Bipartisan Senate Leaders Praise Hatch on Senate Floor
Washington, D.C.—Last month, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-UT, became the longest-serving Republican Senator in American history. In recognition of this milestone, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, took to the Senate floor this morning to praise Senator Hatch’s reputation as a statesman, his unparalleled record of bipartisan leadership, and his longstanding efforts to give Utah a voice in the most critical policy debates of our time.
Video: Leaders McConnell and Schumer’s Remarks, via YouTube
Excerpts from Majority Leader McConnell’s Remarks:
The President Pro Tempore is something of a legend in the Beehive State. He’s a published author, he’s got gold and platinum albums hanging on the wall, and he’s a great fighter for his home state. It’s not hard to see why Utahns keep sending him back here.
Sen. Hatch is almost always in the mix on the most consequential issues of the day. He's been a leading voice on everything from labor law to judicial nominations, religious freedom to tax reform. This expansive policy expertise helps explain why his colleagues chose him to serve as chairman of three major committees: HELP, Judiciary, and today the powerful Finance Committee. Sen. Hatch remains as much of a key player as ever in advancing the Senate's agenda.
His guidance will be crucial as we continue to move forward with repealing and replacing Obamacare, as we turn to tax reform, and as we consider the President’s Supreme Court nominee. The tasks before us are as diverse as they are challenging, but I know our colleague from Utah is up to the charge. The man known as “Honest Orrin” is one of the kindest and most gracious guys you’ll ever meet, and he’s a man of deep faith and principle and convictions. But Senator Hatch is anything but a pushover. He’s a fighter for Utah and for the nation. He’s a proud conservative, he simply learned the art of disagreeing, sometimes strongly, without being disagreeable. That’s how you build friendships with both Robert Bork and Ted Kennedy. That’s how you establish yourself as one of the most productive legislators in modern history, as Senator Hatch has. And he isn’t slowing down anytime soon. He’s actually getting more done than ever. He just passed dozens of bills out of the Senate in this last Congress, and many of them became law. And now our friend, the Finance Chairman, is in a unique position to continue having an impact on a range of issues.
Excerpts from Minority Leader Schumer’s Remarks:
I wanted to join my distinguished friend, the Majority Leader, in recognizing the Senator from Utah.
We've been friends for a long time. He's given me guidance. He keeps telling me he is going to straighten me out one of these days. It’s a work in progress, I guess you would think. But he is just a terrific guy. He's a decent man. He's a caring man. He's an honorable man.
He has been a great partisan when he has to be, but he has also shown tremendous Independence on many different occasions. In fact, probably my mentor around here, Senator Kennedy, loved working with Senator Hatch, and they accomplished great things for America. And even just recently, on an issue like Puerto Rico, not much gain for him personally—I don't think there is a large Puerto Rican population in Provo or Ogden—but he cared. And he knew there was a problem, and we spent late nights trying to figure out what to do. And while the solution may not have been as good as some of us would have wanted, it was a solution and it wouldn't have happened without Senator Hatch.
So you can say on issue after issue after issue, he has risen to the occasion and been the best of the Senate. And it's a fitting honor that he is here. Last time around when he was not thinking of running, I think in the hearts of most Democrats, it was hoped that he would run again. And that was because we so esteem him. So I want to congratulate, join the Majority Leader in congratulating Senator Hatch and wish him many, many more years of success, both personally. He has a large and wonderful family. We have talked about our religious faiths quite often, as well as a successful career.
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Hatch Statement on the Confirmation of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Senator Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, to serve as the 84th Attorney General of the United States:
“Having served with Jeff Sessions for more than twenty years, I know him to be a man of integrity, honesty, and fairness. As Attorney General, Jeff will return the Justice Department to its core mission of enforcing and defending our nation's laws. In doing so, he will restore the Department’s reputation for even-handedly administering justice for all Americans after years of disturbing mismanagement and politicization. As the longest-serving member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I look forward to working with him in this vital endeavor.”
“Given that Jeff is one of the most qualified Attorney General nominees in history and has long enjoyed the respect of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I find it extraordinarily disheartening that his confirmation process devolved into such a partisan spectacle. The responsibility for this debacle rests solely with Senate Democrats, who kow-towed to the worst obstructionists instincts of their left-wing base. Their scorched-earth tactics wrongly impugned the integrity of this good man by painting a caricature of their fellow senator that they knew to be completely inconsistent with reality. Going forward, I hope they will reconsider their approach so that we may avoid lasting damage to the confirmation process and the Senate as an institution.”
When Senator Sessions was nominated to serve as Attorney General, Senator Hatch said, “I am confident he will help get the Justice Department back on track.” That full statement can be found here.
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