News Releases Romney announces support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today announced that he will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: âAfter reviewing Judge Jacksonâs record and testimony, I have concluded that she is a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor. While I do not expect to agree with every decision she may make on the Court, I believe that she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity. I congratulate Judge Jackson on her expected confirmation and look forward to her continued service to our nation.â Romney announces deal on COVID funding U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today announced an agreement on a deal to provide $10 billion in funding for urgent COVID needs and therapeutics by repurposing unspent COVID funds primarily from the Democratsâ American Rescue Plan. Text of the bill can be found here, the CBO score of the bill can be found here, and a one-pager can be found here. âFrom the beginning, Senate Republicans have insisted that any new requests from the Administration for COVID funding be paid for by repurposing existing funds from the nearly $6 trillion in COVID legislation that the Senate has already passed,â Senator Romney said. âTodayâs agreement does just that. (Read More) Sen. Mike McKellâs statement regarding the detainment of a Ukrainian refugee For five days, the Ukrainian wife of a Utah constituent has been detained at the U.S. border without access to her family or lawyer. After fleeing war-torn Ukraine, Anna Harrison and her 10-year-old daughter, who is a U.S. citizen, tried to reenter the U.S. Harrisonâs daughter was allowed entry but Anna continues to remain in custody. Sen. Mike McKell released the following statement regarding Harrisonâs detainment at the U.S. border. âI am extremely upset that my constituentâs wife, who has fled Kharkiv, Ukraine, and is seeking humanitarian parole in the U.S., is being detained and unable to see or speak to her family. Anna Harrison is the wife of an Air Force veteran and has a 10-year-old daughter who is a U.S. citizen. âSince Thursday, Anna has been detained at the U.S. border. Officials have taken her cell phone and only allowed her to retain one change of clothes. She has been unable to speak with her family and her attorney is being denied access. âThis mistreatment is unacceptable. The administration has declared that the U.S. will take 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. The experience Anna is going through makes me wonder how many other Ukrainians are in custody and being treated similarly. Refugees from Ukraine deserve our help and respect. Letâs start by releasing Anna, the wife of an Air Force veteran and mother of a U.S. citizen, and show her and other refugees that the U.S. is behind Ukraine and will help any way we can.â USBE: Utah students rank fifth in nation for success on AP exams Utahâs class of 2021 took 39,500 AP exams during their secondary school years and earned college credit with a score of 3, 4 or 5 67.7 percent of the time, tying Utah with Pennsylvania for fifth highest passing rate in the nation, according to data released by College Board. Only South Dakota (68.7 percent), New Hampshire (68.6 percent), New Jersey (68.3), and Connecticut (68.1 percent) did better, the College Board noted. (Read More) Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute: Utahâs consumer sentiment falls sharply in March Utahâs consumer sentiment declined 10.8 points in March, decreasing to 68.0, according to the Kem C. Gardner Instituteâs Survey of Utah consumers. This is the largest monthly drop since the index began in October 2020. Outlooks fell among all groups, suggesting that every Utahn feels the cost of living pinch due to rising fuel prices and inflation as well as concerns around geopolitical instability. âUtahns are feeling the effects of increased food and gas prices, with the Russia-Ukraine conflict only exacerbating matters,â said Joshua Spolsdoff, senior research economist at the Gardner Institute. âWhile we await future interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, for now, economic indicatorsâsuch as unemployment, retail sales, and corporate earningsâremain strong throughout Utah and the nation.â (Read More) Owens co-sponsors the Open Access Evapotranspiration Act Today, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) co-sponsored legislation to get critical water use data in the hands of farmers, ranchers, and decision-makers for improved water management in Utah and across the Western U.S. The Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Act would establish a program to use publicly available data from satellites and weather stations to provide estimates of evapotranspiration (ET), a critical measure of actual water use. âLast year, 100% of Utah faced extreme drought, higher costs, and fewer crop yields,â said Rep. Owens. âThe Open Access Evapotranspiration Act will transform water management in Utah and across the west by improving how we track water consumption, evaporation, and transpiration, ultimately helping our farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers maximize supply and increase output.â The full text of the bill is available here. | 