Utah senators make final push to keep health reform bill from passing


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SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah senators Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch are fighting hard to keep the health care reform bill from going through the Senate.

In a statement Saturday, Sen. Bennett said lawmakers didn't have enough time to look over the bill. He added the bill will likely raise costs across the board.

"When you get into the details of it, you realize that the advertised cost of it is nowhere near the real cost it's going to be," he said. "It's been made to look cheaper by a bunch of budgetary gimmicks that have been put in."

Senator Hatch also expressed concern about the cost.

Speaking to the Senate Saturday, he said the new bill would impose undue stress on every state.

"The last thing we need right now is for Washington to impose more liability on the states," he said. "This alone should be a reason enough for every senator to stop and rethink their decision about letting this tax and spend bill move forward."

Hatch also expressed concern that the trillion-dollar health bill would require Americans to pay for elective abortions.

"The House provisions, in contrast to the terribly flawed provisions in the Reid bill, contained language that would not only safeguard the rights of the unborn but also would prevent medical providers from being coerced into performing procedures that violate their conscience," Hatch said.

Democrats argue reform is essential, and that doing nothing is not an option. They've called Hatch's statements "false propaganda."

The Senate was set to vote on the bill Saturday night.

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