U.S. Senators Hatch and Garn Address Utah Senate on Gulf War, Federal Mandates and Budget

U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and Jake Garn addressed the Utah State Senate on Feb. 14, 1991, urging support for the president’s foreign policy in the Gulf and criticizing federal budget practices that they said burden states. Hatch, introduced by the president of the Senate, opened by praising state legislatures and told senators he had 'no speeches to make' but wanted to answer questions and express appreciation for their service.

Hatch framed the decision on the use of force as a matter of national strategy and security, telling the Senate that intelligence showed Saddam Hussein had been developing chemical and biological weapons and was fostering terrorist networks. He said sanctions alone would have given Iraq time to develop weapons and expand influence, and recounted the U.S. Senate vote authorizing force as 52–47. 'There are things worth fighting for, and things worth dying for,' Hatch said, urging bipartisan support for troops and the president.

Senator Jake Garn followed, focusing on the federal budget and the effect of federal mandates on state governments. Garn described recent federal budgets as 'dishonest' in their out-year assumptions and said that, aside from defense, Congress had not produced true spending cuts. He urged states to press for returning funds to states in the form of block grants so local governments would have more authority: 'I totally support what the president is attempting to do in taking that money and putting it in block grants,' Garn said.

Both senators took questions from state senators. Hatch addressed concerns about national health-care mandates and the Americans with Disabilities Act, saying he sought ways to reduce new mandates and noting the strain such federal requirements place on state budgets. Garn discussed the savings-and-loan crisis, attributing part of the problem to structural changes and state-chartered institutions that exceeded federal regulatory frameworks. Both senators offered their staffs' help to state lawmakers and urged cooperative federal-state problem solving.

The visit concluded with thanks from Utah senators and an invitation for further contact between federal and state staff. No formal actions resulted from the addresses; the Senate returned to its legislative calendar.