Sen. Hatch Gets It Wrong On Reconciliation

Sen. Hatch Falsely Claims Democrats Will Pass Health Care Through Reconciliation

Sen. Orrin Hatch:

To impose the will of some Democrats and to circumvent bipartisan opposition, President Obama seems to be encouraging Congress to use the "reconciliation" process, an arcane budget procedure, to ram through the Senate a multitrillion-dollar health-care bill that raises taxes, increases costs and cuts Medicare to fund a new entitlement we can't afford. [Sen. Hatch op-ed, Washington Post, 3/2/10; emphasis added]

The Senate has already passed health care reform with a 60 vote majority. 

Health Insurance Reform Passed The Senate With A 60 Vote Majority.  According to the Washington Post, "Senate Democrats approved landmark legislation just after sunrise Christmas Eve that would transform the nation's health-care system by requiring people without insurance to obtain coverage and protecting those who have it from the most unpopular private insurance practices. Vice President Biden presided over the 60 to 39 party-line vote, described as a historic milestone by senators on both sides of the aisle. Despite the early hour, Democrats sat alert at their desks, exhausted but exuberant, savoring a victory that had eluded so many of their predecessors. 'This is probably the most important vote that every sitting member of the Senate will cast in their tenure here,' said Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), one of the authors of the bill." [Washington Post, 12/25/10]

Once the House of Representatives passes the Senate-passed version of reform, Congress will then act to amend the budgetary aspects of the bill through the reconciliation process. 

Reconciliation Will Be Used For Budgetary "Fixes" That Even Republicans Support.  During an appearance on MSNBC's Hardball, NBC Political Director Chuck Todd explained the reconciliation process likely to be used for fixing health care reform:

      

CHUCK TODD: A little fact check on reconciliation - they're not trying to pass the entire health bill on reconciliation.

MATTHEWS: I think the Democrats are in good shape right now to get this thing through in a two-step. Get the House to pass the Senate bill and get through the Senate reconciliation. [MSNBC, Hardball, 3/25/10]

MATTHEWS: That's what he means.

TODD: However, that's how it's framed. Correct, that's what he - what's happened here is the Republicans are saying, they already tried to pass out the bill. They're going to pass health care through the Senate.

They're trying to do these fixes, which is - the irony is, it's all of the - most of the fixes, about half of them are the ones that Republicans have been complaining about with the cornhusker kickback. They're going to get rid that. They're going to do -

(CROSS TALK)

MATTHEWS: Jim Clyburn just said they're going to get rid of (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We're on the record. The great thing about tonight's show is we're getting the facts out here. The facts are they're not going to use reconciliation to pass health care.

(CROSS TALK)

They're going to pass the Senate bill in the House and then, right around the same time, they're going to pass the fixed bill with reconciliation which is basically dealing with the fiscal numbers, which is an appropriate way to use reconciliation.

TODD: The parliamentarian is going to have an easy time with that one.

Sen. Hatch Is Wrong About Health Care Reform And Republican Use Of Reconciliation

Sen. Orrin Hatch:

Reconciliation was designed to balance the federal budget. Both parties have used the process, but only when the bills in question stuck close to dealing with the budget. [Sen. Hatch op-ed, Washington Post, 3/2/10]

Health care reform fits this standard.  The Congressional Budget Office states it will reduce the federal deficit $132 billion by 2019.

CBO: Democratic Bill Would Cost $1 Trillion, Cut Deficit By $132 Billion. According to the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Democratic health care plan:

CBO and JCT estimate that, on balance, the direct spending and revenue effects of enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act incorporating the manager's amendment would yield a net reduction in federal deficits of $132 billion over the 2010-2019 period. [Congressional Budget Office, 12/19/09]

The Bush tax cuts -- supported by Sen. Orrin Hatch -- passed through the budget reconciliation process, drastically INCREASED the federal budget deficit.

• CBPP: "Tax Cuts Have Been The Single Largest Contributor To The Reemergence Of Substantial Budget Deficits In Recent Years." According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Congressional Budget Office data show that the tax cuts have been the single largest contributor to the reemergence of substantial budget deficits in recent years.  Legislation enacted since 2001 added about $3.0 trillion to deficits between 2001 and 2007, with nearly half of this deterioration in the budget due to the tax cuts (about a third was due to increases in security spending, and about a sixth to increases in domestic spending)." [CBPP, accessed 1/31/10]

• CBPP: Tax Cuts "Have Contributed To Revenues Dropping In 2004 To The Lowest Level As A Share Of The Economy Since 1950." According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: "The Bush tax cuts have contributed to revenues dropping in 2004 to the lowest level as a share of the economy since 1950, and have been a major contributor to the dramatic shift from large projected budget surpluses to projected deficits as far as the eye can see." [CBPP, accessed 1/31/10]