 The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Send news tips or feedback to bschott@utahpolicy.com, or message us on Twitter. Situational awareness - September 26, 2019Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake CityThanks for reading Utah's must-read daily political news rundown. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our emails.Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:
Let's talk!We've started a discussion group on Facebook dedicated to Utah politics. Giveaway!
Wanna hear me sing? I'm playing Maury in "Disaster! The Musical!" at the Empress Theater in Magna. I have some tickets to give away to a few of our lucky readers. The show runs from October 4-19. Send me an email to be entered into a drawing to win. TICK TOCKDays to the 2019 Utah municipal elections: 40 (11/5/2019) Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 123 (1/27/2020) Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 159 (3/3/2020) Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 278 (6/23/2020) Days to the 2020 election: 404 (11/3/2020) Today At Utah Policy Most Utah voters oppose using financial pressure against gun manufacturersBy Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Utah voters don't look favorably on using the nation's banking system to reduce firearm sales via restrictions on gunmakers getting financing, a new UtahPolicy.com/Y2 Analytics poll shows.  Romney calls details of Trump call with Ukraine 'deeply troubling,' but won't say whether it's an impeachable offenseBy Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Sen. Mitt Romney spoke at the Atlantic Festival on Wednesday where he was asked about the memo detailing President Donald Trump's July 25 phone call with the president of Ukraine where trump repeatedly pressured the foreign leader to start corruption investigations into Joe Biden. Romney called the call readout "deeply troubling."  Guest opinion: Outdated, unneeded satellite legislation should expire as Congress intended to protect and give Utahns the local TV channels they wantBy Michelle Zabriskie STELAR (The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization), should be allowed to expire at the end of 2019 - the date that Congress intentionally chose for this temporary law to sunset. OTHER UTAH HEADLINESDeseret News
Salt Lake Tribune
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NATIONAL HEADLINESImpeachmentWednesday was a wild day of news. Get ready for more breaking news on Thursday. Siren! 218 House members now support an impeachment inquiry, which is a majority in that body [WaPo]. The White House released a readout of President Donald Trump's phone call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In the call, Trump repeatedly urged Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden as a "favor.". He also urged Ukraine to work with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr [NYT]. President Trump thought the release of the rundown of his phone call with the Ukranian president would exonerate him, but his advisors warned him against releasing the memo [WaPo]. The whistleblower complaint about President Donald Trump has been declassified and may be released to the public on Thursday morning [CNN]. The Whistleblower complaint is said to allege concerns not only about the phone call between President Trump and Ukraine but also how the White House handled records of the conversation. The document also is said to single out White House officials as witnesses to Trump's dealings with Ukraine [NYT]. The federal employee who filed the whistleblower report about President Trump has agreed to testify before Congress as long as they can get the appropriate clearances [CNN]. The Justice Department abandoned an inquiry into President Trump's communications with his Ukrainian counterpart less than a month after the probe began, raising more questions about whether Attorney General William Barr is acting as a shield for Trump [NBC News]. The acting director of national intelligence reportedly threatened to resign if he was not allowed to speak freely before Congress about the whistleblower complaint [WaPo]. How Speaker Nancy Pelosi reluctantly decided to open an impeachment inquiry into President Trump [Politico]. Since his election in 2016, President Trump has reportedly been obsessed with Ukraine, which he believes has a role in the origins of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into his campaign [NYT]. Washington grinds to a haltThe push for impeachment by Congressional Democrats is threatening to upend talks over trade and spending bills [WaPo]. Build the wallThe Senate voted again to block President Trump's national emergency declaration in order to shift funds toward the construction of a barrier on the southern border [CNBC]. 2020Elizabeth Warren passes Joe Biden in a new nationwide poll of Democratic voters [Politico]. No free lunchA Trump administration proposal to limit the number of people who qualify for food stamps could cause about a half-million students to lose access to free school meals [WaPo]. For your radarThe immigrant population in the U.S. grew at a snail's pace last year, showing the slowest increase since 2008 [NYT]. BUSINESS HEADLINES
Policy News McAdams supports passage of bipartisan bill giving legal banking services to medical cannabis businessesCongressman Ben McAdams supported the bipartisan passage of a bill which will help states such as Utah gain access to legal banking services for the state's medical cannabis businesses. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2019 (H.R. 1595) passed the House by a vote of 321-103.  Romney, Hassan, Young, Cortez Masto introduce bill to confront rise of ChinaU.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Todd Young (R-IN), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced the Indo-Pacific Cooperation Act of 2019, legislation that would require the U.S. to partner with allies in the Indo-Pacific region and Europe to develop a unified approach to address the rise of China. Romney previously introduced a similar measure as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. United Utah Party announces 2019 summit on tax reform In light of the legislature's discussion over whether to reform Utah taxes, the United Utah Party will be hosting a summit on tax reform on Saturday, September 28, at 10:30 am at the Day-Riverside Branch located at 1575 W. 1000 N., Salt Lake City, 84116.  Hatch Foundation to host 'Cybersecurity and Geopolitics' symposiumThe Hatch Center-the policy arm of the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation-announced it will be hosting a symposium on cybersecurity and geopolitics entitled "America's Cyber Resilience in the Digital Age" with keynote speaker John Sherman, Chief Information Officer of the Intelligence Community in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The event will be held on Tuesday, October 8 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.  A rural Utah report: Burns Saddlery"Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" is a well-worn phrase, but one that can be taken quite literally in Salina, Utah. More National Headlines
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY1580 - Sir Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth. 1777 - British troops occupied Philadelphia. 1789 - Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first Secretary of State. John Jay is appointed the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 1905 - Albert Einstein publishes his first paper on the special theory of relativity. 1960 - In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy. 1969 - Abbey Road, the last recorded album by The Beatles, is released. Wise WordsLooking for Leadership "Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."John F. Kennedy Lighter SideBinge Watch "Then, this afternoon, we found out that the whistle-blower was referring to a series of actions that goes beyond any single discussion with a foreign leader. Oh, a series? Great, now we can binge-watch the end of America."- STEPHEN COLBERT Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. |
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