Inhofe Pays Tribute to Lifelong Friend and Former Colleague Orrin Hatch

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) spoke on the Senate floor today to pay tribute to his friend and former colleague Sen. Orrin Hatch.

As Prepared for Delivery:

Mr. President, much has already been said on this floor, as we express our love and admiration for our friend and former colleague Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Orrin was the best of all of us and the Inhofe household was very sad to hear of his passing.

I'll never forget the time he took to answer calls from an obscure state senator from Oklahoma (that was me, if you hadn't guessed).

And he had this way about him with everyone he met--unwavering kindness and a gentle nature that Kay and I will miss deeply.

We were close long before I was even in the House. Orrin was the one who I would go to for wisdom and we had the same love for Jesus and everything we hold dear.

I will always remember his humor, but he also gave the best advice. He was not just a friend, but a confidant. Whether he was talking about scripture or history, he had a way of saying things that brought people together.

I think back fondly on everything we got done while Orrin was in office. Despite strong opposition at the time, myself and Sens. Hatch, Chambliss and Thune were able to pass an amendment permitting the Air Force to enter into a multi-year procurement for a total of 60 F-22s during the 2007 NDAA. That turned out to be one-third of the total force.

The argument against the amendment was, at the time, we did not need such an air-dominance fighter. But we knew we were making an investment in the future of our defense. Orrin had that foresight, as he showed many times throughout his career.

Not only that, but together, we worked very closely to ensure the future of our Air Force depots. I remember the CODEL I led with Sens. Hatch and Chambliss which toured each of the Depots as part of our initiative to restore their funding.

Now, Orrin was a jokester--most times poking fun at himself. I remember laughing often when he was around. Together, we supported funding for these Air Force Depots that continue to be vital to our home states of Oklahoma, Utah and Georgia, but we had fun while doing it. That was Orrin's way.

For those of you who are not familiar with our nation's depots, they are state-of-the-art maintenance and repair facilities for the Air Force's aircraft.

Simply put, our nation would not be able to rule the skies without the critical maintenance and repair work performed on our incredibly complex aircraft.

To ensure our nation will always have our nation's depots, there are laws, commonly called "Core" and "50/50" which preserve the depots workload.

Throughout my tenure on the Senate Armed Services Committee, I greatly appreciated the legal analysis Senator Hatch provided my staff and I when the Executive Branch would send over suggested changes to these critical laws.

There are many times when after reading those proposals Sen. Hatch would raise the alarm and my colleagues on the SASC and I would then battle those proposals back.

After the Obama Administration cancelled NASA's Project Constellation, which was supposed to replace the Space Shuttle, there was a real question if the civilian solid rocket motor industry, which employs thousands of Utahns, would survive.

Using his considerable legislative skills, Senator Hatch was able to insert language in the Fiscal Year 2010 NASA Authorization Act that directed the new heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) be built to lift, from inception, 130 tons -- an objective which, at the time, could only be accomplished by using solid rocket motors.

As a result, a few weeks ago, NASA just rolled the SLS out to the launch pad for testing before it carries our astronauts to the Moon in 2025.

I was also very impressed by how Sen. Hatch used his prominence to promote the use of Hill Air Force Base. Whenever there was an Air Force official within hearing distance, Sen. Hatch would espouse the strengths and capabilities of Hill, Ogden Air Logistics Complex and the Utah Testing and Training Range.

In fact, I honestly believe that one of the reasons why Hill was chosen to receive the first three squadrons of F-35s is because he was always advocating for Hill with the Air Force's senior-most leadership.

One of the things that I loved about him was his placement of obscure words into many of his speeches.

You know, words that no one has any idea what they mean, like: bovarism (an exaggerated, especially glamorized, estimate of oneself.); cockalorum (a small man with a big opinion of himself.) or furphy (a false report; rumor).

When asked why he insisted on using this vocabulary, Sen. Hatch would beam his boyish grin, chuckle, and respond, "I like confusing the Democrats."

He had a very particular way of trying to get to know the volunteers who would drive him to events throughout Utah.

Without fail, he would always compliment the volunteer about their car and go into great detail about all of the wonderful accessories it contained.

I mean the volunteer could have been driving a 50-year-old Yugo, with the floor rusted through, but I can assure you, Sen. Hatch would find something nice to say about the volunteer's car.

Now, it is my personal opinion is that one of the best ways to know someone is to listen to them pray. When we address our Creator, we reveal who we really are.

For those who listen to this or read this record, I want to present the genuine Orrin Hatch to you -- the person we all came to know and love.

In 2010, Sen. Hatch was chosen to say the main prayer at the 57th National Prayer Breakfast here in D.C.

I ask unanimous consent that the full text of Sen. Hatch's prayer for "peace and tranquility" -- in front of that crowd of 4,000 people, on that February morning 12 years ago, be included in the record as part of my remarks. This is the man we knew, and loved.

Today, I believe, Orrin Hatch fully enjoys the peace and tranquility he prayed for.

All that to say, Orrin Hatch will be missed dearly by me. We have lost a true hero and one of my closest friends. Kay and I are praying for Elaine, their family and loved ones as they go through this hard time. Goodbye, my friend, and God Bless you.

Inhofe submitted the following prayer from former Sen. Hatch for the record:

"Let us pray. As we bow our heads this morning before Thee, we are so grateful for this great nation, and for the nations of the world and especially for the opportunities we have as a nation to bring peace and contentment and tranquility throughout this world. We are grateful for our great leaders and pray Thou will bless them. We pray that Thou will bless our President and our Vice President and their cabinet. And all the leaders throughout the federal government, that they might be inspired to lead us to do the things that are righteous in Thy sight. That we might be able to be good followers and that we might be able to bind together to do what is right. As Moses' father-in-law told him, let's share the responsibility and let's work together in the best interests of our country. Let's have bipartisanship reborn again in this great nation. We are so grateful for those who serve in the military, who are represented here today and throughout this country. We are grateful for all the sacrifices that they undertake on our behalf. We are grateful for those who are in harm's way and we pray Thou will pour out Thy special blessing upon them, that they may be blessed and protected. And we pray that we might be a nation that will help bring peace and tranquility throughout the world. We are grateful for all the food, clothing and shelter that Thou hast provided for us. We are grateful for those who serve in governments throughout the states and the respective state legislatures. And last but not least, we are grateful for the Congress of the United States and pray that the Congress might be able to work together, as Democrats and Republicans and Independents, to serve Thee and serve our country and to serve our fellow men and women. And bring peace and content to this great nation and throughout the world. We pray at this time for those who are suffering in Haiti and elsewhere throughout the world and ask you to bless them and help them and help us to do our share in helping throughout this world. We are grateful for leaders from other countries who are here and pray Thy blessing upon them. Once again, we ask you to bless our President and Vice President and the leaders of this country. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

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