After years of efforts to improve in-person consular services for Utahns, Senator Romney welcomed today’s announcement from the State Department that Salt Lake City will be the site of one of the six passport agency expansion locations throughout the country.
Senator Romney, member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), joined HSGAC Ranking Member Paul (R-KY) and fellow Committee Republicans Johnson (R-WI), Lankford (R-OK), and Marshall (R-KS), in sending a letter to Chairman Peters (D-MI) requesting a hearing to examine the threat of individuals exploiting the southern border for potential terrorist activities.
A lack of adequate safeguards against unlawful employment in the U.S. job market is one of the leading causes of illegal immigration. To address this, Senator Romney introduced bipartisan legislation to mandate that all employers only hire legal workers. He also introduced several bipartisan bills to strengthen America’s national security amid increased threats from terrorist organizations and China, and garnered support for his bill to bring Utah’s successful workforce program model nationwide.
Senators Romney, Cotton (R-AR), Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Lankford (R-OK), and Vance (R-OH) introduced the Mandatory E-Verify Act of 2024, legislation that would require all employers to use the federal electronic E-Verify system to confirm the employment eligibility of their workforce.
“Senate Democrats have embraced a Summer of Scare Tactics—a partisan campaign of false fearmongering intended to mislead and confuse the American people. In vitro fertilization is legal and available in every state across our nation,” the senators said. “We strongly support continued nationwide access to IVF, which has allowed millions of aspiring parents to start and grow their families.”
At a HELP Committee hearing on reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Senator Romney highlighted the importance of his legislation to lift people out of the social safety net and into the workforce. Romney’s One Door to Work Act would allow states the flexibility to implement Utah’s successful model of consolidating federal workforce development and social safety net programs within a single state entity—like Utah’s Department of Workforce Services—to help unemployed workers reintegrate more quickly into the workforce.
Senator Romney, Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, and Senator Kelly (D-AZ), member of the Armed Services Committee, teamed up to introduce the Bolstering Indo-Pacific Capabilities Act, bipartisan legislation that would shore up U.S. military logistics lines and improve readiness, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.
Senators Romney and Rosen (D-NV) introduced the Combating Foreign Terrorist Drones Act of 2024, bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing foreign terrorists—such as Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and Iran-backed groups like the Houthis—from acquiring unmanned aerial systems, or drones, to conduct attacks, collect intelligence, and deliver weapons or supplies.
Senators Romney and Shaheen (D-NH) introduced the Investing in Our Defense Act of 2024, bipartisan legislation to promote investment in technology vital to U.S. national security by strengthening the authorities of the Department of Defense Office of Strategic Capital (OSC). The legislation would allow OSC to make limited equity investments in technology and assets critical to our defense—including critical minerals.
Senator Romney joined Senator Scott (R-FL) and 20 of their Republican colleagues in issuing a statement criticizing Senate Democrats for pushing stunt legislation, the Right to Contraception Act, which fearmongers and misleads the public on the accessibility of contraception and threatens the religious freedoms and parental rights of millions of Americans.
America leads the free world, drawing strength from its alliances and partnerships. And it’s these relationships that are critical in addressing the growing threats we face from authoritarians. This week, Senator Romney pressed the Administration to deliver a comprehensive strategy on China and encouraged a NATO ally to boost its defense spending to meet commitments. On the domestic policy front, the Senator urged the Administration to withdraw a disastrous student loan bailout rule and called for stronger action to address Utah’s drought—consulting with water scarcity experts
Senator Romney, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Senators Shaheen (D-NH) and Tillis (R-NC), and a bipartisan group of colleagues in sending a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging Canada to immediately develop a plan to increase its defense spending to meet the two percent of GDP spending threshold that was agreed to by all NATO Allies at the Vilnius Summit in 2023.