Since its birth, our nation has faced many challenges and yet every American generation has risen to overcome them. Today, however, our broken politics prevent us from meeting the major challenges of our time, which weaken our nation and harm our quality of life in Utah. Health care costs, inflation, and political extremism are rising, our air and water are at risk, and various threats to public safety and national security persist. The bitter partisanship, radicalism, and disregard for truth plaguing our public discourse only benefit self-serving politicians and will never solve our problems. 

Over the past five years, it’s become increasingly clear that the future of our nation urgently requires a new politics, one that holds to principle but still finds common ground to solve problems. This has been our approach in Utah since the first pioneers arrived nearly 200 years ago. We call it “The Utah Way.” As a result, we’ve found productive ways forward on everything from immigration to healthy economic growth to anti-discrimination and religious freedom to fiscal responsibility and other important issues.

We must now bring this kind of leadership to Washington and the rest of the nation. If we do, we can ensure a prosperous future for Utah and America. I’m committed to doing just that and, to that end, I intend to make the following five priorities my focus in the U.S. Senate.

1 – Strengthen our democracy and stand up to extremists

Our democratic republic is at risk. Division, extremism and conspiracy promoted by dishonorable politicians now dominate our politics and create dysfunction, chaos and instability in our country. During my CIA service abroad, I saw countries succumb to extremist movements that robbed people of their basic freedoms and placed power in the hands of authoritarian regimes. In order to preserve our system of self-government, which is necessary to ensure liberty and justice for every American, we must reform and strengthen our democracy by: 

• Ensuring voting rights for all eligible Americans
• Ending partisan gerrymandering and other electoral corruption
• Toughening transparency and ethics laws
• Reducing the influence of money in politics
• Uniting Americans on common ground

2 – Lower health care costs

We have a moral obligation to ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable health care. Yet Americans pay more for health care than anyone else in the world. Too many politicians in Washington focus only on how to pay for continually rising costs of quality care rather than working to lower them. They protect the special interests who benefit at the expense of hard-working families paying thousands of dollars in premiums, deductibles, copays and other costs every month. It’s time to finally start improving care while lowering its financial burden by making sensible reforms including:

• Negotiating lower drug prices
• Promoting competition in the prescription drug market
• Improving patient choice in insurance and care providers
• Requiring hospital price and quality transparency
• Cutting administrative waste
• Expanding telemedicine

3 – Reduce reckless government spending and inflation

Our national debt has tripled since 2010 and is now approaching $30 trillion. Both major parties have engaged in reckless borrowing and spending that now contribute to high inflation and constrained federal budgets. Hard-working Americans are being overwhelmed by soaring prices for food, rent clothes and other goods. Like many Utahns, I’m concerned about the onerous tax burden that our debt will place on our children and the obstacle it is to our growth now. In addition to lowering the underlying costs of quality health care, we must also take other steps to stabilize our economy and put our national finances on a sustainable path, including:

• Finding consensus solutions to overcome the pandemic
• Supporting Americans’ return to work
• Encouraging the return of critical manufacturing to America
• Passing balanced budget legislation
• Avoiding unnecessary wars

4 – Protect our air and water

Utah is one of the most stunning places on earth. We are fortunate to call it home and tens of millions of others visit from around the world every year. Our responsibility for stewardship of this uniquely beautiful place is great, yet Utah is currently experiencing a historic drought and worsening air quality that threatens our health, prosperity and quality of life. For our children to flourish as we have for years to come, we must take sensible steps to protect these most vital natural resources by:

• Improving western forest management
• Developing water conservation practices and infrastructure
• Investing in innovations that decrease harmful emissions
• Encouraging job-friendly conservation in industry
• Strengthening diversified economic development in rural areas

5 – Keep America safe

Utah was founded by Americans and immigrants, who fled to its mountains in search of freedom, opportunity and safety, and it is still a sanctuary for a rapidly growing population in an increasingly unstable world. We must ensure that it remains so – despite rising threats within and beyond our borders – and that the rest of America continues to be safe for all who call it home. As a former intelligence officer and national security advisor in Congress, I know we can achieve this by:

• Modernizing and reforming our military
• Strengthening our alliances with other free nations
• Protecting funding for police training, accountability and safety
• Countering violent extremism
• Securing our borders and treating immigrants humanely
• Improving digital safety for our children