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There is no doubt that authoritarianism is on the rise around the world—which poses a great threat to global freedom and our national security. This week, Senator Romney leveraged his Senate Foreign Relations Committee assignments to advance priorities on countering threats posed by the authoritarian regimes in countries like China, Russia, and North Korea. He also met with a prominent conservancy group in Utah to discuss collaborative efforts to save the shrinking Great Salt Lake.

As the Senate continues its effort to avert a government shutdown, Senator Romney worked to advance an essential priority for Utah: modernizing our approach to managing and mitigating wildfires. Additionally, Senator Romney met with Governor Cox to discuss their shared priorities for the Beehive State and his resolution reinstating the chamber’s business attire dress code unanimously passed the Senate.

Senator Romney introduced pieces of legislation aimed at supporting Utah’s economic strength as our population continues to grow. These bills would responsibly increase the federal minimum wage for legal workers, make college more affordable for students, and overturn the Biden Administration’s reckless new student loan scheme. On the foreign policy front, Romney also introduced legislation to secure our technology from the CCP.

During the month of August, Senator Romney had the chance to step away from his office in Washington and come back home to Utah for a state work session. He traveled throughout the Beehive State to see firsthand how the bipartisan infrastructure bill that he helped negotiate is modernizing Utah’s transit systems, upgrading roads and highways, and repairing bridges. Senator Romney also was able to meet with key national defense and foreign policy stakeholders for discussions on measures he helped secure in this year’s Senate defense authorization bill.

Over the last several weeks, the Senate has been working on crafting this year’s national defense authorization bill—which passed yesterday with strong bipartisan support. Senator Romney successfully secured several measures in the bill to protect against China and Russia, reaffirm Utah’s role in our national security, and improve passport services for Utahns. He also helped introduce bipartisan bills to combat the opioid epidemic and improve the water quality of the Colorado River, and met with several Utahns visiting Washington.

Two of the Senator’s public health proposals were included in a bill that passed out of the Health Committee with large bipartisan support. Later in the week, his bipartisan legislation to make it U.S. policy to oppose China being given the status of a “developing nation” in treaties and international organizations unanimously passed the Senate. The Senator also introduced legislation to support competency-based education, which has been championed at Utah-based Western Governors University.

To advance his key priorities, Senator Romney this week called on his colleagues to take the impending insolvency of federal entitlement programs like Social Security seriously; secured several of his national security measures in the Senate’s annual defense authorization bill; and introduced pieces of legislation to better monitor the spread of infectious diseases and support Utah’s river ecosystems.

The time we spend with our families on the Fourth of July underscores the freedom we enjoy in this country—made possible by the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. As we celebrate that freedom, we’re also reminded of those who came before us. Their vision for our country, accompanied by their hard work to make it come to pass, laid the foundation for what our country is today: a continued City upon a Hill.

Senator Romney introduced legislation to bolster our domestic critical minerals capabilities by reducing our dependence on geopolitical adversaries. He also joined the Utah Congressional delegation on legislation to reduce barriers for Utahns to fly into Washington, D.C., called out Bernie Sanders for using his role as Chairman of the Health and Labor Committee for useless political posturing, and supported Utah’s action against a Biden Administration rule that would harm our state’s energy security.

The United States’ reliance on communist China for materials critical to our industrial base poses a great threat to our national security and economic stability. This week, Senator Romney worked to advance legislation to bolster our critical mineral supply chains and led a hearing where he questioned witnesses on our competition with China.

Utah has a significant demand for passport services, yet there is no passport agency closer than eight hours away for most Utahns. This has resulted in an inexcusable passport processing backlog and caused immense stress for Utah families. This week, Senator Romney continued to urge the Biden Administration to address these challenges by standing up a passport agency in Salt Lake City and modernizing the passport renewal process.

As Congress worked to pass legislation that avoided a default on our debt, Senator Romney expressed his support for the bipartisan compromise negotiated by Speaker McCarthy and the White House—highlighting how the bill avoids what could have been an economic disaster while putting government spending on a more sustainable path.