Rep. Jim Hansen urges spending restraint and asks Utah to back Central Utah Project in House address

The House briefly resolved into Committee of the Whole to hear Congressman Jim Hansen, who reviewed national fiscal pressures and urged state lawmakers to back federal funding for the Central Utah Project (CUP).

Hansen told members he served on the House Armed Services, Interior and Intelligence committees and described global instability and multiple hotspots as background for difficult federal choices. He praised the president's State of the Union delivery but said the president’s proposals require congressional action to become law: "I think the president gave an exceptionally fine speech and a great delivery," Hansen said, "but everything that he said is predicated on whether he could get it through Congress."

On budget strategy, Hansen argued that cutting spending should be the priority and floated the idea of freezing entitlements as a way to reduce deficit growth. He said, if entitlements were frozen, the budget could be balanced faster, allowing the country to manage defense and other needs without immediate tax increases. Hansen also urged the House to support the governor's CUP initiative in Washington, listed the project's long history and billons invested, and said state concurrence would help Utah make the case to federal appropriators.

Members asked Hansen questions on the likelihood of Congress enacting the president's package, on foreign aid levels, and about how the CUP would be handled before appropriators. Hansen responded that some foreign aid had been substantially reduced and that the broader federal budget tradeoffs remained difficult; he urged the state to show readiness to share costs with the federal government to secure CUP funding.

The House thanked Rep. Hansen and dissolved the Committee of the Whole, then resumed regular business.