Senate GOP'er Says Healthcare Debate Flying Under The Radar

By Janie Amaya

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Tuesday at the Heritage Foundation that the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act has flown under the radar as of late, and it’s benefitting Democrats.

Hatch suggested that the individual mandate, which he said requires individuals to purchase health insurance and punishes those who don’t, is being kept under the table by some members because skepticism is mounting over the provision’s constitutionality.

“Rather than defend the law, [lawmakers] have decided to lay low and grind their way to 2014,” Hatch said. “The impact of this law on the nation’s health care system has yet to be fully realized and the hope of the left is that by the time that Obamacare is fully operational, it will be too late to repeal it.”

Hatch argued that a plurality of Americans believe the infamous individual mandate violates the Constitution. The law has been heard by three apellate courts. The Atlanta-based 11th Circuit struck down the individual mandate, the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati ruled that the bill was, in fact, constitutional and the Richmond, Va.-based 4th Circuit tossed the case entirely.

“The Supreme court will get to decide whether forcing individuals to purchase health insurance is an appropriate use of powers to regulate interstate commerce or to tax and spend for the general welfare,” Hatch said.

Senate Finance Committee Prepares For Baucus Bill Vote

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

As the Senate Finance Committee prepares to vote on the America's Healthy Future Act, Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) used his opening remarks to congratulate the committee's members on reaching this point and urge the commitee to help further the legislation.

“Now pretty much everything’s been said. Now it’s time to get the job done," said Baucus. "The scores are in, and I am proud to say that our bill passes the test."

Sen. Olympia Snow (R-Maine.), who has been viewed by Democrats as a possible Republican ally on the bill, used her opening statement to ask CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf to keep updated analyses of the bill as it proceeds to the Senate floor, stating that it is “critically important [for senators] to be vigilant.”

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) addressed the recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, describing it as “flawed and completely incorrect."

Baucus interrupted Sen. Orrin Hatch's (R-Utah) opening remarks, stating that the Republican Senator was taking too long and asking Hatch to be courteous to other senators by adhering to the time limit. Baucus tried to limit Sen. Jon Kyl's (R-Ariz.) opening statement as well, a move that visibly frustrated Kyl.

The landmark bill was confronted with 564 amendments, of which the committee considered 135. There were in total 79 roll-call votes. The committee adopted 41 amendments in total.

Tuesday marks the 8th day the committee has met to tackle the bill, making this the longest amount of time the committee has worked on a single piece of legislation in 22 years.