Orrin Hatch

Orrin Grant Hatch (born March 22, 1934) is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (depending on whether the Republicans controlled the Senate) from 1993 to 2005. He previously served as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee from 1981 to 1987. He currently serves as ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. Hatch also serves on the Board of Directors for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.


After the defeat of Utah's Senator Bob Bennett in 2010, conjecture began as to whether six-term Senator Hatch would retire. It was also speculated that Congressman Jason Chaffetz would run against Hatch, though Chaffetz would later decline. In January 2011, Orrin Hatch announced his candidacy for re-election. Since that time six additional Republicans including former State Senator Dan Liljenquist and current State Legislator Chris Herrod have declared candidacies for Senate.
Upon electing state delegates in mid-March, both the Democrat and Republican parties will hold conventions on April 21 to determine who their single or dual nominee(s) will be for the June 26 primary election.


Hatch has been a longtime advocate of amending the United States Constitution to require that total spending of the federal government for any fiscal year not exceed total receipts.
During his time in the Senate, Hatch has sponsored a Balanced Budget Amendment 17 times—4 times as lead sponsor and 13 times as a co-sponsor. He also voted in favor of passing a Balanced Budget Amendment on at least 9 occasions. Hatch's proposed amendment passed the House of Representatives in 1997, but failed to pass the Senate by the required two-thirds majority by one vote to move on the States for ratification.
On January 26, 2011, during the current session of Congress, Hatch introduced S.J. Res. 3 -- a Balanced Budget Amendment that:
Mandates that total budgetary outlays for any fiscal year not exceed total revenues.
Caps federal spending at 20 percent of GDP.
Requires the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress every fiscal year.
Requires two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate on any measure that raises taxes.
Includes provisions that can be waived if there is a formal declaration of war, if the U.S. is engaged in a military conflict constituting a threat to national security, or if two-thirds of both the House and Senate approve.


Debt ceiling increases
Hatch has voted to raise the United States debt ceiling 16 times by a total of $7.6 trillion. Hatch has claimed that most of these votes were done under Ronald Reagan, but $6.4 of the $7.6 trillion came after Reagan's presidency.


State Sovereignty
Senator Hatch co-sponsored the Restoring the 10th Amendment Act (S. 4020 111th Congress), which would strengthen state rights under the 10th Amendment. The bill would provide special standing for state officials in challenging proposed regulations.
Senator Hatch has opposed the power of the Federal government to designate land in the states national monuments, believing that the states should be able to determine what the land within their borders is used for. Hatch co-sponsored the National Monument Designation Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010 (S. 3660 111th Congress), which increases the requirements that must be met before national monuments can be designated.


Other issues
Confirmation of judges
As ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Hatch fought hard to get Conservative judges nominated to the Supreme Court. Hatch was also a strong supporter of Jay Bybee during Bybee's confirmation hearings for a U.S. Federal judgeship stating "I've seen a lot of people around and a lot of judges and I don't know of anybody who has any greater qualifications or any greater ability in the law than you have".


Equal Opportunity to Govern
He has also pushed legislation for the Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment, which would amend Article 2, Section I, Clause 5 of the United States Constitution. This amendment would allow anyone who has been a U.S. citizen for twenty years to seek the presidency or vice-presidency.
Supporting new technology
A vocal supporter of stem cell research, Hatch was one of 58 senators who signed a letter directed to President George W. Bush, requesting the relaxing of federal restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. In 2010, Senator Hatch's bill was reauthorized which allowed stem cells from umbilical cords to be used to find treatment options.

Fair Housing Act
In 1980 Hatch spoke in favor of rolling back provisions of the Fair Housing Act enforced by the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. 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.