Utah needs a passport agency ASAP.

June 5 – June 9, 2023

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. He also introduced two pieces of legislation: one aimed at bolstering our national security in the face of threats posed by China and another to help make social media safer for children, teens, and all Americans. Keep scrolling for more news.

The demand for passports in Utah is enormous, due in part to our economy's robust global commerce and the thousands of missionaries leaving from Salt Lake City every year. Yet Utah is essentially a passport service desert with no feasible options for same-day, in-person services.

At a Foreign Relations Committee hearing to examine the State Department’s Consular Affairs services and programs, Senator Romney criticized the inability for State to handle passport renewal requests and renewed his call for the Administration to open a passport agency in Salt Lake City to accommodate Utahns’ needs.

Full story by Suzanne Bates here.

It’s absurd that China continues to be treated as a developing nation on the global stage when it has the second largest economy in the world and is on track to surpass the U.S. economically. The U.S. must not enter into treaties or international organizations where China is given a leg up by being classified as a “developing nation,” whether it be accommodations or financial assistance. Senators Romney, Van Hollen (D-MD), Sullivan (R-AK), Cornyn (R-TX), and Scott (R-SC) applauded yesterday’s unanimous committee passage of the Ending China’s Developing Nation Status Act. Their bipartisan legislation establishes U.S. policy to oppose the granting of “developing nation” status to China in future treaties and international organizations.

Our military is facing the largest recruitment crisis in 50 years, which has real impacts on our national security. Yet amidst this crisis, military recruiters often face hurdles, and in some cases even hostility, from schools when trying to engage with students to educate them about their options for military service.

Senator Romney, joined by Senators King (I-ME) and Cotton (R-AR), introduced the Military Service Promotion Act of 2023, legislation aimed at addressing the current military recruitment crisis by enhancing military recruiter access to high schools and colleges. Students should be exposed to the opportunities and benefits that military service can provide.

The threat social media has on the well-being of our young people and our national security is becoming more and more evident. Senator Romney joined a group of colleagues in introducing the bipartisan Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA), a bill that would require social media companies to share more data with the public and researchers.

By increasing data access and transparency, this legislation will help parents, policymakers, and researchers better understand the impacts social media has on society, and allow Congress to craft policies that create a healthier online experience for children and all Americans.

Full story by Gitanjali Poonia here.

The Senate confirmed Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez to be U.S. Marshal for the District of Utah, who was nominated to the post after Senator Romney recommended him to the Biden Administration. A U.S. Coast Guard veteran, Justin has dedicated his life to keeping our communities safe. Following the confirmation, Senator Romney offered his congratulations to Justin, who he met with in 2021 to assess the response to the Parleys Canyon fire.

Full story by Toria Barnhart here.

The United States’ reliance on China for critical minerals creates serious vulnerabilities for our national security. Senator Romney joined Senators Peters (D-MI) and Lankford (R-OK) in introducing bipartisan legislation to reduce the United States’ reliance on China and other adversarial nations for critical minerals. China is currently the largest source for more than half of the critical minerals that the United States imports, such as lithium and cobalt. The senators’ bill would address this threat to our manufacturing supply chains by creating an intergovernmental task force to identify opportunities to increase domestic production and recycling of critical minerals.

Utah's continued housing shortage is making it difficult for many Utahns to secure reasonable accommodations. Senator Romney met with members of the Utah Home Builders Association for a discussion on improving access to affordable housing and addressing labor shortages in construction.

All people deserve to feel safe from sexual and domestic violence in their homes and communities. Senator Romney met with representatives from the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Utah Domestic Violence Coaltion to discuss their work to support victims of rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence.

Senator Romney issued the following statement on reports of the indictment of former President Trump:

“Like all Americans, Mr. Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence. The government has the burden of proving its charges beyond a reasonable doubt and securing a unanimous verdict by a South Florida jury.

“By all appearances, the Justice Department and special counsel have exercised due care, affording Mr. Trump the time and opportunity to avoid charges that would not generally have been afforded to others.

“Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so.

“These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.”