Hatch Congratulates Orbital ATK on Ground Test, Highlights Utah’s Role in Aerospace Industry
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, congratulated Orbital ATK today for its remarkable contributions to the aerospace industry. This morning, the company will be conducting the second qualification ground test (QM-2) of its solid rocket booster—the engine that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Today’s event marks the final ground test before the rocket is used in the first launch of SLS with NASA’s Orion spacecraft in 2018. The test, which will be carried live on NASA TV at 11:05 a.m. EDT, is a breakthrough achievement in the human exploration of deep space.
Ahead of the test, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said “Utah has a proud heritage of supporting human spaceflight. Over many decades, our state has helped pioneer extraordinary advancements in rocket technology that have made it possible for our astronauts to carry out their missions and explore the unknown. Today’s ground test of the solid rocket booster marks yet another milestone for America’s space program.”
Senator Hatch played an integral role in Congress to make today’s test a possibility. Over six years ago, the Obama administration canceled the successor to the Space Shuttle, putting in doubt the very future of our human space program. At this critical juncture, Hatch gave Utah and the solid rocket industry a much-needed boost by including language in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act regarding specifications for the lift capability of future rockets. His efforts all but ensured that our nation’s solid rocket motor would be a part of the development of NASA’s Space Launch System.
Charlie Precourt, Vice Preisdent and General Manager of Orbital ATK’s Propulsion Systems Division, said, “We are grateful for Senator Orrin Hatch's leadership and commitment throughout his career to ensure our nation continues to lead exploration of deep space for the benefit of future generations. Thanks to the Senator’s leadership in fighting for SLS, hundreds of jobs in Utah and thousands more across the country exist today.”
Background Information
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Hatch Leads Bipartisan Group Urging HHS to Make National Pain Strategy a Reality
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a member and former Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, joined Senator Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, in writing a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell this week to request an update on the Department’s plan to implement their National Pain Strategy (NPS). Highlighting the urgent need to help millions of struggling Americans, Hatch and Schatz wrote, “One hundred million adults in our nation suffer with some level of chronic pain. With an annual cost burden of over $600 billion, chronic pain represents a national epidemic with a financial burden that demands greater attention.”
The senators urged the HHS to act quickly to put the National Pain Strategy into action, writing “it is time to transform the NPS from a plan on paper to a reality for the millions of Americans who are counting on the federal government to enact significant change to improve their health and quality of life.”
The Senators requested specific information regarding Secretary Burwell and the Department’s plans:
In order to achieve this shared vision, we hope that your agency will quickly develop and execute an implementation and evaluation plan for the NPS. In order for Congress to fully address the situation, we request an update by September 30, 2016, on your plans for NPS implementation, including information to address the following questions:
1. Who will lead NPS implementation efforts?
2. What is the agency’s budget for NPS implementation?
3. What is the agency’s timeline for NPS implementation?
4. In what ways will stakeholders be consulted throughout NPS implementation?
5. In what ways will barriers to quality pain care for underserved populations be addressed?
Joining Senators Hatch and Schatz in sending the letter were Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Angus King, I-Maine; Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Jerry Moran, R-Kans.; Pat Roberts, R-Kans.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
The full letter is below:
June 29, 2016
The Honorable Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
330 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Burwell,
Thank you for your leadership in addressing our public health crises of chronic pain management and opioid abuse. As national conversations on pain management and opioid abuse continue, we respectfully request an update on your implementation plan for the National Pain Strategy.
The bipartisan, bicameral National Pain Care Policy Act of 2009 outlined the vital provisions necessary to address the public health epidemic of chronic pain. As a result, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) was directed to assess the nation’s state of pain care, education, and research. The resultant June 2011 report, Relieving Pain in America, documented the profound human and economic burden of chronic pain. One hundred million adults in our nation suffer with some level of chronic pain. With an annual cost burden of over $600 billion, chronic pain represents a national epidemic with a financial burden that demands greater attention. As noted in the IOM report and highlighted in a February 2012 Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing, the federal research investment is glaringly inadequate, despite the substantial national burden imposed by chronic pain. Furthermore, the current state of educational and training efforts for, and the medical treatment of, chronic pain fall short of what is needed to address this national health crisis.
Recommendation 2.2 of the IOM report called for the development of a comprehensive population-level strategy to advance pain research, education, care, and prevention. We are pleased that in 2012, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health commissioned the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee of the National Institutes of Health to lead the development of the National Pain Strategy (NPS), in coordination with five other federal agencies and dozens of nominated experts from the medical-scientific, public, private, patient, and advocacy communities.
In March 2016, after an 18-month internal review and clearance process, we were satisfied to learn of the final release of the NPS. We commend your leadership in ensuring that the developed plan was both comprehensive and practical, including short-, medium-, and long-term deliverables in each of the six topic areas. Further, the identification of key federal and non-federal stakeholders, as well as the inclusion of evaluation metrics, has made the NPS an actionable blueprint from which significant national change can occur.
We were also encouraged to read the brief discussion pertaining to implementation of the NPS (p. 6):
“Sustained efforts across HHS, working through operating divisions, staff divisions, and also with non-governmental partners, will be required in order to implement the public health, clinical, and research initiatives described in this Strategy. These efforts will help to prevent pain, improve patient care and outcomes, assure appropriate patient and provider education, and advance pain-related applied research. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), in conjunction with HHS operating and staff divisions, will consider the recommendations included in the Strategy and develop an implementation and evaluation plan based on this process [emphasis added].”
Since 2009, the impetus for action has only intensified. In states across the nation, chronic pain management has been neglected, allowing our nation’s management of pain care, education, and research to remain largely unchanged. As such, it is critical that the agency waste no time in developing and executing an implementation and evaluation plan for the NPS.
As the nation’s first interagency plan to achieve a system of effective, safe, high-quality, evidence-based pain care in America, implementation of the NPS is not only critical to reducing the significant human and economic burden of chronic pain, but is also an essential component of any plan to mitigate the nation’s opioid abuse, overdose, and addiction crisis. Given the severity of these national crises, it is time to transform the NPS from a plan on paper to a reality for the millions of Americans who are counting on the federal government to enact significant change to improve their health and quality of life.
In order to achieve this shared vision, we hope that your agency will quickly develop and execute an implementation and evaluation plan for the NPS. In order for Congress to fully address the situation, we request an update by September 30, 2016, on your plans for NPS implementation, including information to address the following questions:
6. Who will lead NPS implementation efforts?
7. What is the agency’s budget for NPS implementation?
8. What is the agency’s timeline for NPS implementation?
9. In what ways will stakeholders be consulted throughout NPS implementation?
10.In what ways will barriers to quality pain care for underserved populations be addressed?
It is essential that this department-wide policy is fully implemented. If you have questions, please contact Stuart Portman with the Office of Senator Orrin Hatch at 202.224.5251 or Aimee Grace with the Office of Senator Brian Schatz at 202.224.3934.
Sincerely,
_____________________ _____________________
Orrin G. Hatch Brian Schatz
United States Senator United States Senator
_____________________ _____________________
Tammy Baldwin Sherrod Brown
United States Senator United States Senator
_____________________ _____________________
Susan M. Collins Angus S. King, Jr.
United States Senator United States Senator
_____________________ _____________________
Mark Kirk Jerry Moran
United States Senator United States Senator
_____________________ _____________________
Pat Roberts Marco Rubio
United States Senator United States Senator
_____________________
Sheldon Whitehouse
United States Senator
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Video: Hatch Fights Obamacare for Utah's Small Businesses with New Legislation
Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, gave an update on his commitment to repeal Obamacare and support Utah’s families and businesses that have been hurt the most by the President’s signature healthcare law.
Senator Hatch delivered his statement on Obamacare to the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security. A video version of his remarks with the full script appears below.
Obamacare is an unmitigated disaster that has hit Utah’s families and small businesses the hardest. That’s why, since Obamacare’s inception, I have been working tirelessly to repeal the President’s signature healthcare law and replace it with a patient-centered alternative that works for all Utahns.
In the past year alone, Congress has taken critical steps to scale back some of the most damaging aspects of Obamacare. First, we delayed the Cadillac Tax until 2020. Then, we enacted a one-year moratorium on the Health Insurance Tax—a tax that could have a disastrous effect on America’s job creators by increasing average premiums for small businesses by more than $200 dollars per employee.
Since last July, Obamacare has forced small Utah’s small businesses to pay a special excise tax that affects how they can help employees pay their insurance premiums and medical expenses. Small business owners are rightly upset with this unfair tax because it hurts their bottom lines and destroys their ability to compete.
I want to help Utah’s employers. That’s why I am working to advance a bill called the Small Business Health Care Relief Act, which would allow small businesses that have 50 employees or fewer to offer Health Reimbursement Accounts to their employees without being subject to taxes. Small businesses play a crucial role in our innovative, growing economy, and they deserve our help.
I will continue fighting to cut costs for small businesses purchasing health insurance coverage, and I invite anyone—Republican or Democrat—to join me in this effort.
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Hatch Questions Homeland Security Secretary on Guns, Due Process, Immigration, and Cybersecurity
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, the former chairman and current senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson today on issues related to guns, due process, cybersecurity, the militarization of the federal government, and the cap on H-1B visas.
Senator Hatch’s full questions, as delivered, are below:
Question 1.
Ted Koppel’s book, Lights Out, says that you were interviewed in October 2014 about our nation’s preparedness in the aftermath of a successful cyberattack on the electrical power grid.
When asked what would happen in the event that several transformers were knocked out and whether a backlog exists, you responded, “I’m sure FEMA has the capability to bring in backup transformers.”
Yet when FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate was asked the same question he responded, “Most people expect … that somehow we have enough tools in the tool chest to get power turned back on quickly. The answer is no.”
It’s been two years since your meeting with Mr. Koppel, and I will ask you the same question: What would happen in the event that several transformers were knocked out. How would you go about replacing them? What kind of a backlog exists?
Question 2.
Mr. Secretary, I recently read a Wall Street Journal op-ed by former Senator Tom Coburn about the stockpiling of arms and ammunition by a number of federal agencies.
Like many who read this piece, I was taken aback by how many federal agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Education, have armed personnel and weapons stockpiled. One report estimates that since 2004, the Department of Homeland Security purchased 1.7 billion bullets and has an estimated inventory reserve at 22-months, or 160 million rounds.
People wouldn’t be surprised if the Army was doing this, but what is DHS doing with 1.7 billion bullets?
The irony is not lost on me—as this administration is arming itself, it is pushing gun control for law-abiding Americans.
Question 3.
Speaking of gun control, do you agree with the Supreme Court that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms and that that right is a fundamental right?
Do you agree that there ought to be due process before government takes action to prevent an individual from exercising that fundamental right? If your answer is no, can you tell me what other fundamental rights you believe government can properly deny without prior due process?
I’d just like to say that due process is critically important to liberty and to protecting our constitutional rights and that I think it’s irresponsible to suggest—as some have—that due process is somehow less important in certain contexts or with regard to certain rights. All constitutional rights are important and deserve full protection.
Concluding Remarks.
Let me conclude by saying this: In April, for the fourth year in a row, the H-1B visa quota was reached in the first five days of the filing period. There was a record-setting 236,000 applicants for only 85,000 available visas.
I remain committed to fixing the system so it works for both employers and American workers, and I hope that DHS will finally be willing to put partisan considerations aside and work to alleviate this glaring problem.
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As Obamacare Hikes Healthcare Costs, Hatch Fights for Utahns
“Small businesses know their employees and their health needs better than federal bureaucrats in Washington, and should have flexibility to design benefit packages that work best for them.”
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a member and former chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, issued a statement to the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security highlighting the role small businesses play in Utah and around the country. His efforts have focused on limiting burdensome healthcare regulations that strangle their growth and impede success. “Through my work as a member of this committee, as Chairman of the Finance Committee, and as a Utahn seeking commonsense solutions to unnecessarily complex problems, I have fought to decrease healthcare costs for small businesses in a variety of ways.”
Senator Hatch has spoken extensively about Obamacare, and he continues his efforts to repeal some of the laws most onerous provisions—some of which hit small businesses hard. Senator Hatch’s statement is part of an effort to advance the Small Business Health Care Relief Act, which he said, “would allow small businesses that have no more than 50 employees to offer stand-alone Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) to their employees if certain conditions are met without subjecting them to an onerous excise tax that went into effect last July. HRAs are an important tool used by employers to help employees pay for health insurance premiums and medical expenses. I will continue to work with Senator Grassley on avenues to advance this important piece of legislation.”
This is the latest of Senator Hatch’s efforts to provide relief for those hurt by Obamacare. At the end of 2015, he ensured that Obamacare’s 40% excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health benefits—referred to as the Cadillac Tax—was delayed until 2020. He also worked to enact a one-year moratorium on the health insurance tax, which is estimated to increase premiums on average for small employers by more than $200 per employee. Senator Hatch said, “While these are small steps to address the rising cost of healthcare, they provided meaningful relief in the short term.”
Senator Hatch has also co-authored the Patient CARE Act, a plan to, “repeal Obamacare, and instead build the economy, empower the individual, and reduce health care costs,” as Hatch said in the statement. “I will continue to advocate for ways to bend the cost curve for small businesses purchasing health insurance coverage, and I invite anyone – Republican or Democrat – to work with me to address rising health care costs, which is a top issue facing the economic engines of our country.”
The full statement for the record, is below:
Small businesses in Utah, and across our nation, are an important source of employment and economic activity while serving as the foundation of our communities. According to the Small Business Administration, Utah small businesses employ more than 520,000 individuals, which is nearly half of the private sector workforce. Firms with fewer than 100 employees make up the largest share of small businesses in Utah. Small businesses spark innovation, create jobs and complement the economic activity of large organizations. However, small business creation and growth is faltering in Utah and throughout the country because of the Affordable Care Act and its increased costs.
According to a study conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation, “the cost of health insurance is the most critical concern for small business owners in operating their business…” This is further exacerbated by mandates and taxes imposed by Obamacare. It is time for the federal government to stop this assault on small businesses and hardworking Americans. Through my work as a member of this committee, as Chairman of the Finance Committee, and as a Utahn seeking common sense solutions to unnecessarily complex problems, I have fought to decrease health care costs for small businesses in a variety of ways.
At the end of 2015, I ensured that Obamacare’s 40% excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health benefits—referred to as the Cadillac Tax—was delayed until 2020. Similarly, I worked to enact a one-year moratorium on the health insurance tax, which is estimated to increase premiums on average for small employers by more than $200 per employee. While these are small steps to address the rising cost of health care, they provided meaningful relief in the short term.
As Chairman of the Finance Committee, I have also worked with my colleague, Senator Chuck Grassley, to support the Small Business Health Care Relief Act (S. 3060). This measure would allow small businesses that have no more than 50 employees to offer stand-alone Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) to their employees if certain conditions are met without subjecting them to an onerous excise tax that went into effect last July. HRAs are an important tool used by employers to help employees pay for health insurance premiums and medical expenses. I will continue to work with Senator Grassley on avenues to advance this important piece of legislation.
Many of the other ideas I believe will help to decrease health care costs for small businesses are included in the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility, and Empowerment (CARE) Act I proposed with my colleagues, Senator Richard Burr and Congressman Fred Upton. The Patient CARE Act would repeal Obamacare, and instead build the economy, empower the individual, and reduce health care costs. Of particular interest for employers should be the repeal of the employer mandate that imposes a one-size fits all requirement on small businesses that offer health insurance coverage to their employees. Small businesses know their employees and their health needs better than federal bureaucrats in Washington, and should have flexibility to design benefit packages that work best for them. Furthermore, this proposal would allow small businesses to join together to negotiate small business health plans to leverage purchasing power, which could help expand access to coverage and lower health care costs.
Another component of the Patient CARE Act is giving employers and employees more access to Consumer Directed Health Plans, also known as HSA-Eligible Health Plans. As the lead sponsor of the Health Savings Act of 2016, I feel strongly that giving employees more choice and greater control of their earnings will enable smarter, more personal decisions about their health needs.
Starting, maintaining and growing a small business demands hard work, dedication, and focus. The federal government should do all it can to support small business employers and employees, rather than increasing burdensome regulations that make it difficult for businesses to grow and hire more workers. I will continue to advocate for ways to bend the cost curve for small businesses purchasing health insurance coverage, and I invite anyone – Republican or Democrat – to work with me to address rising health care costs, which is a top issue facing the economic engines of our country.
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Hatch Reacts to Supreme Court Decision on Texas Abortion Case
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the former chairman and current senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement following the Supreme Court’s decision today in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt:
“I am deeply disappointed in the Court's decision. Today's ruling only further complicates the Court's already muddled abortion jurisprudence and inhibits states' legitimate efforts to protect the lives and health of women and children. I remain committed to fighting judicial activism and protecting all human life.”
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