Newsletters

This week, Senator Romney had the privilege of welcoming several groups of Utahns to Washington to discuss priorities like veterans care, transportation, water supply, and economic prosperity. He also helped introduce legislation to overturn a Biden Administration rule that would harm Utah’s gig-worker economy, continued efforts to address our current military recruitment crisis, and saw his bill to protect Americans’ health data from foreign adversaries advance in Committee. Last night, Senator Romney shared his thoughts on the President’s State of the Union address.

Senator Romney has long been clear on this point: Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions extend beyond Ukraine. If the U.S. steps away from Ukraine and halts aid, Putin could be emboldened to invade a NATO nation, which would pull the U.S. into war. This week, Senator Romney urged his colleagues to pass additional aid to Ukraine and warned of the dire consequences of the U.S. losing its status as the global leader. He also pressed the Administration to clarify its posture on Iran, introduced legislation to help Americans rise out of poverty and find meaningful work, and met with several Utahns visiting Washington.

Senator Romney has made deterring threats posed by authoritarian regimes, like the Chinese Communist Party and Putin’s Russia, a top priority. The Senator started his week by joining a majority of his colleagues in voting to send additional aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan—allies and partners whose resistance to authoritarian aggression is critical to America’s national security and standing as leader of the free world. Later in the week, Senator Romney headed home to Utah to meet with members of the state legislature and join one of the five passport fairs he, and the Utah Congressional delegation, set up with the State Department—advancing his efforts to bring a permanent passport agency to Salt Lake City.

For years, Utah and the American West have seen catastrophic wildfires and other natural disasters which have, in many cases, been strikingly difficult to recover from. This week, Senator Romney introduced two key pieces of legislation—one aimed at bolstering our ability to restore water infrastructure damaged by wildfires and the other to avoid deficit spending on disaster relief by requiring Congress to plan ahead. He also pushed for his legislation to stabilize the national debt, argued against calls for socialist healthcare policies, and met with several Utahns.

The State Department, in coordination with the Utah Congressional Delegation, will hold five “Passport Fairs” throughout the state to provide Utahns with an opportunity to obtain expedited passport services closer to home. Utahns in need of a passport, or those whose passports have expired or will expire in the next year, may register for an appointment from February 13 – 17 at one of five locations. Bringing a passport agency to Salt Lake City is still a top priority of mine, but these passport fairs are an opportunity to help Utahns in the meantime.

Illicit vaping products, designed to target young people with flavors such as blue cotton candy and pink lemonade, have gotten more and more of our youth addicted to nicotine. Senator Romney continued efforts to tackle the youth vaping crisis by introducing bipartisan legislation to crack down on illicit vaping products, most of which come from China. He also called for an immediate and permanent halt of U.S. funding to UNRWA following reports that members of its staff participated in the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7.

It’s no secret that the Chinese Communist Party is implementing a multipronged strategy to overtake the United States as the global leader—militarily, economically, and geopolitically. Senator Romney advanced efforts to counter the China threat by introducing a bill to safeguard Americans’ sensitive health data from getting into the hands of the CCP and calling on the federal government to assess how export controls can restrict adversaries from using advanced U.S. technology to bolster their AI capabilities. He also called on the Biden Administration to withdraw its overreaching electric vehicle mandate.

The national debt is now more than $100,000 per person in the U.S. This week, Senator Romney applauded the House Budget Committee for advancing legislation to establish a fiscal commission tasked with stabilizing the public debt—the companion of his and Senator Manchin’s Fiscal Stability Act. He also met with Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., saw his bill to clean up abandoned mines advance in committee, and met with several Utah leaders.

As 2024 begins, Senator Romney released a report detailing the policy and constituent services highlights from the past year. Major legislative highlights included enactment of Romney bills that equip the U.S. to better counter the rise of China, bolster the role Utah plays in our national defense, and advance efforts to bring a passport agency to Salt Lake City. Senator Romney also pushed forward legislation to rein in federal spending and stabilize the national debt, protect children from the harmful effects of social media, and address water and wildfire challenges facing Utah and the West.

This year presented both new challenges and opportunities. Ukraine continued to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked invasion; Hamas-led terrorist attacks against the people of Israel have sparked a war in Gaza; and political divisions in America have caused greater gridlock and more partisan posturing in Washington. Withstanding these difficulties, Senator Romney pushed forward on his priorities to help support Utah’s infrastructure needs, address continued drought conditions in the West, combat the growing China threat, stabilize our burgeoning public debt, and support democracies, like Israel and Ukraine, in the face of tyranny.

I’m reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s words, during his second inaugural address when the country was in the final pangs of the Civil War: “With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds.” During this holiday season, may we commit ourselves to being agents in binding up the wounds of our time—starting in our own families, neighborhoods, and communities. It’s my wish that Utahns, and all Americans, can find long-lasting peace, joy, and hope in their lives. Ann and I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

As China and Russia continue to expand their military capabilities, it’s essential that we make substantial investments in our own military and other national defense priorities. This week, Senator Romney helped pass the annual defense authorization bill, which included several provisions he authored to address threats from foreign adversaries, support our servicemembers, and expand passport services in Utah. He also secured committee passage of two pieces of legislation aimed to help us better understand the impacts of smartphones in classrooms, and welcomed progress on two Utah natural resource priorities.