Hatch Statement on Supporting Bipartisan Plan to Reopen the Government, Prevent Default

WASHINGTON – – U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, today released the following statement announcing his support for compromise legislation to reopen the government and prevent a default:

“This bill isn’t perfect, but it is a path forward to reopen the government and prevent an economy-shaking default. When Republicans control only one-half of one-third of the federal government, we have to understand what is achievable and what is not. Too many were led to believe we could accomplish something that was never possible – namely defunding ObamaCare through a government shutdown.

“This legislation locks in significant spending reductions against bitter opposition from the other side of the aisle who want to raise the American people’s taxes to spend more money we simply don’t have. That is an achievement that cannot be overstated.

“It is frustrating to see that despite the many flaws of ObamaCare – as evidenced by the disastrous roll out of the health care exchanges on October 1 – that President Obama and Senate Democrats were unwilling to work with Republicans on behalf of the American people to make some very common-sense changes to the law. One of the changes I pushed for was a repeal of the medical device tax, which impacts more than 10,000 jobs in Utah alone.

“Unfortunately, President Obama was missing in action during this debate, save for hosting a few brief meetings at the White House. Washington’s runaway spending is going to swallow us whole unless we act, and that’s going to require the President to step into the fray and be the leader he was elected to be, because the fact is that there are more fights ahead to get our spending under control.”

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