Orrin Hatch

Biography
Hatch reached his full height of 6’2” his junior year of high school. His height gave him considerable advantage on his school’s basketball team – but he weighed only 118 pounds. Despite his scrawny build, Hatch became a scrappy boxer and came to pack a jarring punch for a youngster his size. Hatch balanced his athletic pursuits with scholarly discipline and a passion for music. He learned to play the piano, organ, and violin. While in high school, Hatch was elected to the student Senate, and later as student body president.

Aging Committee
Senator Hatch is a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which studies issues regarding aging and calls the Congress’ and the nation’s attention to problems affecting older Americans. The committee further oversees programs for the elderly and investigates reports of fraud and waste. Senator Hatch has long championed polices that help America’s senior citizens and protect them from those who would prey upon them physically, financially and psychologically.

Finance Committee
Senator Hatch is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance, where he has been a leading advocate for policies to encourage savings and investment, such as the Capital Formation Act of 1997, as well as many other pro-growth tax bills. He has proposed a tax credit for families to defray adoption expenses, extension of the research tax credit, repeal of the estate tax, elimination of the marriage penalty and 100 percent health insurance deduction for the self-employed. He has also sponsored legislation and led the fight for a capital gains tax relief.

The senator has also played a key part in welfare reform legislation including the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and committee passage of the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003. He was particularly involved in the provisions encouraging marriage, and providing for disability rehabilitation and child-care funding.

Judiciary Committee
A former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch plays a leading role in shaping some of the most important issues of our time -- from abortion to judicial nominations to the fight to keep America safe from terrorism. He joins other committee members pushing for tougher anti-crime laws, civil justice reform to unclog the courts, and legislation to protect individual property rights. He also takes an active role in the confirmation of all judicial nominations, including Supreme Court justices, and has a direct impact on such issues as immigration, antitrust and consumer protection, and issues related to the Constitution and civil rights.

Senator Hatch was also among the authors of the ban against partial-birth abortion, and the senator has consistently taken the initiative to protect women and children by authoring laws such as the Violence Against Women Act, the Missing Children’s Act, the PROTECT Act (AMBER Alert), and other legislation aimed at keeping our children safe from pedophiles and child pornography. He is also a leading advocate for religious freedom — authoring the Religious Liberty Protection Act — and for giving all Americans greater freedom to practice their disparate religions.

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
A former chairman of what is now called the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Hatch has closely followed the committee's issues, and he is committed to providing Americans access to affordable health coverage and safe and effective medicines, educating our children through active local and state involvement, and strengthening our workforce to meet today's challenges.

Intelligence Committee
Senator Hatch is a senior member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees government intelligence agencies and departments to ensure that their actions and information are timely, accurate and constitutional. His seat on the Select Committee on Intelligence provides him with privileged insight on foreign policy, and he plays a key role in overseeing American intelligence activities to protect our security and America’s vital interests abroad.

Taxation Committee
As a member of the Joint Committee on Taxation, Senator Hatch oversees the actions of the Internal Revenue Service to monitor for waste and fraud, and develop legislation that addresses the problems of the U.S. taxpayer. He is a strong advocate for simplifying the tax code and providing tax relief for American families.