Wash. Times: Sen. Hatch Wants Secret Memo That's Aided Obama's Executive Actions

Sen. Orrin Hatch would like the Treasury Department to release a secret memo from 1983 that has allowed President Barack Obama to take several executive actions during his presidency.

Hatch, a Republican who represents Utah, wants the American public to see the document that dates back to Ronald Reagan's first term.

The document, according to the Washington Times, is an agreement between the White House and the Department of Treasury that gives the president the power to circumvent laws from first being put through a cost-benefit analysis. Obama has used the document to take actions on things like Obamacare and corporate taxes.

"This non-public MOU between the Treasury and White House further cloaks the regulatory process in secrecy and decreases regulatory transparency at a time when the Executive Branch is attempting to achieve a great deal of policy through regulatory measures generally and tax regulations specifically," Hatch wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, reports the Times.

Hatch, according to the Times, said the effect Obamacare and taxes have had on the economy in recent years is caused to unseal the document in an effort to be transparent.

A page on the White House's official website lists the several dozen executive orders Obama has taken.

The 82-year-old Hatch, meanwhile, has served in the Senate since 1977 and may run for an eighth term in 2018.

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