‘Build Back Better’ is not fully baked and gives tax breaks to millionaires

It’s almost like they’re trying to confuse us. Well, not almost — they are.

There are two bills that have been banging around in Washington and the Democrats desperately want people to think that they are the same thing. They are not. One is about upgrading our nation’s physical infrastructure and the other is about new and expanded social programs.


I like the first one, and I dislike the other. Nineteen Republican senators voted for the one I like; not one Republican will vote for the other...

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Filibuster or bust: Maintaining the minority’s power in the Senate is critical

For several years, many of us have recoiled as foundational American institutions have repeatedly been demeaned: The judiciary has been accused of racial bias; the media maligned as the enemy of the people; justice and intelligence agencies belittled; public health agencies dismissed; even our election system has been accused of being rigged.

America works. America has worked for more than 200 years. The character of the American people deserves most of the credit. But close behind are our...
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A monumental insult

As a congressional delegation, we stand united in opposing the unilateral expansion of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by way of President Joe Biden’s divisive proclamation. From the beginning of his presidency, we have been clear about our willingness to work with him on a permanent legislative solution. It is disappointing that these calls were ignored, and a route was chosen that will only delay needed permanent protections and resources for these areas.
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Senator Romney: The most touching moment involved a flag, a choir and an anthem

I was in a tiny office squinting at a tiny TV screen.

I was in our Olympic office in Washington, D.C., and a neighbor in our shared office space had shouted that I should turn on the TV. The World Trade Center building had been hit—smoke was billowing from the top floors. I called my wife back in Salt Lake. As we watched together, we saw the second tower hit. It was an attack. The horror of the senseless loss of human life drained our hearts.

And it changed everything: The predictability of...

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How the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan Would Benefit Utah

It is estimated that 62 bridges and more than 2,064 miles of highway in Utah are in poor condition

Looking around our communities, it’s not uncommon to see roads, bridges and other infrastructure in need of serious repair. And as one of the country’s fastest growing states, Utah is also in need of additional infrastructure. For years — decades, even — elected officials have asserted that we needed to turn our attention toward our nation’s aging infrastructure. Yet various challenges and disagreements have resulted in little progress.

When he first took office, President Joe Biden proposed an...

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The sacrifices of the fallen can remind us we must work together to heal the divisions among us

On the 20th anniversary of D-Day in 1964, Dwight D. Eisenhower led Walter Cronkite through the cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach where 9,388 headstones honor the Americans who gave their lives on the beaches of Normandy during World War II. The former president, reflecting on his tenure as Supreme Allied Commander, observed: “these young boys, so many of them over whose graves we have been treading, looking at, and contemplating their sacrifices, they were cut off in their prime…they have...

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We can’t look away from China’s existential threat.

When President James Garfield was shot in 1881, the wound should not have been fatal. Doctors who rushed to examine the president probed first with unwashed fingers and then with unsterilized instruments. Years before, Joseph Lister had discovered that sterilization could prevent fatal infection. But the doctors attending Garfield either hadn’t read Lister’s work or ignored it, and sepsis and infection ultimately set in.
  
Today, our country is at risk of consequences both dire and...
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Family Policy Shouldn’t Penalize Married and Stay-at-Home Parents

To leave behind a plan that lasts, Biden needs to reach across the aisle.

The U.S. birthrate reached its lowest level ever in 2020, according to data released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Young people are marrying less and having fewer kids in part because they don’t feel confident about their job prospects and financial security. As everyone knows, raising kids is expensive. Health-insurance premiums are 55% higher than they were a decade ago. Home prices are rising at the fastest pace in 15 years, and a median starter home now costs...

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On management of Utah public lands, Biden should pursue an accountable legislative process

On March 22, 2021, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that: “The creation of a national monument is of no small consequence.” We agree, as would all those who have argued for, or against, such designations. Monument decisions immediately impact ranching, energy, and recreation industries, in addition to local and tribal governments who rely on the land for their livelihoods. In fact, many of our friends and neighbors are still bitterly divided over the creation of some of Utah’s biggest monuments...
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The Right Way to Boycott the Beijing Olympics

The United States can repudiate Chinese policy without unfairly punishing our athletes
As the Beijing Olympic Games approach, it is increasingly clear that China, under the control of the Chinese Communist Party does not deserve an Olympic showcase. Because it is too late to move the Winter Games scheduled for Beijing next February, some have proposed, understandably, that the United States boycott the Games.
       
China deserves our condemnation. The Chinese Communist Party has reneged on its agreement to allow Hong Kong self rule; it has brutally suppressed peaceful...
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