After paying tribute last week to retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, not just for 42 years of signal service to the country but also for an impressive closing rush of legislation, I find myself further impressed that the closing rush hasn’t yet, well, closed.
When an observer might think the indefatigable Hatch might finally be done, Hatch instead today announced two more pieces of Hatch-authored legislation passing the Senate, with one heading straight to the White House for signature into law. People might not understand how unusual this is: Some members of Congress go years without seeing final passage into law of a single bill for which they were the primary author or co-author.
The two latest successes are on subjects of longstanding interest to Hatch. First was Senate passage of the Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act, co-written with Democrats Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. It continues a program that provides grants and other technical support for emergency care for children and adolescents. Second was final congressional passage of the Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking Act, authored with Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, to streamline bureaucratic hurdles for nonprofit organizations to fight this worldwide problem.
“Human trafficking is the scourge of our era,” said Tim Ballard, CEO of Operation Underground Railroad, in a press release. “I’m thrilled Sen. Hatch and Congressman Curtis had the clout to advance this important bill, which will help us make a bigger difference in saving kids from trafficking all over the world.”
Some elder congressional statesmen coast out of office amid a haze of goodwill, resting on their laurels rather than hustling to accomplish as many of their unrealized goals as they can. Plenty of much younger incumbents who lost re-election bids are virtually boycotting the current lame-duck session of Congress, in effect ending their service to constituents a month early rather than sprinting to the finish line. But not the 84-year-old Hatch. Energetic to the end, old-school in his devotion to legislating, the retiring president pro tempore of the Senate continues to work.
If only others would follow his example.
