Excerpts from About Orrin Hatch: A Life Overcoming the Odds:

Three strong traits serve as the hallmark of Orrin Grant Hatch's life: service, hard work and perseverance.

These qualities have guided him through four terms in the United States Senate.  Always striving to protect the principles of limited government, tax restraint, and integrity in public service, Hatch has been a leader in developing bi-partisan legislation in such key areas as: balancing the budget, protecting Medicare and Social Security, lowering taxes, and improving health care services for children, seniors, the disabled, and the homebound.

Senator Hatch's core values were learned at the knee of his father, a hard-working metal lather, and his mother, a devout woman who encouraged her son's love of literature and the arts. He was born in 1934 to Jesse and Helen Hatch, a family of modest means.
After losing their home during the Great Depression, his father used a $50 loan and second-hand building materials - including lumber that had been partially burned by fire - to build a home for his family in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Hatch received a bachelors degree from Brigham Young University and a full honors scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh Law School where he was awarded a Juris Doctorate with honors. After receiving his law degree, Senator Hatch became a practicing attorney, first in Pennsylvania, then in Utah, until his election to the United States Senate in 1976.

While serving as a Senator, Hatch has displayed true courage time and time again as he diligently strives to promote conservative principles.  But at times, Senator Hatch has been a lone voice imploring Congress to "do what is right" for America's families, such as undertaking initiatives on child care and health insurance assistance for low-income children. He has also championed legislation to help people with disabilities participate in society, and to battle violence against women.

In foreign policy, Senator Hatch has always been a conservative internationalist, believing that America's national security was best maintained by a strong and focused involvement in world affairs. Since the conclusion of the cold war, Senator Hatch has worked diligently to address the threat of terrorism to American interests.

While Orrin Hatch is proud of his Senate accomplishments and his work to protect family values, his greatest "family value" is his wonderful wife, his six children, and his 18 grandchildren. He has been married to Elaine Hansen from Newton, Utah, for 42 years.