Hatch, Kennedy two of America's Best Leaders, says U.S. News

U.S. News & World Report has named Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and his late friend Sen. Ted Kennedy, of Massachusetts, as two of "America's Best Leaders" for their willingness to work across the partisan divide on key pieces of legislation.

They join 20 others honored on the magazine's Web site and in its printed edition, which will hit newsstands Tuesday. A nonpartisan committee named by U.S. News and Harvard's Center for Public Leadership crafted the annual list that included the senators as well business executives, university presidents, artists, military leaders and philanthropists.

The magazine asked contemporaries to write essays on why each of the recipients deserves the honor. Vice President Joe Biden wrote the piece on Hatch, while Hatch wrote about Kennedy.

"No one would ever accuse Sen. Hatch of being a liberal. He is, by all accounts, a true and proud conservative," Biden wrote. "What sets him apart and makes him an effective legislator is his willingness to find common ground with Democratic counterparts when he believes it is the right thing to do -- even when it isn't the politically convenient thing to do."

Biden, a former long-time senator from Delaware, had his own example of working with Hatch. The two co-sponsored the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, which Biden called "my proudest legislative achievement." The bill created federal programs to fight

domestic violence and funded shelters for battered women.

The vice president also noted Hatch's friendship with Kennedy, one of the leading Democrats in the Senate. Kennedy died earlier this year from brain cancer, but before he did, he teamed with Hatch to pass one last piece of legislation. It was the Serve America Act, which greatly expanded the AmeriCorps volunteer program.

"The bill passed overwhelmingly in the true Kennedy-Hatch fashion, with both Democrats and Republicans on board," Biden wrote. "It was another lesson in bipartisanship that politicians of all stripes, from conservatives to committed liberals can learn from Orrin Hatch."

In honoring Kennedy, Hatch wrote that Kennedy's greatness lay in his ability to be a staunch partisan who knew when to make a deal with the other party to further his goals.

"Sen. Kennedy was one of the few in Washington who looked beyond the battle over daily sound bites to focus on the bigger picture," Hatch wrote.

As an example, Hatch wrote about the 1997 passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program, which he co-sponsored. Kennedy wanted to make sure poor children had health insurance coverage but a federal government controlled program couldn't make it through what was then a Republican-controlled Congress. He negotiated with Hatch and the two agreed on a state-based program.

"His most lasting legacy will be reflected in the legislation he was able to pass, much of which has demonstrated his unwillingness to let partisanship ruin a good opportunity to help those in need," Hatch wrote.