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In May, I gave my first speech on the Senate floor, where I outlined the four policy priorities that will guide my season of service in the United States Senate. This month, I'll be sharing each of these priorities in more detail and how I’m working to move them forward.
If there’s one thing Utahns understand, it’s thrift. We plan carefully, live within our means, and expect our leaders to do the same. It’s why I’ve made debt and fiscal responsibility a cornerstone of my work in the Senate.
America is more than $36 trillion in debt. Utah families don’t spend more than they take in, and they expect Washington to do the same. But year after year, Congress avoids tough choices and kicks the can down the road.
We—and I mean we, Democrats and Republicans—in this body are also not being honest with the American people when we pretend that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid don’t need reform.
And we are all equally dishonest when we weaponize fear—telling seniors that reform means abandonment. It doesn’t. It never has.
We can have an honest conversation about these challenges now—or we can be the ones who have to deliver the devastating, draconian, and harmful cuts that will inevitably come to our seniors if we don’t.
Since 1974, Congress has only passed all required appropriations bills on time four times. Four. That kind of performance wouldn’t be acceptable in any Utah business, school district, or household. It shouldn’t be acceptable in Congress either.
I’m working with my colleagues on solutions that would prevent shutdowns, remove political brinkmanship, and encourage thoughtful planning.
This isn’t about left or right. It’s about right and wrong. Utahns know what it means to live responsibly. It’s time Washington learned too.
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