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Orrin Hatch

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Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch.jpg
U.S. Senate, Utah
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 1977-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2019
Years in position 36
PartyRepublican
PredecessorFrank E. Moss (D)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First elected1976
Next electionNovember 2018
Term limitsN/A
Education
High schoolBaldwin Public High School
Bachelor'sBrigham Young University
J.D.University of Pittsburgh
Personal
BirthdayMarch 22, 1934
Net worth$3,046,531
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Orrin Grant Hatch (b. March 22, 1934) is a Republican member of the U.S. Senate. Hatch was first elected to the Senate in 1976.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Hatch is a "moderate Republican leader".[1]

Hatch was re-elected in 2012. [2]

Biography

After graduating from law school and passing the Pennsylvania bar, Hatch practiced law in Pittsburgh and then in Utah.[3]

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Hatch serves on the following Senate committees[4]:

2011-12

Hatch was on the following committees[5]:

  • Committee on Finance Ranking member
    • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
    • Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth
    • Subcommittee on Health Care
    • Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
    • Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy
    • Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
  • Judiciary Committee
    • Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
    • Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security
    • Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law
  • Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
    • Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
    • Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging

Issues

Senate Judiciary Committee

Senator Hatch was first appointed to the Senate Judiciary Committee shortly after he was first sworn into the US Senate in 1977. Senator Hatch has served as the Committee's Republican Ranking Member from 1993 to 1995. After the Republicans won control of the US Senate in the 1994 elections, Hatch became the Committee's chairman from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2003 to 2005. Hatch also served as the Ranking Member from 2001 to 2003.[6]

Hatch is the longest tenured Republican on the committee and served in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Chief Justices William Rehnquist in 1986 and John Roberts in 2005. Also, Hatch served in the confirmation hearings of Associate Justices Sandra Day O'Connor in 1981, Antonin Scalia in 1986, Robert Bork in 1987, Anthony Kennedy in 1988, David Souter in 1990, Clarence Thomas in 1991, Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993, Stephen Breyer in 1994, Samuel Alito in 2006, and Sonia Sotomayor in 2009.[6] Also, Senator Hatch is the longest serving member of the committee as he is in his 33rd year on the committee. Patrick Leahy is the longest serving Democrat with 31 years experience.

Senator Hatch serves as the Republican Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. In addition, Senator Hatch serves on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on Crime and Drugs and Terrorism and Homeland Security.[7]

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Orrin Hatch endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [8]

Campaign themes

2012

Hatch's campaign website lists the following issues:[9]

  • Finance Committee
Excerpt: "Senator Hatch will likely be the next chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. This means that for the first time in 80 years, a Utahn will be able to set a pro-growth, pro-job creation agenda for America."
  • Balanced Budget Amendment
Excerpt: "Reducing spending, restoring Constitutional limits on the size of government, and balancing Washington's books are essential to our nation's future. A pivotal piece of accomplishing that goal is to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. I have led this charge by sponsoring and co-sponsoring a Balanced Budget Amendment 24 times during my tenure."
  • Hatch vs. ObamaCare
Excerpt: "Orrin Hatch was the first member of Congress to challenge the constitutionality of the individual mandate, requiring Americans to purchase health insurance."
  • Repeal ObamaCare
Excerpt: "Health care choices should not be made by the federal government and bureaucrats; they should be made by consumers and patients. The unconstitutional federal mandate forces citizens to purchase health care while making it more expensive for employers to provide insurance."
  • Utah Lands
Excerpt: "One of the more troubling issues facing the people of Utah is the federal governments stranglehold on Utah's lands. More than 60 percent of the land in Utah is owned by the federal government, which means that people thousands of miles away in Washington have more say over Utah lands than the folks who live here."

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Hatch voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[10]

Drones filibuster

See also: Rand Paul filibuster of John Brennan's CIA Nomination in March 2013

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists have been critical that President Obama did not offer a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.[11][12][13]

According to the website Breitbart, Hatch was one of 30 Republican senators who did not support the filibuster.[14][15]

The day after the filibuster, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."[16]

Elections

2012

See also: United States Senate elections in Utah, 2012

Hatch won re-election in 2012. He and Dan Liljenquist defeated Kevin Fisk, Dale Ash, Loy Arlan Brunson, Tim Aalders, Jeremy Friedbaum, Christopher Herrod, William Lawrence, and David Chiu in the Republican convention.[2] Liljenquist and Hatch went on to compete in the June 26, 2012, Republican primary, and Hatch won.[17][18] He then prevailed in the general election on November 6, 2012.[19]

U.S. Senate, Utah, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgOrrin G. Hatch Incumbent 65.8% 657,608
     Democratic Scott Howell 30.2% 301,873
     Constitution Shaun Lynn McCausland 3.2% 31,905
     Utah Justice Daniel Geery 0.8% 8,342
     Independent Bill Barron 0% 0
Total Votes 999,728
Source: Utah Lieutenant Governor, "2012 General Election Results"

Tea Party challenge

In response to primary challenges from Tea Party candidates, Hatch has said, "These people are not conservatives. They're not Republicans. They're radical libertarians and I'm doggone offended by it."[20]

2006

On November 7, 2006, Hatch won re-election to the U.S. Senate, defeating Pete Ashdown (D), Scott N. Bradley (Constitution), David Starr Seely (L), Roger I. Price (Personal Choice), and Julian Hatch (Desert Greens).[21]

U.S. Senate General Election, Utah, 2006
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgOrrin G. Hatch Incumbent 62.4% 356,238
     Democratic Pete Ashdown 31.1% 177,459
     Constitution Scott N. Bradley 3.8% 21,526
     Libertarian David Starr Seely 0.8% 4,428
     Independent Roger I. Price 1.6% 9,089
     Independent Julian Hatch 0.4% 2,512
Total Votes 571,252


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Hatch is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Hatch raised a total of $23,575,465 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 25, 2013.[22]

Orrin Hatch's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 U.S. Senate (Utah) Won $11,577,851
2006 U.S. Senate (Utah) Won $6,580,325
2000 U.S. Senate (Utah) Won $5,417,289
Grand Total Raised $23,575,465

2012

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2012 elections season. Below are Hatch's reports.[23]

Orrin Hatch Campaign Finance Reports
ReportDate FiledBeginning BalanceTotal Contributions
for Reporting Period		ExpendituresCash on Hand
Pre-Convention[24]April 1, 2012$4,440,784.90$1,279,072.91$(2,471,963.21)$3,247,894.60
Pre-Primary[25]June 30, 2012$3,247,894.60$569,225.82$(1,917,181.22)$1,899,939.20
Running totals
$1,848,298.73$(4,389,144.43)

Out-of-state donations

According to an Open Secrets report, Hatch ranked among the top ten senate candidates receiving out-of-state donations during the 2012 election cycle. He received $5,360,274, or 88.5%, of his donations from outside of Utah. [26]

2010

Breakdown of the source of Hatch's campaign funds before the 2006 election.

Hatch won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2006. During that re-election cycle, Hatch's campaign committee raised a total of $6,580,325 and spent $4,884,695.[27]


Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Hatch missed 471 of 13,357 roll call votes from January 1977 to April 2013. This amounts to 3.5%, which is worse than the median of 1.7% among current senators as of April 2013.[28]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Hatch paid his congressional staff a total of $2,439,498 in 2011. He ranks 24th on the list of the lowest paid Republican Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks 33rd overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Utah ranks 43rd in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[29]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Sessions's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,715,063 and $4,378,000. That averages to $3,046,531, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2011 of $6,358,668. His average net worth decreased by 23.11% from 2010.[30]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Hatch's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $2,195,097 and $5,729,000. That averages to $3,962,048.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2010 of $7,054,258.[31]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Hatch ranked 10th in the conservative rankings in 2012.[32]

2011

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Hatch ranked 15th in the conservative rankings.[33]

Political positions

Percentage voting with party

November 2011

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Hatch voted with the Republican Party 90.0% of the time, which ranked 26 among the 47 Senate Republican members in November 2011.[34]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Orrin + Hatch + Utah + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Orrin Hatch News Feed


Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found


Personal

Hatch and his wife, Elaine, have six children, 23 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.[35]

External links


References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "Orrin Hatch," Accessed March 3, 2012
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Utah GOP "Candidates List" Accessed February 18, 2012
  3. ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress "Orrin Hatch," Accessed November 23, 2011
  4. ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 22, 2013
  5. ↑ Official Senate website "Committee Assignments," Accessed November 23, 2011
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Senate Judiciary" List of previous members
  7. ↑ "Senate Judiciary Committee" List of Subcommittees
  8. ↑ The Hill, "2012 GOP Lawmaker Endorsements for President," retrieved November 23, 2011
  9. ↑ Campaign website, Issues
  10. ↑ U.S. Senate "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  11. ↑ CNN "Rand Paul says he's heard from White House after filibuster," March 7, 2013
  12. ↑ USA Today "Rand Paul filibuster ranks among Senate's longest," March 7, 2013
  13. ↑ ABC News "Rand Paul Wins Applause From GOP and Liberals," March 7, 2013
  14. ↑ Breitbart "AWOL: Meet The GOP Senators Who Refused to Stand With Rand," March 7, 2013
  15. ↑ Politico "Rand Paul filibuster blasted by Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham," March 7, 2013
  16. ↑ Washington Post "Eric Holder responds to Rand Paul with ‘no’," March 7, 2013
  17. ↑ AP/CSPAN "Utah-Summary Vote Results," June 26, 2012
  18. ↑ Utah Lieutenant Governor - Candidate filings
  19. ↑ ABC News, "General Election Results 2012-Utah," November 7, 2012
  20. ↑ Reason Blog "Sen. Orrin Hatch "doggone offended" by "radical libertarians," threatens to punch them (us) in the mouth," April 13, 2012
  21. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7,2006"
  22. ↑ Open Secrets "Donor history for Orrin Hatch" Accessed April 25, 2013
  23. ↑ Federal Election Commission "Candidate (S6UT00063) Summary Reports - 2011-2012 Cycle," Accessed July 13, 2012
  24. ↑ Federal Election Commission "Hatch Election Committee Inc Pre-Convention," Accessed July 13, 2012
  25. ↑ Federal Election Commission "Hatch Election Committee Inc Pre-Primary," Accessed July 13, 2012
  26. ↑ Open Secrets, "More than 60 Lawmakers Relied Mostly on Out-of-State Money", May 7, 2013
  27. ↑ Open Secrets "Orrin Hatch 2006 Election Cycle," Accessed November 23, 2011
  28. ↑ GovTrack, "Hatch," Accessed April 11, 2013
  29. ↑ LegiStorm "Orrin Hatch"
  30. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Hatch, (R-Utah), 2011"
  31. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Hatch, (R-Utah), 2010"
  32. ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," February 28, 2013
  33. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: Senate," February 23, 2012
  34. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
  35. ↑ Official Senate website "Biography," Accessed November 23, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Frank Moss 		U.S. Senate - Utah
1977-Present 		Succeeded by
-
v • d • e
Utah's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Mike Lee (R) • Orrin Hatch (R)
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