Orrin Hatch

Senator Hatch remembered the late Congressman Jack Kemp and offered his condolences to the entire Kemp family in a speech before the U.S. Senate yesterday:

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a great American and friend, former Congressman Jack Kemp. I was deeply saddened to learn of his passing and offer my sincerest condolences to his sweet wife, Joanne, their four children, Jeffrey, Jennifer, Judith, and James, and 17 grandchildren. Jack has left a lasting impression and legacy that will be honored and long remembered by a grateful nation.

Jack came to Congress after 13 years as a professional football quarterback. His career in professional football demonstrates the value of persistence, self-confidence, and courage. Jack began his football career slowly and without much success. However, he was fiercely competitive and eventually led the Buffalo Bills to 33 victories and two league championships. He was selected All-League quarterback, AFL Player of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and appeared in five AFL championship games and seven AFL All-Star games. Jack was also recognized by Sporting News as one of the top 50 quarterbacks of all time. Sports taught him that the only real failure is not trying again, and that out of adversity comes strength, determination, and ultimate victory.

When asked if being a football star helped him get elected to Congress, Jack responded, "Yes, to the extent that I had name recognition and people knew who I was. That kind of identification cuts two ways. On the one hand, it was harmful because some people consider professional football to be anti-intellectual and an inadequate training ground for political leadership. To the contrary, I believe pro football is great training for leadership. In fact, I hope more athletes choose politics as a profession so that we don't leave the field to attorneys."

Jack made the transition from athlete to politician in 1971, when he was elected to represent the 31st Congressional District of New York. He was an enthusiastic speaker, especially when the topic was tax revision, and was once told he talks "as though somebody had pulled the trigger of a machine gun." I can certainly attest to that. However, it wasn't the way Jack talked that had everyone's attention; it was what he was saying. I would dare argue that much of what he was fighting for in the 70s and 80s still holds true today. For example, Jack argued that the United States government should shoulder the burden of international leadership by becoming "an active exporter of the American idea." In his view, the "greatest weapon in our arsenal is the prospect of general well-being that results from the embrace of American ideas about opportunity, initiative, and enterprise."

During his time as Congressman, Jack was probably best known as a champion of tax cuts. He became a fervent supply-side evangelist who believed that tax cuts would not only spur economic growth, but also bring in more revenue for the government. Jack co-authored the Kemp-Roth tax bill, which became the blueprint for what became known as "Reaganomics." Jack referred to his comprehensive federal tax-cut package as "the number one offensive play in the country." Reagan biographer Lou Cannon said Jack, as much as anybody, helped persuade Reagan to embrace an economic policy of supply-side economics, stimulating economic growth through reducing taxes.

"Generally speaking," Jack said, "if you tax something, you get less of it. If you subsidize something, you get more of it. In America, we tax work, growth, investment, employment, savings, and productivity. We subsidize nonworking, consumption, welfare, and debt." How true that is!

Jack served as a Congressman for 18 years, until 1989 when he became the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H.W. Bush. Jack was the author of the Enterprise Zones legislation to encourage entrepreneurship and job creation in urban America and continued to advocate the expansion of home ownership among the poor through resident management and ownership of public and subsidized housing.

Jack received the Republican Party's nomination for Vice President in August of 1996, and afterward continued a career of public service by campaigning nationally to reform the tax system, Social Security, and education.

Jack was always uplifting and optimistic. He consistently distinguished himself by exhibiting the rare ability to see real opportunity in the seemingly mundane. He seized those opportunities to demonstrate qualities of judgment, character, and commitment. Jack once said, "I do not believe there is any future for the Republican Party in trying to defeat Democrats. You don't run to fight opponents. You run to promote ideas. Ideas are what rule the world. We, the Republicans, haven't been offering an alternative. We need more positive ideas."

When asked about his political ideals, Jack was quick to reply: "After going into the highly competitive business of pro football, I gained an even deeper appreciation of the competitive free-enterprise system to which this country owes its past, present, and future progress and freedom. I believe competition breeds the best, and the system of free enterprise has brought about the greatest society ever known." He also praised the American political system as "the greatest experience in human dignity and human freedom that mankind has ever known."

In a sweet and endearing letter to his grandchildren, Jack talked about the future of America. The letter was written days after Barack Obama secured the presidency. Jack wrote, "My advice for you all is to understand that unity for our nation doesn't require uniformity or unanimity; it does require putting the good of our people ahead of what's good for mere political or personal advantage. You see, real leadership is not just seeing the realities of what we are temporarily faced with, but seeing the possibilities and potential that can be realized by lifting up peoples' vision of what they can be."

I would suggest that Jack is one of the greatest political leaders the world has ever seen. We all appreciate his efforts and service, but none so more than me. My dear friend, you will be sorely missed. May God bless you and keep you.