Orrin Hatch

In the spirit and tradition of our pioneers, Utah is a state anchored in our faith and community made great by our people, strong values, and a commitment to family and hard work. That tradition lives on in every Utahn—a tradition that has made our state a shining light of what America can be.

It is those Utah values that I strive to live up to each and every hour of every day that I humbly serve the people of our great state in the United States Senate. It is those Utah values—our values—that will help right America's damaged fiscal ship and put us back onto a path to prosperity.

And it is those values that I pledge to bring to bear as the next chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to bring down our crippling $16 trillion debt, to get America back to work, to fix our broken entitlements that are nothing more than empty promises to our children and grandchildren, and to overhaul our tax code that puts our nation at a competitive disadvantage around the world.

That is my pledge to my fellow Utahns if you grant me the privilege of another term in office. It is a pledge I will never forget because I am your voice to bring common-sense solutions to our country.

Last fall, I talked to Utah mayors, business leaders, students, legislators and people from every corner of our state to help put together recommendations about how to solve our debt crisis. The message was clear: stop the spending, reform Washington, and put America back on a path to prosperity. And despite President Obama and his liberal Democrat allies in the Senate trying to block us every step of the way, we took some strong steps forward by stopping more tax hikes and more wasteful Washington spending.

In the Senate, Republicans were able to force Democrats to vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution that I introduced along with Sen. Mike Lee. This is a common-sense way of putting a straitjacket on federal spending and cutting our record high debt and deficits.

That's why I've fought for a balanced budget amendment throughout my service in the Senate—earning me the nickname of "Mr. Balanced Budget" from my friend, President Ronald Reagan.

The Finance Committee is responsible for over 50 percent of the federal budget, including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and handles all of our nation's tax policy. And when I become chairman when Republicans take back the Senate, it will be where we work to reform government, slash our debt and confront our burdensome, ineffective tax code.

Using the Utah values we share, and following President Reagan's criteria of fairness, growth and simplicity, we will fundamentally reform our tax code to allow you to keep more of your hard-earned money and Utah's small businesses to have more money to invest to grow the economy and create jobs.

The Finance Committee will also be where we will repeal Obamacare, the president's $2.6 trillion partisan health spending law. I voted against the law and was the first senator to say it is unconstitutional. And it is where we will reform Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security—the principle drivers of our debt—in a manner that fulfills our promises to our seniors, our children and grandchildren.

With President Mitt Romney in the White House, we can achieve much for America. We can and will restore our nation as that Shining City on a Hill. That is my promise, that is my pledge to every citizen of our great state. With your support, I look forward to continuing to bring Utah's values with me to Washington to cut spending, grow the economy, and strengthen our country for current and future generations of Utahns.

This originally appeared as an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune. -Team Hatch