The bipartisan, bicameral health care agreement reached this week includes provisions from the Smoke-Free Schools Act and the Tobacco to 21 Act  - legislation backed by Senator Romney - to address the youth vaping crisis. The Senator has led efforts to reverse this epidemic, repeatedly raising the issue in HELP Committee hearings, meetings with the president, and with the FDA nominee during his confirmation process. He released the following statement:

“While our work is far from finished, I’m encouraged that the health care deal takes a significant step to address the youth vaping crisis by raising the federal smoking age to 21 nationwide and banning the use of e-cigarettes in schools... [T]he Administration and Congress must act further to ban flavors that appeal to kids and prevent vaping cartridges from being adulterated with harmful substances.”



The Department of Homeland Security's proposed 500% fee increase on family history records obtained would greatly inhibit Utahns' access to these records. In a letter to DHS officials, the Senator expressed his concern and requested justification for this fee increase. Senator Romney spoke to KSL's Boyd Matheson about the issue. Click below to listen.



“When the Genealogy Program began in 2008, its initial fees ranged from just $20 to $35. In 2016, USCIS raised both fees to $65. DHS’s proposed rule would raise the search fee 269% from $65 to $240, and the records fee 492% from $65 to $385. If this rule takes effect, a family historian would need to pay $625 to search and obtain a single file on a relative.”



Full story by Matthew Brown here.



Senator Romney joined Senators Cotton (R-AR), Blackburn (R-TN), Cornyn (R-TX), Cruz (R-TX), Graham (R-SC), Hawley (R-MO), Perdue (R-GA), and Sasse (R-NE) to introduce the Significant Transnational Criminal Organization Designation Act - legislation that would subject certain foreign criminal organizations like drug cartels to sanctions, including immigration, financial, and criminal penalties. The Senator said, "This legislation will better equip us to meet the threats our nation faces from violent cartels and...also requires the president to submit a full report to Congress regarding the horrific attacks against Americans in Mexico last month, including whether the organization responsible should be designated as a Significant Transnational Criminal Organization and sanctioned under our legislation.”



Full story by Nate Carlisle here.



It's past time for the U.S. to construct a comprehensive strategy to confront China's growing aggression. This week, Senator Romney made headway on three pieces of legislation that help meet this goal. The final version of the annual defense authorization bill includes provisions from the Huawei Prohibition Act of 2019, which would ensure Huawei is not removed from the entities list until it no longer poses a threat to national security.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Senator Romney's Indo-Pacific Cooperation Act of 2019, requiring the U.S. to partner with allies in the Indo-Pacific region, Europe, and elsewhere, to develop a unified approach to address the rise of China.

Senator Romney also joined Senators Warren (D-MA), Cotton (R-AR), and Kaine (D-VA) in writing a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper raising concerns about the national security risks posed by U.S. reliance on foreign-manufactured pharmaceutical products. The letter follows the publication of a new report that warns of America's "growing reliance" on products primarily made in China that are critical to drug manufacturing.



Senator Romney joined several colleagues at the White House's Child Care & Paid Leave Summit to discuss their efforts in finding solutions to provide paid family leave for American families. In March, the Senator teamed up with Senator Rubio (R-FL) to introduce the New Parents Act, which would allow new parents to use a portion of their Social Security after the birth or adoption of a child. 





Levied on everything from pacemakers to defibrillators and surgical tools, the medical device tax hurts patients and stifles medical innovation. Senator Romney met with representatives from GE Healthcare, which manufactures products in Salt Lake City, about the need to repeal the medical device tax, which is slated to resume in January 2020 unless Congress acts.





If we don't act now to address the solvency of programs like Medicare and Social Security, our government's trust funds will be depleted in 13 years. Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, published an op-ed praising Senator Romney's legislation - the TRUST Act - to create a process to rescue these programs that millions of Americans rely on.



Full op-ed by Maya MacGuineas here.



Special thanks to this semester’s interns - Brendan (Southern Utah University), Natalie (Brigham Young University), Kwin (Utah Valley University), and Kip (Weber State University) - for all of their hard work in our office. Best of luck as you head back to school!