Sen. Hatch dubs students ‘greatest generation’
This generation is the greatest generation the world will ever have, a U.S. senator told students Wednesday.
Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah attended another installment of College Republicans’ Pizza and Politics, where he spoke and answered questions on the nation’s debt crisis, student loans, balancing the federal budget and whether or not he would be dressing up for Halloween.
“You’re the ones who are going to be bankrupt,” Hatch said to students while addressing national debt. “You’re the ones who are going to have to live with it. You’re the ones who are going to have to pay it off. You’re the ones who get stuck with it.”
Hatch said all the impending circumstances will come as the result of decisions made by lawmakers to day.
“If you really want to get spending under control, I would put it this way: I would elect conservatives to the House and to the Senate,” he said.
When asked about President Barack Obama’s visit to Denver, where he would be addressing lowering student loan interest rates and decreasing the amount of time required for outstanding students loans to be forgiven, Hatch said, “Guess how much there is in outstanding student loans out there — $807 billion. And what about those who paid off their student loans? I can agree with breaking interest rates down, but a lot of kids could get by, by working like I did.”
Hatch said he was proud to work while he attended college, and said he wouldn’t have accepted student loans.
Some students have to take out loans, he said, “but to just forgive all those student loans is the wrong thing to do.”
Hatch said the nation’s current budget currently consumes 69 percent of national gross domestic product — an increase of 27 percent in the past two years.
When asked what cuts he thought should be made to reduce national spending, Hatch said more cuts will have to be made, economic growth should be restrained and fraud reduced.
One way to do this, Hatch said, is through the exercise of the “(president‘s) moratorium power to not give money to state’s who don’t abide by the law. There are a lot of other things we should do; there’s a lot of spending in the federal government that doesn’t need to be there.”
At the conclusion of the session, Hatch said, “I think it’s important that you decide what you want — that you look for people with integrity. I think it’s really important for you to get involved. It’s fun, and you’ll learn a lot. He also said he would not be dressing up for Halloween, because he is “scary enough as it is,” but the Hatch family will pass out candy.
“Even though Republicans, conservatives and Libertarians are the vast majority on campus, they are easily the quietest ones on campus as well,” said College Republicans President Mikey Rodgerson. “We do what we can to bring as many conservative voices and as many of our leaders as we can.”
“I thought his perspective on the balanced budget is what we need,” Spencer Knight, a freshman majoring in economics, said. “I think there’s just a lot right now with the economy and economics, and I wanted to get — kind of hear — his opinions on it, instead of just reading articles on stuff — kind of a firsthand opinion from someone who has knowledge and experience on it.”
Erika Norton, a senior majoring in anthropology and this year’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences senator, said she attended the event because she wants to be more aware and more involved in politics. Norton said she felt the session was “tailored toward our age group and getting us involved.”
It was the consensus of some students, however, Hatch should’ve answered more questions in the time he was there. One student said as much could be expected from politicians.
Hatch was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976 and has served for 35 years, giving him the most seniority of all Republicans in the Senate. He has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and the Senate Finance Committee.
The College Republicans will host another event Nov. 17 featuring Utah Gov. Gary Herbert as the keynote speaker.
– piperblotter@gmail.com