Hatch Says ‘Nuts’ to Think Sunday Vote Settles Issue (Update1)
By Nicholas Johnston
March 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, said Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are “nuts” to think that Sunday’s vote on health-care legislation will resolve the issue.
Senate Republicans have enough votes on at least two points of order to alter the measure and send it back to the House for a second round of votes, Hatch said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend.
“If those people think they’re only going to vote on this once, they’re nuts,” Hatch said as House Democratic leaders rounded up support before the scheduled March 21 vote on President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.
Hatch warned that the approach Democrats are using to pass the legislation in the House may be unconstitutional because the House and Senate aren’t voting on “exactly the same language.”
The second-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Hatch also said Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, 89, the longest serving member of the court, is “likely” to announce he is stepping down next month.
That will allow Obama to name his replacement, and Hatch suggested Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as possibilities.
‘Pick Another Woman’
“I suspect he’s going to try and pick another woman or somebody from some ethnic group that hasn’t had a chance to be on the court,” Hatch said.
Replacing Stevens would be Obama’s second pick for the nine-member court. Last year he named Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic justice, to the court to fill the seat vacated by David Souter.
On the issue of terrorism, Hatch, a member of the Senate intelligence committee, said the U.S. “may very well catch Osama bin Laden,” the leader of the al-Qaeda network.
“We are knocking off the top 20 one by one,” Hatch said. He criticized Attorney General Eric Holder for telling lawmakers March 16 that bin Laden isn’t likely to be captured alive.
“I don’t think he should have said that,” Hatch said.
Asked if he knew whether bin Laden’s capture is imminent, Hatch said, “I couldn’t say even if I did.”
On college sports, Hatch called the Bowl Championship Series, which oversees the college football national championship game, “a corrupt system” that funnels billions of dollars to “privileged conferences.”
The Department of Justice has told Hatch it is considering whether to investigate the BCS for possible violations of antitrust law.
‘Gravy Train’
“It’s a corrupt system and frankly we really do need to change it,” Hatch said. “And I understand why they’d try and hold onto it. It’s a gravy train to them that nobody seems to look at or supervise or review.”
Hatch said one of the points of order raised against the health-care legislation would be related to the effect on Social Security revenue, and he expects Republicans will have the votes to win on that because it would require 60 votes to overturn.
A proposed tax on high-end insurance plans would be scaled back under the House measure, which would mean less revenue for the Social Security system, Republicans say. That would violate Senate rules, they say.
Democrats and two independents have 59 seats in the 100- member body.
Price Tag
The legislation represents the most significant health-care revamp since the Medicare program for the elderly was created in 1965. Americans would have more access to preventive care and young adults could stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26, Democrats say. The measure has a 10-year $940 billion price tag.
Hatch predicted “outright warfare” in the Senate if Democrats use a process called reconciliation that would allow the Senate to pass the health-care measure with a simple majority.
“That’s going to be something they’re going to have to live with the rest of their lives,” Hatch said. |
