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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Biden’s Stimulus Bill Is a $1.9 Trillion Clunker

Democrats are anxious for any excuse to blow up the Senate filibuster, the last procedural hurdle to one-party government. Their latest is that Republicans oppose the president’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package. Despite having passed five bipartisan Covid-19 relief bills to date—including one barely seven weeks ago—they claim our opposition demonstrates historic intransigence.
             
No, it demonstrates that the $1.9 trillion bill is a clunker. It would waste hundreds of billions of...
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Romney and Manchin: How We Compromised on COVID-19 Relief

Mitt Romney is a Republican senator from Utah. Joe Manchin is a Democratic senator from West Virginia.

Coming off the most bitter, divisive presidential election (and post-election) in modern American history, expectations have been understandably low for Congress’s ability to agree on anything — even another round of covid-19 relief. Progress has been nonexistent for several months, with talks at an impasse between a comprehensive $2.2 trillion stimulus package put forth by Democrats and a...

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How to get the next COVID-19 relief package right

If drafted with Americans and not politics in mind, the next rescue package can provide critical support for workers, families and employers

We need to get the next CARES Act right. Not that the first one was so bad; despite its flaws, the emergency required rapid action. Now more careful crafting is called for: many small businesses that employ millions of Americans are permanently closing, bigger businesses that employ additional millions are facing strong headwinds, local governments are preparing for layoffs and the federal checking account is badly overdrawn. We need to take additional action at the federal level to weather the...

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America is awakening to China. This is a clarion call to seize the moment.

America is awakening to China. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that, to a great degree, our very health is in Chinese hands; from medicines to masks, we are at Beijing’s mercy. Embarrassed by the revelation of this vulnerability, politicians in Washington will certainly act to remedy our medical dependence — with the usual fanfare and self-congratulation. But China’s stranglehold on pharmaceuticals is only a small sliver of its grand strategy for economic, military and geopolitical domination...
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Sen. Mitt Romney: Utah’s priorities saw progress in 2019

As we begin a new year, I remain honored to serve you in the U.S. Senate, where your ideas inspire me to work toward solutions that will improve the lives of Utahns and all Americans. Divided government, while challenging, also presents an opportunity for both parties to find common ground. And I’m pleased to provide an update about the progress we’ve made on many issues important to Utah over the past year.

Soon after I took office, final negotiations took place regarding a package of...

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Follow Utah's lead, raise the national smoking age to 21

Tobacco is costing our nation hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars every year. Our home state of Utah was one of the first states in the nation to figure this out, and our Legislature responded by raising the smoking age to 21. It’s time for the rest of the nation to follow Utah’s lead. Our bill, the Tobacco to 21 Act — which has quickly gained the support of the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society Action Network and many more organizations — would do exactly...

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Lands package reflects Utah priorities

Utah is, and will always be, a public lands state. Such diverse and spectacular landscapes deserve to be managed through locally-driven solutions that protect the environment, secure Utah’s rural economies, and provide abundant recreational opportunities.
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