congress’s intent, applying relevant precedents. She finished by saying she looks forward to answering the senators’ questions.

Senators Join T. Boone Pickens In Support of Natural Gas Vehicles

By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service

Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) held a press conference Wednesday with billionaire clean energy advocate T. Boone Pickens to present the bipartisan New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act (NAT GAS), which aims to provide financial incentives for the use of natural gas.

“Our economic crisis has shined a spotlight on the urgent need for alternative, cleaner, and cheaper sources of energy that we don’t have to import,” Menendez said. “By making it easier and cheaper to own a vehicle that runs in natural gas, we can help families save money on energy, create new manufacturing jobs and clear our air.”

According to Pickens' website, www.PickensPlan.com, the U.S. possesses a secure and abundant supply of natural gas, with estimated domestic reserves nearly twice that of petroleum. The website also claims that natural gas is 85 percent cleaner and 75 percent cheaper than petroleum.

"We have dramatically increased our nation’s natural gas reserves. We have much more natural gas than we thought we had just a few years ago. And there is a sufficient supply to significantly increase the use of cleaner, greener fuel, as a transportation fuel," explained Hatch.

The NAT GAS Act will extend and increase tax credits for natural gas vehicles and refueling for state and local governments, as well as manufactures.

New Health Care Legislation Opposed By Republicans

Dozens of spectators waited outside the caucus room to hear the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee review and debate over whether or not a public health care option is both affordable and/or conceivable. This was the second of several anticipated markups of the upcoming Affordable Health Choices Act, a bill aimed at reforming the U.S. health care system.

The act is intended to provide all Americans under 65 the opportunity to accept public coverage. It would also regulate insurers, expand Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and build a state-sponsored program to help Americans find affordable health coverage.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) jumped in with his objections almost immediately after the markup began it’s second session.

"The essential elements of this legislation we are not addressing,” said McCain, expressing his concern that the committee was not trying to obtain missing parts of the bill more quickly. According to McCain this included “The cost of the bill and provisions as far as government, and what the employers are going to do"

Other Republicans continue to oppose the bill because they believe that it looks too much like Medicare. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) called for a legislation that takes care of American families facing unemployment and rapidly rising health costs, rather than total government involvement.

“We need to remember the real implications of these policies - not simply in terms of political spin and special interests, but in terms of its impact on real people who are our mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brother and sisters,” said Hatch.

President Barack Obama has stated that he expects legislation granting health care reform on his desk by October of this year.