No Hatch chairmanships till '09?
A Hatch spokesman says he does not know why Hatch would have made such a comment to the Deseret Morning News two years ago.
Hatch has often talked about his power as a senior senator during this year's campaigning. And he talked about it again Tuesday in his final debate with Democratic challenger Pete Ashdown, held before the Salt Lake Rotary Club.
Hatch, who appears on his way to a Nov. 7 victory over Ashdown, told the Morning News in July 2004 that he expected to be chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee following the 2006 elections.
Republicans have a six-year limit on Senate committee chairmanships. Current Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, first became chairman of that committee for a short time in 2001. But he lost that chairmanship when Democrats won back control of the Senate, and then regained the chairmanship in 2003.
Hatch now acknowledges that he won't possibly get that committee chairmanship until 2009, after the 2008 elections, should Republicans still control the Senate.
Hatch, first elected in 1976, said Tuesday that he "soon" will be the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, where, he said, he will draft bills to help Americans deal with health care costs, Medicare and other important medical issues.
Responded Ashdown: "Thirty years is enough to solve the health care problems."
When Hatch talked about balancing the federal budget, Ashdown responded: "In many of our discussions, Sen. Hatch talks about taking the Finance (committee) chair while (Sen.) Bob Bennett (R-Utah) takes the Banking (committee chair). And I have to tell you, that for all the fear-mongering Sen. Hatch does in these discussions, nothing strikes terror into my heart more than hearing that it will be an attorney (Hatch) and a silver spoon (Bennett) in charge of nation's finances. We can do better."
Bennett, a multimillionaire, is the son of former U.S. Sen. Wallace F. Bennett.
In 2004, Hatch told the Morning News: "I'm in line" for the Finance Committee chairmanship after the 2006 elections.
Hatch's campaign manager, Dave Hansen, said Tuesday that he doesn't know how that quote, or any other hint that Hatch would be a committee chair so soon, happened, since Hatch has known for years that it would be after the 2008 elections before he could be a committee chair again.
GOP senators in 1995 tweaked a system that had traditionally allowed the longest-serving member in the majority to serve indefinitely as chairman. Instead, they limited terms to six years and allowed election of chairmen by secret ballot.
Comments
- Germans win men's beach volleyball 12:13 p.m.
- Inmate stabbed in head during brawl 11:56 a.m.
- Cards' Pujols leads All-Star voting 11:52 a.m.
- Federer beats Roddick 11:51 a.m.
- Military ordered to turn back jet 11:44 a.m.
- US not stand in Israel's way on Iran 11:39 a.m.
- G-8 greeted skeptically by some 11:38 a.m.
- Deal on arms control expected 11:36 a.m.
- Yankees' Wang goes on DL 11:36 a.m.
- Swimmer Lezak skips Worlds 11:35 a.m.
- Stadium of Fire lights up the 4th
- Millsap not franchise player
- Utahn reunites with officer
- Can Jazz escape luxury-tax mess?
- The BCS sure won't fix itself
- Interest in Millsap dwindling?
- Jazz talked Kirilenko for McGrady
- Obama deprives Iran of scapegoat
- NKorea fires 7 missiles defying U.S.
- 'Tea party' protesters unhappy
- Boozer not opting out of contract
180 - Palin resigning as governor
101 - Lack of Obama photos concerning
99 - Don't listen to marriage cynics
93 - Utah leaner in too-fat country
91 - Palin's and Romney's roles in 2012?
89 - Editorial: A sad day for Utah
86 - Jazz plan to re-sign Millsap
81 - Jazz talked Kirilenko for McGrady
74 - Y. gets verbal from cornerback
69
The night was balmy though buggy at SPOC, the Stansbury Park Observatory...
Let's BASH all who don't believe the way we believe so we can be GREAT...
Good Day. The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to...
Kramer a former Coach at Central Michigan and Vanderbuilt went on to be the...
Millsap is not Boozer period!!!!! Jazz fans wake up and get over the hate for...
Re-Anony: You obviously have no grasp on either humor or sarcasm. However,...
@ “SOCIALISM HAS NEVER WORKED” Remarkable that someone able to...
We have free press, it's just the major news agencies are biased. They are...
You could not be more incorrect. IF the BCS is determined to fraudulent,...
"Those who forget Teddy Roosevelt's words about walking softly and carrying a...
co2 is not a pollution. If universal health care is so great, why is...




You can be the first to comment on this story.