Mike Kennedy · TranslatePolitics.com

House of Representatives

Saluting Little League Softball World Series

2026-09-02

“I don't like big government. I think it causes problems. I used to be a doctor in Utah. I saw how government made it harder to help my patients. I had a patient who needed a heart test. I asked the insurance company to pay for the test. They said no. Then my patient had a heart attack. The insurance company had to pay more to help my patient. I think the insurance company made a bad choice. I think government should be smaller. I think people should make their own choices. I think government should not spend so much money. I support the working families tax cuts. I think people should keep more of their money. I think Washington should step back. I think American families will step forward. I thank my colleague from Utah.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Moore for the opportunity to speak in this Special Order and also for the gentleman's advocacy for our outstanding State. I am proud to be with my friend and the congressional delegation from the great State of Utah. Today, Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on a principle that is as old as our Republic: Small government delivers big results. Before I came to this Chamber, I spent my career as a family physician in Utah. Throughout those years, I saw firsthand what happens when Washington inserts regulations and when the bureaucracy inserts themselves between people and their lives. As an example, I wanted to bring up an experience that I had as a doctor years ago with an individual with whom I spent a significant period of time in the room trying to understand the symptoms that this person described and trying to help them move forward in their health and well-being. In that circumstance, some of the symptoms that this person described worried me or had me concerned about a possible cardiac condition, some problem with their heart. I ordered a stress test, which is an expensive test. It is a test to look at the function of the heart to see if there are any blood flow issues or aspects of the heart that would threaten for a heart attack. I ordered that test, and, Mr. Speaker, I waited for days, ultimately 13 days, for the insurance determination as to whether they would pay for that test. On day 13, I received notification from this person's insurance that they would not pay for the heart test. Come to find out, the very next day this individual suffered from a heart attack. The insurance in this case thought it was beneficial to their bottom line to reject the judgment that I had as a professional to determine that this person needed a preventative heart evaluation to make sure that they wouldn't have a heart attack. Instead, they denied my efforts to diagnose this problem before it became a critical problem, saving themselves a few thousand dollars potentially on a heart test and subsequently threatening the life of this patient, as well as spending tens of thousands of dollars. Ultimately, the person went through the heart symptoms that they had. They went to the emergency department and were admitted to the hospital. They had a coronary artery bypass graft, the procedure that was done saving this person's life, but after serious debility associated with that--and also this person's life was threatened. Subsequently, the insurance company spent tens of thousands of dollars instead of a few thousand dollars on that person. Excessive government has built a great deal of bureaucracy between a doctor and that doctor's patients. There are rules. We have approvals. We have requirements and determinations that are made somewhere far away by someone who has never met the patient and never sat with them or their family. In many cases, these individuals have no medical training at all, yet that person or those systems can still override the judgment of the professionals or the people. Nearly every one of those barriers began with someone's good intention, someone who is trying to fix a real problem and believed that another rule, another program, or some other layer of government was going to be the answer to the problem. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, good intentions are where Big Government contributions end. That is because when those ideas are put into practice, Americans are too often left with a government that is slow, a government that is costlier, and a government that is more obstructive than is needed. For too long, Washington has operated under the flawed assumption that the size of the program measures its success and that the more money Federal agencies spend, the more the American people will benefit. Progress does not come from expanding bureaucratic power in this way. Progress comes from individuals, from their dreams, and from their aspirations and their inspiration. Nowhere is that principle more clearly demonstrated than in the tangible benefits that Americans are already seeing through the working families tax cuts. When we passed that landmark legislation, we made simple promises to the American people: They should keep more of what they earn, and we, Congress, would rein in Federal overreach, eliminate wasteful spending, and return resources to the people who worked to earn them. Today, those promises are producing real results in Utah and across the country. Mr. Speaker, the government cannot create lasting prosperity. The American people are who create lasting prosperity. When Washington steps back, American families will step forward. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Utah (Mr. Moore). I am grateful for the opportunity to address this issue.

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House of Representatives

Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025

2026-09-02

“I want to cheer for the bill. The people who made the bill worked hard. Minerals are important for many things. We need them. Our country needs them. But we get them from other countries. That is bad. We should get them from our own country. We have these minerals in our own country but it is hard to get them. The government makes it hard to get permits for mining. I have seen what it looks like when we can get these minerals from our own country. It creates jobs and money in my state. This bill will make it easier to get permits for mining. That is good. It will help people invest in mines. We need to build more mines in our own country.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Westerman, Representative Shreve, and colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee for their work on this important piece of legislation. Every modern economy, every advanced technology, and every military capability depends on these kinds of minerals. Copper, iron, lithium, rare earths, and other minerals are essential to our power grid, our manufacturing base, our defense systems, and the technologies that will define our future. Yet, we continue to rely heavily on foreign nations, including our geopolitical adversaries, for the minerals we need to manufacture these products. That is a national security vulnerability. The problem is not that America lacks these resources. We certainly have them. The problem is that it has become easier to permit a mine almost anywhere else on Earth than here at home, so the mine is developed somewhere else; jobs go somewhere else; and the supply chain we depend on ends up running through countries that do not wish us well. Endless permitting uncertainty does not protect anything. It simply hands our competitors the advantage over the industries that power our economy and national defense. I represent Utah, and I have seen what responsible mineral development looks like. Utah has a proud history of it. Today, mining supports in our State more than 43,000 jobs and contributes billions of dollars to our economy. The Protecting Domestic Mining Act takes an important step toward fixing that problem. It ensures that mining and mineral processing projects can benefit from a predictable and coordinated permitting process. Republicans are cutting through Washington's red tape to give American producers the certainty that they need. Without it, nothing gets built. No one invests billions in a mine that takes a decade to complete if the rules might be rewritten in 4 years. Mr. Speaker, this is about whether America can still build what it needs. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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House of Representatives

It Is Time for Congress to Act

2026-08-31

“I think a company did a bad thing. I want Congress to pass my bill. My bill will make companies do what I want. If they don't, people can sue them. I want the government to have more power over companies.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, last week Meta reached a $12.2 billion settlement and agreed to implement new safety guardrails in youth protections. We have all witnessed the harms caused by an unchecked social media algorithm: anxiety and depression, lost sleep, and even a lost childhood. An entire generation of young people are struggling under the weight of a technology engineered to capture their attention and hold it for as long as possible. I thank Utah Attorney General Derek Brown for helping to lead us in this fight. This is a landmark win, but its reach is limited. It is one company. It does not cover the next platform. It does not cover the next algorithm. Most importantly, it does not guarantee protection for the next child. Congress needs to act to implement lasting changes. Congress has a responsibility to set one clear standard that applies to every platform before the harm happens. That is what my Algorithm Accountability Act does. It strips section 230 immunity from platforms that violate a clear duty of care to their users, and it gives families, not just State attorneys general, the ability to hold these companies accountable in Federal court. It is time for Congress to act.

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House of Representatives

Mourning Loss of Long Family

2026-07-22

“A family died. That makes me sad. Some people agree with me.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I rise today alongside my fellow Utahns to mourn and celebrate the life and sudden passing of Captain Spencer Long of Provo Fire & Rescue; his wife, Katrina; and three sons, Reid, Thayne and Gage. They were lost on Friday, July 17, 2026, near Sunglow Campground in Wayne County, Utah, about 165 miles south of Salt Lake City. We are all struggling to deal with the passing of the Long family in such an unexpected and tragic manner. We are granted each day with no guarantee of the next. Thus, I have come to believe that the highest measure of a life is not found in how long it was lived but in the depth of love, service, and devotion given to others along the way. By this measurement, the Long family was extraordinarily successful. Captain Spencer Long spent his life answering the call when others were in peril. As a leader with Provo Fire & Rescue, his courage, calm demeanor, and steadfast brotherhood protected countless families across Utah. When disaster struck, Captain Long was always among the first to run toward the danger. Alongside him stood Katrina, a dedicated mother, a community leader, former Mona city councilmember, and an entrepreneur whose kindness and vibrant spirit enriched every life she touched. Together, Spencer and Katrina built a home grounded in warmth, service, and adventure. Reid, Thayne, and Gage inherited that same joy for life. To Lydia, their surviving daughter, please know that you do not carry this unimaginable loss alone. The fire department, your neighbors, and a grieving State surround you with our love, our prayers, and an enduring promise to stand by your side in the days and the years ahead. I am heartened to see the generosity of so many who donated to the fund for your needs going forward. This is just a small token of our long- term commitment to watch over you and provide for your care. I know these many donations are deeply appreciated. Though this wonderful family was taken from us far too soon, their legacy of selfless service, love, and devotion remains an example to us all. May we honor them by serving one another with the same dedication they showed every day, and may peace rest upon their memories.

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House of Representatives

Remembering Firefighters Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson, and Sydney Watson

2026-07-15

“A bad thing happened to some people. That makes me sad. We should spend money on my bill because I say it will fix the problem. I don't want to talk about trade-offs. I want to blame paperwork for why the government doesn't do this already. I want people to think my proposed law will fix everything.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, right now as we stand in this Chamber, devastating wildfires are tearing across our lands. I thank the brave crews who are working around the clock on the front lines. Their courage is keeping our communities standing. Our prayers are with them. We especially hold in our hearts the families of the brave firefighters who we recently lost along the Utah-Colorado border, including Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson, and Sydney Watson. These individuals made the ultimate sacrifice, and we owe them a debt of gratitude we can never truly repay. Possibly the most frustrating part is that, in many cases, we already have the solutions to deal with these wildfires. We know how to thin overgrown brush. We know how to clear hazardous fuels. We know how to restore health to our forest through proactive management. The obstacle isn't a lack of knowledge. It is bureaucracy. Decades of bloated regulation delay critical mitigation work for years, but a wildfire does not wait for a multiyear environmental review. The flames do not pause for paperwork. That is why we passed the Fix Our Forests Act. That is why I introduced the Utah Wildfire Research Institute Act. Our communities cannot afford another year of congressional inaction. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to cut the red tape, pass commonsense and often lifesaving legislation, and protect our lands.

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