This week, Senator Romney introduced two pieces of legislation to combat the rise of China—a bill to bolster our critical mineral mining capabilities and a bill to ensure China no longer receives special treatment on the global stage. He also highlighted the urgent need to find solutions to saving the Great Salt Lake and urged the USDA to better support Utah’s farmers and ranchers amid the historic drought.
As Americans, we have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season. Despite the differences we may have, each of us share the great blessing of living in a country that continues to be a beacon of hope and freedom for all. I render my thanks to those who came before us, who helped shape America’s greatness—especially to the men and women in uniform who courageously protect our freedoms, values, and quality of life.
With the Senate back in session this week, Senator Romney worked to push one of his top priorities: addressing the threat China poses to our national security and the global order. The Senator urged President Biden to execute a measure he had secured into law to craft a grand strategy on China and pushed Administration officials to bolster our cybersecurity capabilities.
Amidst an historic drought, Utah is facing a rapidly growing population and a booming economy. Senator Romney helped negotiate and pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill to ensure that Utah had a seat at the table—and that our needs would be addressed at the federal level. Now that the bill is law, Senator Romney spent his week in Utah touring key water and infrastructure projects and meeting with local leaders to discuss how funding provided by the law can best be used to put Utah on a sustainable path.
This week, as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an acceleration of his war effort in Ukraine, Senator Romney warned another nation with malevolent ambitions, China, that its alignment with Russia could result in severe consequences from nations around the world. He also welcomed funding for Utah’s wildfire resilience, which he secured by helping negotiate the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and met with several Utahns visiting Washington.
This week, Senator Romney continued to work on several of his key priorities for Utah, including addressing our state’s historic drought, increasingly devastating wildfires, and rapidly growing economy. On the national front, the Senator questioned big tech executives on China’s influence on the American public through social media and joined his colleagues in a proposal for federal permitting reform.
As I’ve traveled the state this month, there is no doubt in my mind that Utah is one of the best managed states in our country. The actions being taken and the decisions being made throughout our state will pay dividends for many, many years to come. When I return to Washington in a few days, I will do my very best to continue helping the people of Utah using the information I’ve gathered.
Utahns have an enormous resource, but it’s being threatened. The Great Salt Lake is currently at the lowest levels ever recorded. Last week, Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives Brad Wilson and I, along with a group of other State officials, were able to tour areas connected to and dependent on the survival of the Great Salt Lake—everything from the world of agriculture to industrial processes to migratory birds. One thing is clear: The need to save the Great Salt Lake is immediate.
As Senate Democrats bulldozed the American people by passing yet another reckless, partisan taxing-and-spending bill, Senator Romney joined his Republican colleagues in opposing the so called “Inflation Reduction Act,” and called on Democrats to consider the further harm they are inflicting on an already lackluster economy.
Senator Romney laid out his vision for the future of conservative family policy—which includes his recent proposal, the Family Security Act 2.0. He also introduced a plan to create an early warning system for infectious disease to help communities better prepare for and potentially prevent major outbreaks, following the public health data failures from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Russia continues to starve the people of Ukraine, and nations across the world, Senator Romney pushed for a greater effort from the U.S. and its allies to counter Putin’s disinformation effort by communicating the truth of Russia’s malevolence. Also this week, Senator Romney joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues to introduce legislation that reforms the Electoral Count Act and met with Utahns who were visiting Washington.
Historic inflation is affecting every aspect of daily life and this week, Americans saw inflation rise to 9.1%. As Democrats tried to continue ignoring the problem, trying to resurrect their “Build Back Better” agenda, Senator Romney cautioned: “The absolute last thing Democrats should do is to enact their inflationary and progressive BBB agenda of more spending and tax hikes.”