Orrin Hatch: “today I wish to make some remarks paying tribute to a former staff member of mine for whom I have the highest opinion.…”

“today I wish to make some remarks paying tribute to a former staff member of mine for whom I have the highest opinion. However, before I begin those remarks, I should take a moment to address the elephant in the room. Mr. President, today the majority leader revealed a revised discussion draft for legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Let me say at the outset that this bill isn't perfect. There are some things in the bill that, given my preferences, I would do very differently. But one thing I have learned in my 40 years in this Senate is that people who demand purity and perfection when it comes to legislation usually end up disappointed and rarely accomplish anything productive. That is particularly true when we are talking about complex policy matters. The next vote on this legislation will presumably be whether to let the Senate proceed to the bill. Regardless of any of the positions of my colleagues on this particular draft, if they support the larger effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare, they should at the very least want to have a debate on this bill. Under the rules, we will have an open amendment process. Members will get a chance to make their preferences known and to have the Senate vote on them. Taking that opportunity is the very least we can do. Keep in mind, virtually every Republican in this body has supported the effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare more or less since the day it was signed into law.…”