A note from Senator Romney.

June 4 - June 12, 2020

This past weekend, I joined a large group of faith leaders marching in our nation’s capital to affirm the principle that black lives matter and to join together against racial injustice. As a teenager in the 1960s, I watched my father, George, participate in civil rights marches in the Detroit suburbs. Both of my parents were strong advocates for civil rights and they instilled in us the very notion that we are all sons and daughters of the same God.

Similarly, a fundamental principle of this country is that we are all entitled to equal rights under the law. We must categorically and consistently reject racism and discrimination and we must refuse to allow our estimation of others to be based upon their ethnicity rather than upon their qualities as individuals.

This week, the Senate started discussions on potential reforms to help end systemic racism, including reforms dealing with policing practices. I oppose efforts to defund or eliminate police departments, and believe we should focus on ways to boost training and oversight, and strengthen partnerships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. It’s important that we also recognize and support Utah’s men and women in uniform, who put their lives on the line each and every day to protect our communities.

I remain committed to continuing to listen and to learn from Utahns about how we can work together toward those goals and to ensure the full promise of America for all its people.

All the best,

For many years, there has been a great deal of conflict about who has the right to water that flows through Utah and the Navajo Nation. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the Navajo Nation in our state, and the shortage of running water in nearly half of homes is contributing to the spread. Senator Romney's legislation, the Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Act of 2019, passed unanimously in the Senate and now awaits consideration in the House, where Congressmen Bishop and Curtis are leading the effort. With this legislation, we will be able to provide access to water and wastewater facilities for the Navajo Nation and also provide the long-needed water infrastructure for its citizens.

Full story by Zak Podmore here.

Last week, the Senate unanimously passed legislation to improve the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan program. This legislation included Senator Romney's measure to extend the window for small businesses to use their loan and allows greater flexibility for businesses to use these funds to cover other necessary costs beyond payroll. This extension will be crucial for many of our small businesses who still remain closed or far from full capacity as we fight COVID-19.

During a Senate Small Business Committee hearing, Senator Romney asked Treasury Secretary Mnuchin for guidance on the PPP loan forgiveness policy. They also discussed the potential need for a future COVID-19 relief package.

Following the hearing, Senator Romney continued efforts to improve PPP. He teamed up with Senator Coons (D-DE) in requesting additional data from Treasury regarding PPP's economic impacts to better inform potential future relief measures. Senator Romney also joined more than 40 of his colleagues in urging Secretary Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Carranza to ease paperwork requirements for small businesses seeking loan forgiveness under the PPP.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, governors had to fend for themselves in terms of procuring PPE and testing equipment—oftentimes competing against one another and over-requesting supplies for insurance. During a Homeland Security Committee hearing, Senator Romney asked administration officials about strategic planning for future pandemics, urging better coordination between the federal government and states for the distribution of critical supplies.

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