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Article snippet: Sen. MORE (Utah), the longest-serving Republican senator in history, will retire at the end of this Congress, bringing to a close a storied 41-year career that put him at the center of the nation’s biggest political debates. The 83-year-old senator announced his retirement in a short video that recalled his childhood in a “ramshackle house built with recycled lumber from the local scrap yard,” his youth as an amateur boxer and his record authoring more bills that have become law than any member of Congress alive today. He said he looks forward to spending more time with his wife of nearly 60 years, Elaine, and his six children and 23 grandchildren. As chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, Hatch capped his career list of legislative accomplishments last month by passing the landmark GOP tax-reform bill, which his panel played a major role in drafting. When the Senate passed its version of tax reform a month ago, Senate Majority Leader MORE (R-Ky.) quipped that Hatch was “here the last time this was done years ago,” referring to the 1986 tax-reform bill. Hatch is third in line to presidency as the Senate’s president pro tem, and only Sen. MORE (D-Vt.) has served in the chamber for a longer time. Hatch’s departure creates an opening atop the Finance panel, which has far-reaching jurisdiction over taxes, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and trade. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman MORE (R-Iowa), who used to chair the Finance Committee, could serve an... Link to the full article to read more