Source: United States Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today filed 11 amendments to the Senate budget resolution for fiscal year 2021 aimed at addressing the range of challenges Utah and the nation face, including providing greater financial security for American families, ensuring clean water for Utah’s Navajo Nation, supporting energy leasing on federal lands, and bolstering U.S. national security.
“These amendments are aimed at helping Utah and our country confront the wide array of challenges we face,”Senator Romney said. “These measures prioritize ensuring greater financial security for families, protecting our children from the harmful and lasting effects of tobacco, and put our country on a responsible fiscal path for future generations.”
“Importantly for Utah, these amendments seek to support energy leases on federal lands, ensure that Utah’s Navajo Nation will receive the funding it needs to build water infrastructure, and promote Utah’s role in carrying out our country’s national security strategy,” Romney continued. “They also reaffirm our commitment to strengthening our alliances and partnerships, modernizing our military equipment and missile defense, and advancing research in technology.”
Summary of Romney’s amendments:
- Providing financial security for America’s families. An amendment based on Romney’s recently introduced Family Security Act, which would create a fully-paid-for cash benefit for America’s families with children.
- Ensuring solvency of federal trust funds. An amendment based on Romney’s TRUST Act, which would create congressional committees to improve the solvency of major Federal trust funds.
- Funding to secure clean water for Utah Navajos. An amendment calling on Congress to fully fund public health and critical water supply projects authorized by Romney’s Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Act, which was passed by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
- Supporting energy leasing on federal lands. An amendment to oppose legislation that would prohibit, limit, or otherwise substantially delay the issuance of new oil and gas leases or drill permits, new coal leases or permits, new hard rock leases or permits, or new uranium leases or permits, on Federal land. Romney cosponsored the POWER Act to ensure that long-term decisions or pauses to energy leases be considered and approved by Congress, and he recently joined the Utah congressional delegation and state officials in urging the president to reconsider the suspension of energy leases on federal lands.
- Protecting youth from harmful effects of e-cigarettes. An amendment based on Romney’s Ending New Nicotine Dependencies (ENND) Act, which would create a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the application of the tobacco excise tax to electronic nicotine delivery systems.
- Safeguarding America’s medical supply chain. An amendment based on the Commission on America’s Medical Security Act, legislation Romney cosponsored which would support and strengthen medical supply chains, including by improving manufacturing and sourcing capacity and capabilities domestically and with allied and partner nations.
- Promoting marriages and families. An amendment to oppose legislation that would create a new or larger Federal marriage penalty for families.
- Investing in climate technology innovation. An amendment to improve and develop domestic clean energy technologies to address global climate change through partnerships with the private sector, academic institutions, or nonprofit organizations. Romney is a member of the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus which aims to create productive dialogue in working toward potential solutions to address climate change.
- Imposing maximum pressure against Iran. An amendment to ensure maximum pressure sanctions against Iran remain in place until there has been a full evaluation of the strategic impact of such sanctions, including on the economy, domestic politics, and internal security of Iran.
- Countering China by linking arms with European allies. An amendment to increase cooperation with European allies and develop a mutual strategy to address the People’s Republic of China.
- Prioritizing Utah’s role in national security. An amendment to ensure continued, expedient intercontinental ballistic missile modernization through the ground-based strategic deterrent system.