Longtime legislative advocate of OTC, VMS to retire
A staunch legislative advocate of the dietary supplement and over-the-counter medicine industries earlier this week announced his retirement from the Senate. On Tuesday, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced on Twitter that he will not be defending his Senate seat in 2018.
"When the President visited Utah last month, he said I was a fighter," Hatch said in a video posted on Twitter. "I've always been a fighter. I was an amateur boxer in my youth and I've brought that fighting spirit with me to Washington. But every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. For me, that time is soon approaching."
“Of all of Sen. Hatch’s achievements, his commitment to the dietary supplement consumer will be celebrated most by this industry,” stated Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition. “Sen. Hatch has been a champion of dietary supplements to be sure, but his insistence on a common sense approach to legislation and regulation has always managed to strike the important balance between safety and access in pursuit of promoting public health.”
“As we reflect on Senator Hatch’s many policy achievements over four decades in the U.S. Senate, his contribution to the healthcare of our nation is particularly impressive," added Scott Melville, president and CEO of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. "In addition to his authorship of landmark legislation with Congressman Henry Waxman, spearheading pharmaceutical innovation, Sen. Hatch has been a tireless advocate for responsible self-care and measures that empower consumers through access to over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements."
Hatch, who formed and led the Dietary Supplement Caucus in the Senate, co-authored the landmark legislation that established a rational framework for regulating dietary supplements, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. The senator also played a critical role in passing the Nonprescription Drug & Dietary Supplement Consumer Protection Act of 2006 (which established a mandatory post-market surveillance program for dietary supplements); enacting the Food Safety Modernization Act in 2011 (that added extra safety precautions for manufacturing food, including dietary supplements); and helped shepherd the passage of the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014 (that helped protect consumers from illegal drugs masquerading as dietary supplements)—all of which strengthened consumer confidence in dietary supplements.
Sen. Hatch used his considerable influence to prod FDA to issue final Current Good Manufacturing Practices regulations in 2007 and to elevate FDA’s Division of Dietary Supplement Programs to Office status in 2016, both of which strengthened FDA’s oversight of dietary supplements that nearly 76 percent of Americans turn to for better health and wellness.
Sen. Hatch was awarded CHPA’s prestigious Ivan D. Combe Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, which is bestowed upon an outstanding individual whose actions have created a positive impact on consumer healthcare.
“Sen. Hatch leaves behind a historic legacy of legislative accomplishment and his leadership and sense of humor will be greatly missed in the Senate," Melville said. "We offer him our most heartfelt thanks for his tireless dedication to better healthcare, including self-care. We look forward to continuing to work with the Senator throughout the remainder of his term, and wish him well in his well-deserved retirement.”
"CRN and the entire dietary supplement industry wish Senator Hatch all the best in this next chapter of his life," Mister added. "His hard work and dedication have well-served consumers of our products. The majority of Americans who take dietary supplements can have confidence that responsible companies in this industry will do their part to honor Sen. Hatch’s legacy by continuing to bring safe, quality dietary supplement products to the market."