Hatch Rallies for Utahn held on False Charges in Venezuelan Prison
Riverton, UT—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior Republican in the United States Senate, attended a rally this evening with the family and friends of Josh Holt, a Utah man who has been held captive in a Venezuelan prison for the past year. Hatch, Josh’s Parents Laurie and Jason, and members of the Holt family spoke about Josh’s captivity and issued a public plea to President Trump for additional assistance in securing Josh’s release.
See Pictures and Video in this Twitter Moment
You can also find the picture and video files here (Via DropBox)
Senator Hatch has been working towards Josh’s release with officials at all levels of the United States government for the past year.
Here are a number of video updates the Senator has released over the past year:
· Hatch update on Josh Holt’s case—9/2016
· Hatch update on working with John Kerry and Joe Biden on Josh’s behalf—9/2016
· Hatch update ahead of second schedule hearing in Venezuela – 10/2016—“I will not stop until we have Josh back.”
· Hatch update—working with Venezuelan ambassador to the organization of American states after Judge failed to show up to another hearing for Josh – 11/2016
· B-roll video (for Utah TV stations) of Hatch meeting with Tillerson, discussing Josh’s case—1/2017
· B-roll video—Hatch meets with Laurie Holt in the Capitol ahead of her meeting with Undersecretary Shannon and President Trump
· Hatch update at the 1-year anniversary of Josh’s captivity
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Hatch Statement on Neomi Rao Confirmation
Washington, D.C.— Today, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah—the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee—praised the confirmation of his former staffer, Neomi Rao, as the next Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).
In selecting Professor Neomi Rao to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the President has made an inspired choice. Since first working on my staff many years ago, Director Rao has proven herself to be a sharp and principled public servant. She possesses a keen sense for our duty in Washington to help small businesses grow and make the lives of Americans easier—not more difficult.
As “regulatory czar” for federal policymaking, Director Rao will play an instrumental role in helping the President fulfill his promise to roll back unnecessary red tape and unleash the full potential of the American economy. I look forward to working with Director Rao to ensure that federal rules and regulations are narrowly tailored to address pressing public health and safety concerns while also leaving plenty of room for job creators and entrepreneurs to expand and flourish. To that end, I have been busy in the Senate pursuing meaningful regulatory and administrative reform, including significant legislation that will complement the work of OIRA in restraining and improving the administrative process.
Earlier this month, Senator Hatch expressed his strong support for Rao’s confirmation and outlined his agenda to further regulatory reform.
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Hatch Blasts Democrat Obstruction, Hopes to Advance Nominees During Extended Recess
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, issued a statement today on Senate Democrats’ unprecedented obstruction of President Trump’s nominees. As a Wall Street Journal editorial noted today, “as of June 28 Mr. Trump had nominated 178 appointees but the Senate had confirmed only 46. Barack Obama had 183 nominees confirmed by that date in his first term, and George W. Bush 130.”
“Rather than working with Republicans in the spirit of bipartisanship, Democrats have sought to stall the President’s agenda by blocking the nominations of key administration officials—all in an effort to satisfy the demands of an extreme political base,” Hatch said. “That’s why they have forced procedural cloture votes 30 times, compared with only eight cloture votes forced by Republicans for Obama nominees by August recess in 2008. This level of obstruction is not normal. If anyone is looking for an explanation as to why critical positions around the government remain unfilled, take note that while Senate Republicans advanced 292 nominees by voice vote in President Obama's first seven months, Senate Democrats today have allowed only five. Such partisan delay tactics are hurting the country, and they need to stop."
Background
The Senate has received over 240 nominations but confirmed just over 50, as Democrats have used every tool at their disposal to slow the confirmation process. With Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s announcement that the Senate will forego two weeks of August recess to address the backlog of critical nominations that have been “mindlessly stalled by Democrats,” Hatch is hopeful that Democrats will change their current approach and work with Republicans to confirm key members of the federal government.
Hatch has also spoken extensively about the importance of nominating and confirming judges.
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Hatch Praises the Nomination of Randal Quarles as Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve
Washington, D.C.— Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)—the senior Republican in the United States Senate and the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee—released the following statement on the nomination of Randal Quarles to serve as Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve:
I applaud President Trump’s nomination of Randal Quarles to serve as Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Federal Reserve. Mr. Quarles is an exceptional leader with decades of experience in both the public and private sector. He understands the intricacies of sound monetary policy and brings with him valuable perspectives that will help advance the work of the Federal Reserve.
I had the honor to introduce Mr. Quarles in 2002 at his confirmation hearing to be the Assistant Secretary of Treasury before the Senate Finance Committee. I am pleased to see someone with Utah roots be nominated to serve in such a key position. I look forward to the swift confirmation of Mr. Quarles so that the Federal Reserve can meet the challenges and opportunities it faces in maintaining monetary and financial stability.
Quarles has had an extensive career in government and international finance. He served as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance in the George W. Bush Administration, and before that, as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs and US Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund. He had earlier served in the George H.W. Bush Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy. He is a founder and managing director of The Cynosure Group, a private investment firm in Salt Lake City. Before founding Cynosure, Quarles was a partner at The Carlyle Group and the co-head of Davis Polk & Wardwell. He graduated summa cum laude in philosophy and economics from Columbia University and earned a J.D. from the Yale Law School.
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Hatch Presses FBI Director Nominee Christopher Wray on Encryption
Washington, D.C.—At today’s confirmation hearing for FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)—the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force—pressed Wray on the issue of encryption. In recent years, the public debate over encryption has traversed the boundaries of tech, privacy, and national security. Senator Hatch raised the issue because he had significant disagreements with former FBI Director James Comey on the need for mandated “back doors” into encrypted devices.
The full text of Senator Hatch’s question is below:
I’d like to begin with the issue of encryption. I’ve long been a proponent of strong encryption technology. Such technology is essential to protecting consumers’ privacy and keeping America’s tech sector at the forefront of global innovation.
As the Chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, I’ve had conversations with a number of tech leaders, such as Apple’s Tim Cook, on the importance of encryption. Proposals to mandate so-called back doors into encrypted devices are not the answer.
I have tremendous respect for former Director Comey, but in candor, this is an issue that I don’t think he got quite right. What we need, in my view, is a public-private partnership in which Congress, law enforcement, and industry stakeholders work together to find the path forward.
Mr. Wray, will you commit to work with Congress and with industry stakeholders in a collaborative manner on this issue so that we can find a solution that is workable for all sides?
Wray agreed with Senator Hatch on the importance of encryption and committed to look into the issue more thoroughly to find a solution.
“Senator, I know this is an issue that has been very important to you for a long time, and we discussed it in our meeting,” Wray said. “As we discussed then in our meeting, I think this is one of the most difficult issues facing the country. There is a balance obviously that has to be struck between the importance of encryption that I think we all can respect when there are so many threats to our system and the importance of giving law enforcement the tools they lawfully need to keep us all safe. I don’t know sitting here today as an outsider and nominee before this committee what the solution is, but I do know that we have to find a solution.”
