The following originally appeared as an op-ed in the National Review. -Staff
Tomorrow night, President Obama will head to the Capitol to deliver his State of the Union address to the nation. While it is sure to include the rhetorical flourishes and impeccable delivery that President Obama is renowned for, I fear it will unfortunately be dominated by populist rhetoric instead of the actual policies the administration is pushing behind closed doors -- away from the scrutiny of the American people. Health care is a prime example.
Washington - U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today was honored by U.S. News Media Group and Harvard's Center for Public Leadership as one of the 2009 America's Best Leaders for his work to pass meaningful, bipartisan legislation without compromising his core principles and strongly held ideological convictions. U.S. News Media Group, in association with the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) at Harvard Kennedy's School of Government, today released the 2009 edition of America's Best Leaders, available online at www.usnews.com/leaders and featured in the November, 2009, issue of U.S.News & World Report magazine, on newsstands Tuesday, October 27.
Washington - U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today sent a letter to President Obama to express his concerns regarding the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and request that the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division look into the legality and fairness of the system.
"Mr. President, as you have publicly stated on multiple occasions, the BCS system is in dire need of reform," wrote Hatch in the letter. "Some may argue that the college football postseason is too trivial a matter to warrant government involvement. However, given the amount of money involved in the BCS endeavor and its close relationship to our nation's institutions of higher education, it is clear that the unfairness of the current system extends well beyond the football field.
Senator Hatch honored the induction of Jerry Sloan and John Stockton to The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last Friday with this speech before the U.S. Senate today.
Mr. President, I rise today to speak about a matter of great prominence to the people of my state. This past Friday, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Jerry Sloan and John Stockton were inducted into The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. This is a well-deserved honor and I wanted to take a few moments to congratulate them both.
Tomorrow Senator Hatch is hosting a forum in Salt Lake City with Governor Herbert on the issue of our national energy policy. In particular, they're going to examine the impact of the cap-and-tax -- also known as "cap-and-trade" -- energy policy that Democrats in Washington are pursuing.
Earlier this summer, the U.S. House of Representatives passed this bill, and it is now being considered in the U.S. Senate. This forum tomorrow will specifically look at how this energy tax policy will impact the state of Utah and its citizens.
If you would like to attend, please see more details below.
Senator Hatch invites you to join him and leading economic experts at The Fiscal Future of America forum this Friday at Utah Valley University in Orem.
Senator Hatch explains why he's hosting his forum:
Our nation is at a critical juncture. The runaway spending train enveloping Washington, D. C., is threatening to decimate the future of our children and for all Americans for generations to come. My office has received literally thousands of letters, phone calls, and emails from Utahns who are extremely concerned about America's fiscal future. I envision this Forum as a way for our citizens to have an opportunity to not only listen to some speakers who have been at the forefront of our economy, but to ask questions of the experts and provide feedback to me that I can arm myself with for this fight in Washington.
I want to take a moment and offer a sincere best of luck to Sen. Orrin Hatch as he leads the fight against Washington's idea of health care reform.
As a member of the Utah State Health System reform task force, I can state without reservation that the only hope of genuine, long-term reform lies in less government interference and fewer barriers between patient and doctor. All variations of health care reform I hear coming from the current administration are going in the opposite direction.
