The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to advance provisions secured by Senator Romney to improve passport services during a business meeting to consider the Department of State Authorization Act of 2023—continuing his longstanding efforts to bring a passport agency to Salt Lake City and improve Utahns’ access to consular services.
Senators Romney, Padilla (D-CA), and Feinstein (D-CA) reintroduced the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coin Act, legislation to support and commemorate the 2028 Games set to take place in Los Angeles, California exactly five years from today. The House version of this bill is led by Representative Sherman (D-CA).
Senator Romney, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, joined Senators Menendez (D-NJ) and Risch (R-ID), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Senator Van Hollen (D-MD), Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, in applauding the Committee’s passage of their Taiwan Tax Agreement Act of 2023, bipartisan legislation authorizing the Biden Administration to negotiate and conclude a tax agreement between the United States and Taiwan.
Senator Romney secured several measures in the 2024 NDAA, which authorizes funding levels and provides authorities for the U.S. military and other critical defense priorities, ensuring America’s forces have the training, equipment, and resources they need to carry out their missions. The bipartisan Senate NDAA includes five Romney measures aimed at protecting against threats from China and Russia and reaffirming the critical role Utah plays in our national security.
Senators Romney, Booker (D-NJ), and King (I-ME) today introduced the bipartisan Public Health Response and Emergency Detection Through Integrated Wastewater Surveillance (PREDICT) Act. This legislation would strengthen and expand the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), which was initially developed to coordinate and build the United States’ capacity to track the presence of SARS-CoV-2, and other infectious-disease causing pathogens in wastewater, by awarding grants to state, tribal, and local health departments.
Senators Romney and Hickenlooper (D-CO) introduced the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act. The bill extends the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program and San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program for seven years, which, combined, protect four threatened and endangered native fish species in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins.
Senator Romney joined his colleagues, led by Senator Budd (R-NC), in penning a letter to Attorney General Garland demanding answers regarding reports of Chinese Intelligence outposts operating inside the United States, including in Salt Lake City, Utah. The letter was also signed by Senators Tillis (R-NC), Cruz (R-TX), Cornyn (R-TX), Fischer (R-NE), Ricketts (R-NE), Schmitt (R-MO), Hawley (R-MO), and Lee (R-UT).
Staffs of Senators Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee, and Sanders (I-VT), Chair of HELP, along with Senators Romney and Casey (D-PA), today released and are seeking feedback on a staff-level bipartisan discussion draft to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), legislation that would help prepare the United States for the next public health emergency.
Senator Romney, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined his colleagues in releasing the following statement marking the 26th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover and the 3rd anniversary of the Hong Kong “National Security Law.”
Senator Romney applauded a $24.5 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) for 15 Wasatch Front region projects that will improve transit access.
Senator Romney applauded an announcement from the Department of Commerce that the State of Utah would be awarded more than $317 million in a BEAD program grant. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—negotiated by Senator Romney and his colleagues—created the BEAD program to help expand high-speed internet access to rural and underserved communities.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced that Park City Transit will receive a $7,393,183 federal grant from the FTA’s Bus and Bus Facilities discretionary grant program. According to FTA’s release, “the Utah Department of Transportation will receive this funding on behalf of Park City Transit to improve more than 72 bus stops, including rider amenities. The project will provide a safer, more appealing interface with riders, particularly in areas with historically disadvantaged communities as well as season visitors.”