Sen. Lee: ObamaCare Delays a ‘Shameless Power Grab’

Sen. Lee: ObamaCare Delays a 'Shameless Power Grab' (RealClearPolitics)

CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: Sir, forgive me. That's -- I'm asking you, the small companies have had the knowledge of what the employer mandate was going to be since the law was passed in 2010. They've had four years. Why do they need flexibility now?

REP. XAVIER BECERRA (D-CA): Because you're seeing quite of a few chances that are taking place that require the insurance carriers and the employers to take on certain responsibilities. And you want to make sure that those responsibilities are taken on in a way that work for not just the business person, but also the employees. And what we've seen is over 12 million Americans today have that health security that they didn't have before. That's important. Make it work right. That you tweak it here and there. That's within the president's discretion. And it provides the flexibility that small business owner would like to have.

WALLACE: Senator Lee, does Congressman Becerra persuade you?

SEN. MIKE LEE (R-UT): No, not at all. But this is a shameless act, a shameless power grab that is designed to help the president and his political party achieve a particular outcome in a partisan election. And that's wrong. Look, the Constitution doesn't give the president that power. His power belongs to the people. The people delegate that power to their senators and to their congressmen. They don't give it to the president to act unilaterally and there's a good reason for that. The whole reason why we have a constitution is to help prevent to protect us against the excessive concentration of power in the hands of the few or here in the case of the hands of one person.