Senator Orrin Hatch admitted during an interview on Tuesday that he and the rest of the Republican don’t really give a damn whether the public gets a chance to view the AHCA before its passed. According to the Senator, forcing the legislation into law at any cost is far more important.
A pretty honest answer from Sen. Hatch when I asked how much time the public should get to review their health bill https://t.co/Ljr6hzjBSq pic.twitter.com/CxVk3uFKkf
— Tierney Sneed (@Tierney_Megan) June 13, 2017
Hatch gave his startling response to Talking Points Memo on Tuesday. Hatch was asked, along with several other lawmakers, how much time he believed the public should be given to review the healthcare bill before it is voted on. Hatch said it wasn’t his concern.
“Well I think we’re not worried so much about that as we are getting it together so we can get a majority to vote for it.”
While we have known this was how the Republican party was operating in regards to the repeal of Obamacare, hearing one of the most high-ranking Senators admitting to his obfuscation is shocking.
Other lawmakers were not so obvious, and said that they planned to make the AHCA public before a vote is held, but just not yet. Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota defended Majority Leader Mitch McConnell by saying they just want to establish a draft, then it will be revealed to the public.
“There’s been some criticism that we’re not going through hearings and that kind of thing. I think Mitch is trying to get input and pretty quick here we’ll have an initial working draft, and there will be a chance for more transparency and more input.”
At the current rate things are going, it’s clear that Republicans aren’t able to think about the effect their decisions today will have on 2018, 2020, or beyond. By completely refusing to include the majority of America in a decision that will change the national landscape, and by hiding the bill, even from many in their own party, they are setting themselves up for failure.
Whether that failure comes before or after they repeal Obamacare is another question entirely.
