As the ranking member of the Senate's Finance Committees Bennett assumed more responsibility and power. He was responsible for the Nixon Administration's tax bill which proved to be an arduous assignment. According to his administrative assistant, Robert Wolthius, the "long and difficult floor fight on the tax bill" caused his ulcer condition to worsen and he was forced, on December 2, to undergo surgery. Wolthius replaced Tom Korologos who had moved on to the Whote House to become a special whote House assistant to President Nixon. As a member of the Banking Committee, Bennett also had a leading role to play in the monetary reform measures that came about in 1972.

Mrs. Bennett successfully underwent surgery at the beginning of 1971 to replace her hip joint. A sad note for Bennett was the death in March of his sister, Mary Bennett Smith.

Some of Senator Bennett's business interests apparently prospered. Bennett Motor Company showed a substantial profit increase and on December 4, 1971, Bennett Ford officially became Rick Warner Ford. The Bennett Association investment in Terracor, the company founded by his close friend Glendon Johnson, was in some jepordy.

The Bennetts took several trips because of his senate responsibilities. In May they were in Munich for the International Banking Conference; they later traveled to Paris in June for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conference which was tied to his Finance Committee work; in September they went to Geneva for the United Nations Atomic Energy Conference.

Senator Bennett was the recipient of two honorary degree-the first from Northeastern University in Boston and the second from his Alma Mater the University of Utah.