Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Federal Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senator Orrin Hatch addresses Utah House on immigration, unfunded mandates and technology
Summary
U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch visited the Utah House on Feb. 21, 2007, addressing difficult federal issues including immigration reform, border security, unfunded mandates such as No Child Left Behind, and technology-related social concerns; he took a number of questions from representatives.
The Utah House moved into Committee of the Whole to hear remarks from U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, who spoke to the chamber about several national policy topics and answered members27 questions.
On immigration, Hatch described the complexity of national reform, warned against amnesty without border security and referenced the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli experience: "If you grant amnesty don't secure our borders, we are going to have another 20,000,000 people in another 20 years or so," he said. He also expressed sympathy for long-resident undocumented families and supported measures such as the DREAM Act to address young people born here.
Hatch addressed members' concerns about unfunded federal mandates, saying Washington often passes laws without sufficient funding and noting No Child Left Behind as an example where reauthorization discussions continue and funding must be clarified.
On technology and Internet-content controls, Hatch described ongoing federal engagement with technology firms and the courts, and welcomed local technology companies to coordinate with congressional offices on proposed technical solutions to online harms.
He took several questions on timeline expectations for federal action and on technology solutions and closed by thanking the House for their work and service to the state. A number of representatives followed with brief questions about immigration timelines and the court environment on content regulation.
