Situational Analysis | September 30, 2021

Today is Thursday and the last day of the federal fiscal year. It's also National Love People Day - always a good reminder, especially where politics are concerned.

Be in the Know

1.  A government shutdown has been averted (were you surprised? I wasn't). A deal was reached late last night and voting will happen today to keep the government open. It will be passed as a stand-alone resolution, leaving three other major issues in limbo.

2. The other three issues are these: the debt limit (Republicans are not helping the Dems this time), infrastructure (the bipartisan Senate bill is definitely at risk here), and social policy reconciliation, the "Build Back Better" plan. In the end, I predict lots of money will be spent, but compromises will be made, leaving no one very happy.

3. Maverick Pac announced their "Future 40," an award that recognizes conservative young professionals across the country. Utahn Marlon Bateman is one of those that will be honored in Washington DC this weekend. He is the Director of Government Affairs at Malouf Companies. Prior to joining Malouf, Marlon served as the Chief of Staff to the U.S. State Department’s Office of Policy and Planning, the principal strategic arm of the State Department. He is also a Marine Corps veteran. 

FROM OUR SPONSOR

The Hinckley Report with Jason Perry

In partnership with the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, PBS Utah produces and airs "The Hinckley Report," providing insight and analysis into Utah politics, covering the most pressing political issues facing our state. Hosted by Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, each week’s guests include Utah’s top journalists, lawmakers and policy experts. "The Hinckley Report" airs on PBS Utah Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and is also available to stream or as a podcast.

Utah Headlines

General

• Larry H. Miller group sells its foundational car dealerships to Georgia company for $3.2 billion (Salt Lake Tribune)
• The house Larry H. Miller built: After selling the Jazz and now their car dealerships, what’s next for Utah’s first family of business? (Deseret News)
• Will Bagley, Utah historian who chronicled Mountain Meadows Massacre, dies at 71 (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Amazon wish list created for Afghan refugees arriving in Utah in October (Fox13)
• Utah’s Aaron Lowe honored with a candlelight vigil, with attendees encouraged to be ‘22% better’ (Deseret News)

Politics

• Can Western states and the federal government get along? Spencer Cox hopes so (Deseret News)
• Public weighs in on the future of Bridal Veil Falls (Fox13)
• David Ibarra: "We’ve lost our capital city, and it is up to leadership to get it back." Salt Lake City needs new leadership in its police department. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Sen. Mike Lee’s latest attempt to counter Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate? ‘Don’t Jab Me Act’ (Deseret News)
• How millennials and Gen Z are remaking the GOP (Deseret News)
• Ogden council member Choberka focusing on ‘wicked problem’ of housing (Standard-Examiner)

COVID Corner

• 1786 new cases, 15 new deaths
• Your daily life will change this winter because of COVID-19 and the flu, expert says (Deseret News)
• LeBron James says he got the COVID-19 vaccine for his family (Deseret News)
• Preliminary research finds even mild cases of COVID leave a mark on the brain. Will it affect aging? (St. George News)
• Urgent CDC advisory calls on pregnant women to get COVID-19 vaccine (ABC4)
• The CDC gives a major update on Halloween and COVID-19 (Deseret News)
• Health workers once saluted as heroes now get threats (AP)
• Woman who survived Spanish flu, world war succumbs to COVID (AP)

Health

• Chris Stewart: Here's how I'm trying to help prevent suicide (Deseret News)
• Behind the Badge: Unified Police’s Mark Utley specializes in aiding with mental health (ABC4)
• Data from SafeUT app found the pandemic created more need - and awareness - for mental health support (KUER)
• Suicides up 15 percent among US troops in 2020 (The Hill)

Local Communities

• Eagle Mountain honored for city-wide events, recreation (Daily Herald)
• Road closures, detours going into effect for St. George Marathon (St. George News)

National Headlines

General

• YouTube bans false vaccine claims in aim to fight widespread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Judge suspends Britney Spears’ father from conservatorship (AP)
• U.S. officials think massive surge at southern border possible if Covid restriction is lifted Thursday (NBC News)
• Staying could mean death. The escape nearly killed her. How one woman fled Afghanistan for freedom. (USA Today)
• Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts (The Hill)

Politics

• Biden can’t budge fellow Dems with big overhaul at stake (AP)
• Schumer announces Senate will vote Thursday on stopgap bill to avert shutdown (CNN)
• AP-NORC poll finds deep divide over Biden vaccine mandate (AP)
• Waiting for ‘Manchema’: House liberals grow exasperated with two Democratic senators as Biden agenda struggles (Washington Post)
• Harris's poll numbers rise as Biden's fall (The Hill)

International

• 96-year-old Nazi war crimes suspect goes on the run ahead of her trial (CNN)
• Afghans bury paintings and hide books out of fear of Taliban crackdown on arts and culture (Washington Post)

Policy News

SL Chamber announces keynotes for 2021 Women & Business Conference

Four-time Olympian Catherine Raney Norman and National Speakers Association CPAE Hall of Fame Speaker Christine Cashen will keynote the 2021 Women & Business Conference and ATHENA Awards Luncheon, the Salt Lake Chamber announced today.

“Overcoming adversity has become an important subject for all of us during the past year,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “Catherine and Christine are no strangers to surmounting challenges and growing stronger in the process. At the 2021 Women & Business Conference and ATHENA Awards Luncheon, they will share their first-hand experiences overcoming obstacles and becoming the best versions of ourselves, from shifting perspective to utilizing an athlete mentality in everyday life.” (Read More)

Sen. Romney, colleagues call out harmful marriage penalties in Democrats’ reconciliation bill

In response to the harmful tax penalties for married couples included in the Democrats’ “Human Infrastructure” bill, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today led his colleagues in a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) to remove any proposals that would discourage marriage.

“Federal policy should be designed to foster strong marriages, which are the foundation of strong families and strong communities,” the senators wrote. â€œUnfortunately, despite its original rollout as part of the ‘American Families Plan,’ the current draft of the reconciliation bill takes an existing marriage penalty in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and makes it significantly worse.”

“We believe that marriage is a vital social good. It is misguided and unfair for the government to build bigger barriers for couples to marry,” the senators continued. (Read More)

Rep. Owens introduces Women’s Choice in Service Act

In response to a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY22 that requires women between the ages of 18 and 26 to register for the selective service, Reps. Burgess Owens (UT-04), Claudia Tenney (NY-22), Michelle Steel (CA-48), Michelle Fischbach (MN-07), and Chris Stewart (UT-02) introduced the Women’s Choice in Service Act. The bill amends the Military Selective Service Act and allows women to opt-in to the draft. (Read More)

Rep. Owens’ statement on safe school reopenings

Republican Leader of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Burgess Owens (UT-04) delivered the following statement, as prepared for delivery, at a subcommittee hearing on safe school reopenings:

“The American Rescue Plan did not deliver on its promise to help schools safely reopen in the fall. If it had, we would not be sitting in this hearing today. Untargeted funding was never the answer to safe school reopenings, and Democrats sabotaged those efforts even further by voting not to require in-person learning as a condition of COVID-19 relief funding.

“Our top priority must be protecting children’s access to the classroom for full-time, in-person learning. To accomplish that goal, we must lean on scientific facts and not political fictions. (Read More)

Number of the Day

Mayor Troy Walker gets to The Point

By Holly Richardson

Mayor Walker talks with Utah Policy about The Point and its impact on the community he serves and on the state at large. He has been involved with discussions about prison relocation and development of that area for the past 14 years. He shares his vision for what he hopes to see come with the build-out of The Point, including the River to Range feature that will link the Jordan River Parkway trail and the Porter Rockwell Trail.

The Framework Plan for The Point was released in August 2021.

Upcoming

• 2021 ULCT Annual Convention with Capt. Scott Kelly – Sept 29-Oct 1. Register here
• One Utah Summit held at SUU – Oct 4-6. Register here
• Women in the money: Utah Financial Empowerment Conference with Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks – Oct 8, 8:30 am - 4 pm. Register here
• Growth, Grit and Grace - SLC Chamber's Women & Business Conference and ATHENA awards – Nov 19, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Register here

On This Day In History

From History.com

• 1861 - William Wrigley, Jr. is born. In 1891, the traveling salesman launched the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company to sell his own brand of gum. Coincidentally, today is National Chewing Gum Day.
• 1875 - Anne Martin is born. She was a western suffrage leader who helped win equal suffrage in Nevada. She also became the first woman to run for the US Senate in 1918.
• 1918 - President Woodrow Wilson speaks in favor of female suffrage.
• 1928 - Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and best-selling author is born.
• 1935 - The Boulder Dam (later the Hoover Dam), astride the border of U.S. states Arizona and Nevada, is dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
• 1949 - After 15 months and more than 250,000 flights, the Berlin Airlift officially comes to an end.
• 1954 - The world’s first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, is commissioned by the US Navy.
• 1958 - Fred Morrison is granted patent No. 183,626 for a flying toy that would go by various names, including Pluto Platter and Flyin Saucer. Wham-O company began selling the disc in 1956. They eventually settled on the name Frisbee.
• 1962 - Riots over the desegregation of Ole Miss. Two men were killed before the racial violence was quelled by more than 3,000 federal soldiers. The next day, James Meredith successfully enrolled and began to attend classes.
• 1993 - US General Colin Powell retires at age 56

Wise Words

“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

-Elie Wiesel

Lighter Side

Speaking of the potential of a government shutdown:

“It would be what one economist called ‘financial Armageddon.’ That’s bad news and even worse timing, because America’s already scheduled a plague Armageddon, a climate Armageddon and a democracy Armageddon.” 

— STEPHEN COLBERT

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