As the nullification hearing closed today, just after the sponsors finished wrapping up, "Coach" Dave Daubenmire, a radio talk show host from Hebron, Ohio, pushed up to the microphone and demanded a chance to speak, and he was allowed to. As he spoke, at times shouting, the crowd called back with cries of "Amen!" and "Yes!" Daubenmire thundered to the senators, "In the name of God, do your duty!" He was greeted with loud applause. Then, Whitney Rearick of Boise said she was from Idaho and wanted to speak too, but wasn't permitted to. "I just feel like those of us who are against it weren't given a fair shake," she declared. "This is very undemocratic. I'm very disappointed."

The committee then began debating the bill, and some members asked questions of Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane. Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, chairwoman of the Senate Health & Welfare Committee, asked whether the bill would require the state to return $12 million in grants for "those who through no fault of their own cannot care for themselves." Kane said, "We don't know the answer to that yet."

Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis thanked all those who testified, and spoke out strongly of his opposition to the federal health care reform law, saying he thinks it's unconstitutional. But he said the Constitution doesn't permit states to nullify federal laws. "I agree that we should do all we can to push the federal government to return to its enumerated powers," he said. "But for me, I need to do it within the system. ... My heart, but not my mind, is with the supporters of this legislation."

Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, told the crowd, "We're angry and we're frustrated, and I have a sacred Constitution that I believe provides for remedies for that. ... I find no constitutional justification for the things that we are talking about here today. I commend you for your ... goals... (and) passion. ... I cannot pursue them in the manner that some of you are prescribing."