Rep. Chris Stewart has some unfinished business as he steps down this month after nearly 11 years representing Utah’s 2nd Congressional District.
The Republican congressman started working on legislation earlier this year that would make it illegal for social media platforms to provide access to children 14 years old and younger. It’s an extension of his efforts to address a mental health crisis among adolescents, including sponsoring a 988 telephone number for the national suicide prevention hotline that went live last summer.
“The evidence of destructive outcomes for young people is just irrefutable,” he said in an interview as he begins to button up his political career.
The age verification proposal has bipartisan support and Stewart hopes to pass the baton to someone who could see it through. But it takes time, and his last day is Sept. 15.
Also on his to-do list is reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which he says government agencies misused to justify spying on the Donald Trump campaign and on hundreds of thousands of Americans.
Stewart, 63, is the longest-serving representative among Utah’s four current U.S. House members, most prominently as a member of the House Intelligence Committee. First elected in 2012, he announced in July that he was resigning to stay close to his wife, Evie, who had a stroke a year ago.
While he said she’s not incapacitated or paralyzed, she lost most of her vision. He said it was difficult to leave Congress in the middle of a term, but it is the right decision.
In addition to addressing mental health issues, he championed national defense and religious rights during his tenure. His Fairness for All bill attempting to balance religious liberty and gay rights didn’t pass, but many of its provisions were folded into other bills. He voted for the Respect For Marriage Act, which codified the right to same-sex marriage in federal law and also significantly protected religion.