Issues
Hatch vs. ObamaCare
Individual Mandate
Hatch was the first member of Congress to challenge the constitutionality of the individual mandate, requiring Americans to purchase health insurance.
"The individual mandate exceeds Congress's enumerated commerce power and is unconstitutional. This economic mandate represents a wholly novel and potentially unbounded assertion of congressional authority: the ability to compel Americans to purchase an expensive health insurance product they have elected not to buy, and to make them re-purchase that insurance product every month for their entire lives." -Orrin Hatch
Legislation Proposed Against ObamaCare
Senator Hatch sponsored two bills during 2011 that would repeal the two of the most egregious mandates propping up ObamaCare—the individual mandate and employer mandate. He also introduced a bill (S.17) that would repeal the medical device tax, which was included in the health law in order to fund ObamaCare.
Hatch's Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act (S.17) seeks to end the medical device tax in ObamaCare. Under the health care law, medical devices will get hit with a 2.3 percent tax hike that will raise $20 billion in revenue over 10 years and have a lasting impact on industry innovation, job creation and the overall delivery and cost of quality patient care to fund the $2.6 trillion health law. S. 17 would repeal the tax, which is slated to take effect in 2013.
Hatch's American Liberty Restoration Act (S. 19) repeals the individual mandate that the senator has repeatedly called unconstitutional and has prompted lawsuits by over 20 states.
His American Job Protection Act (S.20) would repeal the job-crushing employer mandate that Hatch says would force more layoffs and increase taxes on businesses at a time when unemployment continues to push past 9 percent.
"I not only support a full repeal, but also a targeted approach that takes down the pillars holding up ObamaCare. I've introduced legislation taking aim at the unconstitutional individual mandate and the job-killing employer mandate. I'm confident that my legislation will garner increased bipartisan support this Congress."
"We need to repeal the health law in its entirety. The House already voted to do so. And then, along with my Republican colleagues in the Senate, I voted to repeal ObamaCare in its entirety."-Orrin Hatch
Protecting Small Business
Introduced the Jobs and Premium Protection Act, repeals the costly, job-crushing health insurance tax (HIT) included in the President's health care law.
"The health law's insurance tax is especially damaging, undercutting our economic recovery by increasing the cost of health coverage. Money that could go to higher wages, new workers, or investment will instead go to pay this new tax. With insurance premiums already skyrocketing and unemployment hovering at 9 percent, this tax makes no sense. The President is demanding jobs legislation; he should start by supporting the repeal of this tax."-Orrin Hatch
Protecting The States
Signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Utah's side of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new federal health insurance law. The brief argues that forcing Americans to purchase a government-approved level of health of health insurance "dramatically oversteps the bounds of the Commerce Clause which has always been understood as a power to regulate, and not to compel, economic activity."
Introduced a bill that would place a moratorium on further implementation of the $2.6 trillion health law until lawsuits over its constitutionality are resolved. The Save Our States (SOS) Act would ensure that all states are on equal footing and that no more taxpayer dollars are spent implementing a bill two federal courts have already found unconstitutional.
"The bottom-line is that any solution needs to be state based. Frankly, this is what our Constitution of separated powers and sovereign states demands. There is an enormous reservoir of expertise and experience in the states. And any federal reform of the nation's health care system should take advantage of this state-based wisdom. The states will be at the center of Republicans' health care reform effort." -Orrin Hatch
Protecting The Unborn
Introduced legislation, the Protect Life Act (S. 877),that would codify longstanding policy preventing taxpayer funding of abortion and apply it to the partisan health law.
The Protect Life Act guarantees that no taxpayer dollars flow to cover elective abortions by applying the longstanding policy of the Hyde Amendment to the new health care law and provides protections for health care providers who are opposed to abortions.
