Judge Gorsuch Is the Right Justice for America
By Sen. Orrin G. Hatch
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Ever since President Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, one question has weighed on the mind of each U.S. senator: Is Judge Gorsuch the right justice for America?
In the months to come, the Senate will consider this question carefully, as it should. A Supreme Court nomination, if handled improperly, can devolve into a partisan free-for-all, causing lasting damage to our institutions of government. That’s why last year the Senate leadership chose to wait for the dust of the election season to settle before considering a nominee to fill the Scalia vacancy. Our reasoning was simple: Plunging into a divisive confirmation fight in the heat of the most politically charged presidential campaign in recent memory would do more harm than good to the judiciary, the Senate, and the country.
With the din of the election behind us, the Senate can now offer its advice and consent without the distraction and distortion of a presidential campaign. So the question now before the chamber is whether Judge Gorsuch is qualified—by legal experience and judicial philosophy—to serve on the Supreme Court.
In answering this question, we need look no further than Judge Gorsuch’s record. His legal experience is well documented and widely acknowledged. Judge Gorsuch clerked for two Supreme Court justices, spent a decade in private practice, and then served in the top ranks of the Department of Justice. His qualifications for the U.S. Court of Appeals were so obvious that the Senate confirmed him in 2006 by voice vote. Confirming a judge to such a high position without a roll call vote is a rare exception that typically occurs only for nominees with superior legal experience.
Judge Gorsuch’s credentials are indisputable, but his judicial philosophy is what truly sets him apart. He understands that a judge’s proper role is to say what the law is—not what he wants it to be. This impartial approach stands in stark contrast to the more political approach embraced by many on the bench today. An impartial judge interprets statutes and the Constitution to mean what they already mean, while the political judge interprets them to mean what he wants them to mean. When an impartial judge applies the law, he deliberately excludes his personal views about how a decision will affect other parties, groups, or issues.
Judge Gorsuch takes the impartial approach, as he has made abundantly clear during his 10 years on the federal bench. Just last year, for example, the 10th Circuit, on which Judge Gorsuch currently sits, had to decide whether the Constitution somehow creates an unwritten right to sue the government for its conduct. Agreeing that the court should resist inventing such a right, Judge Gorsuch wrote: “Ours is the job of interpreting the Constitution. And that document isn’t some inkblot on which litigants may project their hopes and dreams … but a carefully drafted text judges are charged with applying according to its original public meaning.”
In a lecture paying tribute to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, Judge Gorsuch also said that “judges should be in the business of declaring what the law is using the traditional methods of interpretation, rather than pronouncing the law as they might wish it to be in light of their own political views, always with an eye on the outcome.”
In this same speech, Judge Gorsuch asserted that the task of a judge is to interpret and apply the law rather than, as he put it, “to amend or revise the law in some novel way.” Judges, he said, must “assiduously seek to avoid the temptation to secure results they prefer.” In Judge Gorsuch’s view, what the law demands takes precedence over the judge’s own policy preferences.
Judge Gorsuch subscribes to a philosophy of restraint that aligns perfectly with our Founders’ vision of the judicial branch. Any observer who claims that Judge Gorsuch’s approach is outside the mainstream is either playing politics or ignoring the Constitution.
Judge Gorsuch’s record is above reproach. He is an impartial judge who will honor the separation of powers and uphold the Constitution. For these reasons, Judge Gorsuch is exactly the kind of justice America needs.
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Hatch Promotes Stronger Care for Veterans with New Bill
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior Republican in the United States Senate, issued the following statement on the introduction of the Adult Day Health Care Improvement Act of 2017:
“Our Utah veterans deserve our utmost care and respect. This legislation will give veterans the opportunity to live and spend more time at home with their families while still receiving daily medical care and attention. If signed into law, it would allow state veterans homes—such as those in Ivins, Ogden, Payson, and Salt Lake City—to enter into agreements with the VA to provide adult day health care. I hope the Senate will act quickly to approve this criticial measure.”
Statements of Support
Kim Wixon, Director of George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home:
S. 324 ‘‘State Veterans Home Adult Day Health Care Improvement Act of 2017’’ sponsored by Senator Hatch will assist the State’s Veterans Homes in providing Adult Day Health Care to the most fragile and deserving of our veterans—those with 70 percent or higher service-connected disabilities. The bill will provide these services to the service-connected veterans at no cost. We thank Senator Hatch for sponsoring this very important and beneficial veterans bill.
Fred Sganga, Legislative Officer, National Association of State Veterans Homes (NSAVH):
The National Association of State Veterans Homes (NASVH) strongly supports Senator Hatch’s legislation, S. 324, the State Veterans Home Adult Day Health Care Improvement Act of 2017. NASVH and the veterans we serve are fortunate to have such a caring and dedicated advocate in Senator Orrin Hatch.
Senator Hatch’s legislation would allow our most disabled veterans to receive the comprehensive medical services available at a State Veterans Home while returning to comfort of their own home. His bill would also provide tremendous relief to family members, who in most cases are the primary caregivers to these severely disabled veterans. NASVH is grateful to Senator Hatch for his continued leadership on behalf of America’s heroes.
Background
Worried about the separation of powers? Then confirm Judge Gorsuch
By Senator Orrin Hatch
Hatch is the senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Senator Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, Convenes Tech Leaders Ahead of Innovation Agenda Rollout for the New Congress
Washington, D.C.—Today and yesterday, Senator Orrin G. Hatch, the returning Chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, convened a series of roundtable discussions with leaders in the technology industry to discuss priorities for the upcoming Congress. Among the topics raised were worker training, intellectual property protections, data privacy, and high-skilled immigration. Hatch and industry representatives focused on ways to work with the new administration to create jobs and to maintain and strengthen America’s place as the global leader in innovation. Hatch also announced plans to roll out an innovation agenda for the new Congress next week and solicited input from tech leaders regarding the items on the agenda. Senator Hatch will announce the agenda next Thursday, February 16, at 11:30 am, in an event at the Capitol Visitor Center. More information about the event to come.
“I‘m thrilled to be returning as the Chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force and eager to get to work,” Hatch said. “We have an opportunity with a Republican in the White House and a Republican majority in Congress to get a lot of important work done. Data privacy, broadband investment, worker training—we’re going to be pushing it all. I’ve met personally with President Trump in the Oval Office about my priorities for this Congress and look forward to engaging with the White House and with my Senate colleagues on these crucial issues. The roundtable discussions I hosted this week provided enormously valuable insights into the needs of the tech industry, and I’ll be incorporating their feedback into the agenda I’ll be announcing next week.”
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Senator Hatch Speaks on Supreme Court Confirmation Process for Judge Neil Gorsuch
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the floor today about the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court. In his remarks, Senator Hatch focused on what lies ahead for the Senate.
“Neil Gorsuch has no intention of governing, of being any kind of master of the Constitution or of the people. He is instead an impartial judge, the kind who follows rather than controls the law. He will be the kind of Justice that America needs on the Supreme Court.”
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