Orrin Hatch

Orrin Grant Hatch is the Senior Senator for the state of Utah. He is a Republican and was first elected in 1976.

Iraq War
Hatch voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

Next Attorney General?
Hatch, "who formerly chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee", is listed among the "Top Contenders" to replace Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales "whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress". Gonzales resigned August 27, 2007, and will leave office on September 17, 2007.

Although Hatch "once said he would take the job if offered", his "prospects were a big unknown. There is general affection for him from his Senate colleagues but also questions about his loyalty to the administration because of his gentle treatment of Gonzales. The Utah Republican was the lone member of his party on the Senate Judiciary Committee not to openly deride the embattled attorney general."

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

DC voting rights
On May 1, 2007 Hatch introduced the District of Columbia Fair and Equal Voting Rights Act of 2007 with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.). The bill passed the House the previous month.

Background
Hatch was born March 22, 1934 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hatch attended Brigham Young University and received a degree in History in 1959. In 1962, he received a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Hatch worked as an attorney in Pittsburgh and Utah for fourteen years. In 1976, in his first attempt at public office, he was elected to the U. S. Senate defeating three-term incumbent Sen. Frank Moss (D). He ran on the idea of creating term limits for Senators. He claimed that Senators, including Moss, had lost touch with their constituents.

In 2000 he made a failed bid for the Republican Party U.S.A. Presidential nomination, losing to Texas Governor George W. Bush.

Senate Career
According to Hatch's Senate biography, "he has continually fought an expanding federal bureaucracy and has been at the forefront of the battle against burdensome and costly federal regulations. He has been recognized by the National Taxpayers' Union for his fiscal responsibility and has been dubbed by others 'Mr. Free Enterprise,' 'Guardian of Small Business,' and 'Mr. Constitution.'

Hatch is expected to win reelection for his 6th term in November 2006. His challengers include State House Majority Whip Steve Urquhart (R) and Pete Ashdown (D), who opposes Hatch's stand on technology issues.

Legislation and Issues

 * According to Hatch's Sentate biography,"Among his many achievements and initiatives are the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, the religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Omnibus Property Rights Act, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty act, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act, home health care, the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act, the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act, FDA reform, the Orphan Drug Act, the Ryan White AIDS Care legislation, which provides needed services for adults and children afflicted with HIV, the Job Training Partnership Act, designation of the Mormon Trail, the Utah School Trust Lands Exchange Act, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) for the Utah down winders."


 * Fair Housing ActIn 1980, Hatch spoke in favor of rolling back provisions of the Fair Housing Act. Acting on his motion in 1988, Congress eventually voted to weaken the ability of plaintiffs to prosecute cases of discriminatory treatment in housing. At the time the 1988 Fair Housing Amendments were being debated, he introduced a bill endorsed by the National Association of Realtors to severely limit who can file anti-discrimination suits and to make the proceedings a private affair.


 * Played a "key part in enacting the welfare reform bill, known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996."


 * INDUCE Act Hatch caused an overnight controversy June 17, 2003 by proposing that copyright owners should be able to destroy the computer equipment and information of those suspected of copyright infringement, including file sharing. In the face of criticism, especially from technology and privacy advocates, Hatch withdrew his suggestion days later after it was discovered his website was designed with unlicensed software. One year later, he proposed a controversial INDUCE Act that attempted to make illegal all tools that may be used for copyright infringement. According to many critics, this act would effectively outlaw the internet and personal computers, giving unprecedented legal leverage to media companies.


 * Immigration Hatch was one of the architects and advocates of the expansion of H-1b visas and was generally an advocate of looser immigration policy.


 * Stem Cell Research A vocal supporter of stem cell research, Hatch was one of 58 senators who signed a letter directed to President George W. Bush, in hopes of relaxing the federal restrictions on stem cell research.

}
 * Tobacco - According to U.S. Department of Justice Post-Trial Findings of Factin U.S.A. vs. Philip Morris et al, on October 2,1997, Philip Morris Companies sent a letter to Congress in response to a request from a number of senators, for the Philip Morris position on smoking and health issues. On Page 301 of a lengthy  deposition given on July 14, 2000 by Ellen Merlo, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Philip Morris, the so-called "Hatch Statement" or "Hatch Agreement" (actually titled "Philip Morris' Statement of Position") was an agreement between Philip Morris and the United States Senate that PM would limit its discussion of health issues surrounding nicotine addiction and whether tobacco causes disease.  According to DOJ, however, "In this statement, Philip Morris once again disputed addiction and claimed that cigarettes were addictive only under definitional changes that can be used to 'describe many different kinds of behavior.' Philip Morris also stated that it nonetheless agreed to cease all public debate on the issue."(Post-Trial Findings of Fact, PDF Page 1053)

Flag burning amendment
The "Flag burning amendment", also known as the flag desecration amendment, was sponsored by Sen. Hatch in the 109th Congress. The Amendment would alter the First Amendment of the United States Constitution to allow Congress to ban the burning or desecration of American flags.


 * The most recent proposed flag burning constitutional amendments have used the following text:
 * "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."

109th Congress: 2005-2006
The flag burning amendment failed to gain the necessary 2/3 majority in the U.S. Senate on June 27, 2006. The vote was 66-34 in favor, with Democrats voting against by 14-30 and Republicans voting in favor by 52-3. The amendment was sponsored by Sen. Hatch and cosponsored by 59 senators, including all Republicans but Sens. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), Lincoln Chafee (R-Conn.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The amendment was cosponsored by Democratic Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Mark Dayton (D-Minn.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Ken Salazar (D-Colo.). See also (Washington Post vote analysis.)

2006 elections
In 2006, Democrats nominated Peter Lynn Ashdown to face Hatch in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006)  Hatch retained his seat.

Money in politics
cid=N00009869&cycle=2008

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * Senate Committee on Finance
 * Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
 * Senate Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights
 * Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
 * Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
 * Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
 * Subcommittee on Children and Families
 * Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * Joint Committee on Taxation
 * Senate Committee on Finance
 * Subcommittee on Health Care - Chair
 * Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
 * Subcommittee on International Trade
 * Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
 * Subcommittee on Oversight of the Terriorist Surveillance Program
 * Senate Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Antitrust Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
 * Subcommittee on Intellectual Property - Chair
 * Subcommittee on Technology Terrorism and Homeland Security
 * Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
 * Subcommittee on Retirement Security and Aging
 * Subcommittee on Bioterrorism Preparendess and Public Health
 * Subcommittee on Education and Early Childhood Development

Boards and other Affiliations

 * Board of Directors, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
 * Member, Federalist Society

Resources

 * U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch official website
 * Orrin Hatch For Senate official campaign website
 * Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Fairness.com.
 * U.S. Politics Today: Orrin Hatch. Daily Newsletter/Headlines.
 * Politics Surfwax: Orrin Hatch. News &amp; Articles.
 * Presidency 2000.
 * Hatch's Political Campaign Information.
 * Votes from the 107th Session of U.S. Congress: Orrin Hatch, Public Citizen.
 * Issues 2000: Orrin Hatch.
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * See how you compare to Orrin Hatch

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * One Utah
 * The World, According to Me
 * NewWest.net -- A Refreshing, new kind of journalism.

Articles

 * Gail Russell Chaddock, "Profits, Politics, & A Drug Patent," Christian Science Monitor (Common Dreams), July 19, 2000.
 * "Orrin Hatch," Harper's Magazine, 2003.
 * Ramesh Ponnuru, "Hatch Hates Hate. Utah senator plans a hate-crimes bill," National Review, January 15, 2003.
 * Leon Jaroff, "It's Time To Rethink Ephedra Regulation. The FDA needs new authority to evaluate the weight-loss supplement," Time, March 5, 2003.
 * Chuck Neubauer, Judy Pasternak and Richard T. Cooper, "Senator, His Son Get Boosts From Makers of Ephedra. Orrin Hatch has kept regulators at bay and benefited via campaign donations. Lobbyists linked to his son have received $2 million," Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2003.
 * "Orrin Hatch and Bill Thomas: Special Interests' Best Friends," Left Coaster, March 5, 2003.
 * Christopher Smith, "Hatch Leading Charge to '1984,' Critics Warn," Salt Lake Tribune, April 13, 2003.
 * "Karl Rove Speaks Through Orrin Hatch, but It's Too Little Too Late," Democratic National Committee, May 13, 2003: "A published report today indicates that Bush Senior adviser Karl Rove is trying to do damage control regarding the 'Club for Growth' ads against Senators Snowe and Voinovich that attack their patriotism for standing firm against Bush's irresponsible tax cut for the wealthiest Americans."
 * David Podvin, "Orrin Hatch: The Maestro," BuzzFlash, May 19, 2003.
 * "Another Black Eye for the FBI...and Orrin Hatch," Talk Left, May 30, 2003.
 * Anne E. Kornblut and Duff Wilson, "How One Pill Escaped the List of Controlled Steroids," New York Times, April 17, 2005.
 * Jeff Leeds and Sharon Waxman, "That's What Friends in High Places Are For," New York Times, July 8, 2006.
 * "GOP senator helped hip-hop producer dodge coke sentence. Orrin Hatch: Dallas Austin 'will learn from this experience'," Associated Press (CNN), July 9, 2006.
 * Rachel Maddow, "An Open Letter to Senator Hatch," Rachel Maddow Show/Air America Radio, April 4, 2007.
 * Nicole Belle, "Rachel Maddow’s Open Letter To Orrin Hatch," Crooks and Liars, April 5, 2007.

SourceWatch Resources

 * Afghanistan Relief Committee
 * C. Boyden Gray
 * Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
 * illegal immigration
 * Kith & Kin Inc.
 * Memogate
 * Miguel Estrada
 * outsourcing
 * pharmaceutical industry
 * Scott D. Hatch

resource_id=23096 resource_code=hatch search_term=Orrin Hatch