Take 2

Host: Heidi Hatch

Guest: Daniel Woodruff

KUTV political reporter, Daniel Woodruff takes us behind the scenes of Utah’s 45 day legislative session. 

What you didn't see on TV, the stories behind the bills and how reporters make sure that you hear about the new laws affecting you and your family.

Next week join Heidi Hatch with Greg Hughes and Maura Carabello as they talk about the bills passed in the final hours of the 2023 session.

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Host: Heidi Hatch

Guests: Greg Hughes & Maura Carabello

LEGISLATIVE SESSION, IT’S LAST WEEK AND BREAKING RECORDS: 1,377 bill requests, and 894 bills drafted.

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Host: Heidi Hatch

Guests: Greg Hughes & Maura Carabello

UTAH’S INFLUENCE ON NATIONAL POLITICAL NEWS

HALFWAY MARK OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION

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National Media spotlight on Gov. Cox

Sen. Mike Lee yanked from powerful Commerce Committee

Mike Lee on Lt. Alkonis Jailed in Japan

Sex offenders and private parks

Governor Cox pushes free UTA fares 2.0

Cell phone ban in schools fails

SB 152 Social Media Companies required to check age of users: Parents would have to give up personal Government ID info

Utah Corrections officer hospitalized after assault at new prison: Are there security lapses taxpayers should be concerned about?

HOV Lane bill

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Sen. Mike Lee discussed some of the biggest issues in our Nation’s Capital with Heidi Hatch on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

They discussed Classified documents now found in former President Trump’s home, President Biden, and former Vice President Mike Pence. They addressed the debt ceiling, how to roll back spending, negotiations on the release of Lt. Ridge Alkonis and the Senator’s top priorities.

DEBT CEILING

“We've got to raise the death ceiling because it's coming, it's coming at us.”

Senator Mike Lee told 2 News Heidi Hatch “The question is not about whether to raise it. It is about what conditions to attach to it.”

President Biden is hosting Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the White House Wednesday for a one on meeting. The White reiterated that there will be no negotiations on the debt ceiling.

Lee said that cannot happen. “This doesn't reflect modern realities.” The reality he says is an approaching thirty-two trillion in debt and baseline federal spending that went from “$4 trillion, a year as recently as 2019, to an average of about $6 trillion a year right now, these things aren't sustainable.”

Lee sees the goal as getting back to spending at or below 2019 levels.

When asked what conditions would be reasonable?

Lee said, Senate Republicans have adopted a position, as a conference that anytime they are asked to raise the debt ceiling- “the debt ceiling increase ought to be accompanied by spending cuts, equal to or greater than the value of the debt limit increase or alternatively structural spending reforms.”

The Senator noted- The House of Representatives is going to be in the principal driver's seat here. He plans on meeting with his counterparts in the house representatives to find common ground.

Senator Lee can is often a reliable no vote on massive spending bills- but if there is to be change- he will need more Senators to do the same.

Lee told 2News Heidi Hatch, he is never “the only no vote on these things,” and “there are a growing number of senators and representatives who, who are seeing the devastating consequences of this.”

Are Republicans part of the burgeoning debt problem?

Lee quickly answered yes. “There's no question that the accumulated debt is a problem of bipartisan creation. If you look back 20 years ago or a national debt was under $5 trillion. It then doubled over the next seven or eight years under a Republican president and under a Democratic president.” It doubled again over the next eight years between a Republican and a Democratic president.

“So, yeah, we've contributed to it.”

CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS TRUMP, BIDEN, PENCE

Some of the classified documents found – date back to President Biden's time as a Senator. When asked if there is concern there are other Senators with classified documents at home:

“As to senators, it is highly, highly unusual that in a US Senator would have classified documents in his or her personal possession ever. I mean with very, very rare, very unusual exceptions. When we as senators review classified material, which we do all the time, we do it only in the confines of a secured facility known as a SCIF, that documents do not leave, that we don't walk out with them. It would be a felony if we did so.”

“As to the broader issue of documents in the possession of President Trump, president Biden, vice President Pence, former Vice President Biden, we're trying to get answers on this.” Lee said that Senators have asked for classified briefings so they can understand what these documents are in “order to understand the full ramifications.” Lee said it is imperative that they know what kind of documents they are dealing with and how they came into possession of them.

LT RIDGE ALKONIS

Sen. Mike Lee has been working to free Lt. Ridge Alkonis from a Japanese prison where a judge sentenced him to a 3-year term, after an accident where he hit and killed two people. Military doctors believe the Lt. suffered from altitude sickness, passing out while driving.

Lee said that in just the last few days he has had follow up conversations with the US Ambassador to Japan, Ambassador Ram Emanuel. “Emmanuel and I have been working on this together closely for many, many months.”

Emmanuel helped the Senator visit Alkonis in prison as he worked to negotiate his release.

“There have been ongoing conversations, including conversations between President Biden and, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his recent visit to the United States.

Lee said there are ongoing efforts to secure his return to the United States, as part of a prisoner transfer agreement. “I remain hopeful and optimistic that we're going to get there and we're going to get there within the next month or two.”

CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITES

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Sen. Mitt Romney discussed some of the biggest issues in our Nation’s Capital with Heidi Hatch on Wednesday, Jan. 25. 

They discussed classified documents now found in former President Trump’s home, President Biden, and former Vice President Mike Pence. They addressed the debt ceiling, how to roll back spending and the Senator’s top priorities.

DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS

“Well, there is an expression that has been used around Washington for a long time, and that is never take a hostage, you are not prepared to shoot. And the reality is we should not take the debt ceiling as a hostage because we are certainly not willing to shoot it," Romney said.

Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican Utah Senator, said the debt ceiling must be raised but said it should not be done without conditions.

“It would be unacceptable for us to say, we are going to stop all payments, not just interest on the debt, but social security payments, Medicare, Medicaid payments, veterans’ benefits, we are going to stop all of that. That is simply unacceptable. Nevertheless, raising the debt ceiling has, in the past, been used as an opportunity for us to find ways to reduce spending, and that is something we badly need to do.”

President Joe Biden has said he will not negotiate, but Romney believes House Republicans have an opportunity to negotiate and find ways to cut spending.

“The White House needs to negotiate to say, okay, we need to work together to restrain spending and see if we can't get closer to a balanced budget.”

Romney wants to get back to the old way of doing business where there is a process to approving spending that does not come at the last minute when there is no time to negotiate.

He said, “It's been more than 10 years since we've actually had a normal appropriations process that allows us to have those kinds of votes.”

“As we look at the coming year budget, we need to have a process which allows us to look at each aspect of federal spending, one by one, have amendment votes for either reducing or expanding spending at a particular area.”

I asked Senator Romney if he has any specific ideas on how to reign in spending.

He pointed to the Trust Act- Bipartisan, bicameral legislation he hopes will rescue endangered federal trust funds that could run out some time in the next 11 years.

TRUST ACT

Senator Romney said most people focus on the budget passed each year. The most recent passed in December. The $1.7 trillion dollar omnibus.

The Trust Act would focus on the other two thirds of the budget that does not get a vote.

“That's the non-discretionary, the mandatory, the entitlement. And that is an area where the deficit has been large and has been adding to our debt.”

His Trust Act “is designed to create rescue committees to save Social security, Medicare and Medicaid, and the Highway Trust Fund from becoming bankrupt, which they're scheduled to do over the next few years.”

CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS TRUMP, BIDEN, PENCE

Some of the classified Documents connected to President Biden are connected to his time as a Senator. When asked if there could be other Senators with Classified documents in their homes- Romney said, “it is very unlikely that you will find any senators current or past that have classified documents in their possession. Uh, in part because we do not have access to them. It is the executive branch where this problem is.”

He went on to say that he does not believe the documents found so far were kept in for sinister reasons.

“I do not think any one of the people that you're talking about … took them with ill intent or with a design to hurt national security. But I do believe that sloppiness looks bad.” That sloppiness he added, “whether it is on the current president, past president, or past vice president. It is just wrong. And it puts our nation, uh, in an embarrassing light.”

PRIORITIES

#1 Save Social security, Medicare, Medicaid, save our military, and get to a balanced budget.

#2 Immigration “It really affects our state in a major way.”

#3 Military “With Hill Air Force Base, with the Dugway Proving Grounds, it's important for us to have, the support needed to keep our military the strongest in the world such that no one would think of threatening us.”

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Host: Heidi Hatch

Guests: Maura Carabello & Greg Hughes

Recap of the week that was on Utah’s Capitol Hill

Social Media and Kids:

CONGRESS: This week Congressman Chris Stewart presented a bill that would make social media use illegal for kids under the age of 16.

UTAH: Governor Cox announces plan to sue social media companies claiming they harm children.

The future of Utah’s GOP: New poll O.H. Predictive Insights

Next week Election laws on the docket

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Host: Heidi Hatch

Guests: Greg Hughes & Maura Carabello

Utah’s snow gauge at 200%

Governor’s State of the State focus on children

First week of the Utah Legislature and they are moving fast

Next week – week 2 of the Utah Legislative session, proposed social media ban for kids under the age of 16 and a look at the debt ceiling.

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Host: Heidi Hatch

Guest: Maura Carabello

State Snowpack at 191 % - flooding in Draper after valley rains

Salt Lake County creating emergency bus service for Cottonwood Canyons – emergency band aid permanent fix still needed

US House has a new speaker: Blake Moore elected to serve on House Ways and Means but he’s also no longer on the armed services committee.

Biden offices have now reportedly found 3 batches of Classified documents- Garland opened and investigation

Gov. Spencer Cox said he wants to see Utah’s sales tax on food eliminated

Domestic violence Friday funerals for family of 8 killed in Murder suicide, Cox wants the legislature to put 50 million aside for domestic violence resources

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Host: Heidi Hatch

Guests: Maura Carabello & Greg Hughes

NEW YEAR NEW PROBLEMS TO SOLVE

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