A new analysis shows that Sen. Orrin Hatch has sponsored or cosponsored more laws passed by Congress than any of his colleagues.
A not-so-shocking fact of lawmaking is that you are expected to make laws. So, which lawmaker can boast that he or she has been behind the passage of more laws in Congress than any colleagues?
Out of the current class of senators, the honor of Most Laws Passed goes to Sen. Orrin Hatch, according to data from the Library of Congress. Hatch has sponsored or cosponsored 742 bills that eventually became law. For comparison’s sake, the median senator, David Vitter, has seen 78 of the bills he sponsored or cosponsored enacted.
Hatch has served in the Senate for 37 years. He’s supported bills as diverse as a resolution to posthumously restore citizenship rights to Jefferson Davis (enacted by Jimmy Carter in 1978), to the Songwriter Equity Act, which would allow songwriters to be paid the “fair market value” of their work (Hatch himself has dabbled in songwriting).
“I’ve always found that to be a successful legislator you need to fight for what you believe in and never give up trying to do the right thing,” Hatch said in a statement to National Journal. “I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to support legislation that is in the best interest of Utah and our country.”
