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It’s irresponsible and reckless for Washington to continue to ignore the impending collapse of our federal trust funds. Without action, Social Security recipients could see an automatic 25% reduction in benefits in 10 years. Both parties must be honest with Americans about this looming crisis and stop with the dishonest claims to score political points. In a statement shared with the Deseret News, Senator Romney called on his colleagues to put forth serious solutions aimed at saving these programs, like his bipartisan TRUST Act, for the millions of Americans who rely on them.
Full story by Suzanne Bates here.
With the growing threats the United States faces from adversaries, it is vital that our military has the resources, equipment, and capabilities it needs to keep our nation safe. Senator Romney secured several measures in the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which ensures America’s forces have the training, equipment, and resources they need to carry out their missions.
The Senate NDAA includes Romney’s measures to modernize our nuclear triad; help the U.S. fully understand the extent of China’s defense-industrial complex; bolster our domestic critical mineral capabilities to reduce our dependence on China and Russia; and promote military service amid an historic recruiting crisis.
It also includes measures to help bolster Utah’s role in our defense by ensuring Dugway Proving Ground continues to prepare our military for evolving chemical and biological threats and strengthening the Sentinel program—which has a major presence at Utah’s Hill Air Force Base.
Utahns are frustrated with their lack of access to passport services and are required to travel long distances out of state to obtain urgent, in-person consular services at a passport agency. Utah is quickly becoming a center for global commerce and tourism. In addition to serving as home to thousands of Latter-day Saints who annually embark on worldwide religious missions, the state is also experiencing rapid population growth.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to advance provisions secured by Senator Romney to improve passport services while considering 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.
We must ensure that our adversaries such as the Chinese Communist Party are not operating intelligence operations or engaging in repression on U.S. soil. 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.
Full story by Bryan Schott here.
Taiwan has long been a trusted partner of the United States. Senator Romney joined Senators Menendez (D-NJ), Risch (R-ID), and Van Hollen (D-MD) in applauding the Committee’s passage of their Taiwan Tax Agreement Act of 2023, bipartisan legislation authorizing the Administration to negotiate and conclude a tax agreement between the United States and Taiwan.
We learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that monitoring wastewater systems can provide dependable data which can be used to detect and track the spread of infectious disease. Senators Romney, Booker (D-NJ), and King (I-ME) 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, which was initially developed to coordinate and build the United States’ capacity to track the presence of COVID-19, and other infectious-disease causing pathogens in wastewater, by awarding grants to state, tribal, and local health departments.
Fish recovery programs help maintain an overall healthy river ecosystem that benefits both people and nature. Senators Romney and Hickenlooper (D-CO) introduced the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act, legislation to protect four threatened and endangered native fish species in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins.
The Olympics showcase the greatness of the human spirit, and Senator Romney has often said it was one of the greatest honors of his life to organize the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Romney joined Senators Padilla (D-CA) and Feinstein (D-CA) in reintroducing 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.
Even with advances in technology, staying healthy with an autoimmune disease can be immensely challenging. Senator Romney met with Utah’s JDRF Children’s Congress delegates to learn about their experience living with type 1 diabetes and how we can better work toward a cure.
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