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U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett urges bipartisan action on entitlements, defends ports sale handling amid criticism
Summary
U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett told the Utah Senate that unchecked growth in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid threatens the federal budget and urged bipartisan, long-term reform; in Q&A he criticized the administration's handling of a ports lease to a Dubai-linked company but said the purchase was publicly reported and port security rests with federal agencies.
U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett visited the Utah State Senate and used his remarks Tuesday to press for long-term, bipartisan solutions to the federal budget’s mounting entitlement costs, saying Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid threaten to consume federal revenues if left unchecked.
"The first thing I’d say is we have three federal programs which, if we do not address and do something about in terms of their growth, will within the next 20 years, maybe less than that, take the entire federal budget," Bennett said, citing a $2.7 trillion federal budget and roughly $840 billion in discretionary spending.
Bennett described Social Security as comparatively straightforward to fix and called Medicare the larger fiscal risk. He urged state and federal officials to work together and said he welcomes more formal communication between state legislatures and the federal delegation.
During a question-and-answer period, senators asked about several topics. Senator Orrin Hatch (first asked about SB156) and others discussed efforts to improve communication between the Utah Legislature and the federal delegation; Bennett said he already speaks regularly with governors and legislative leaders and would support more frequent formal dialogue.
On a separate exchange, senators pressed Bennett about the Bush administration’s decision to allow a Dubai-linked firm to manage some U.S. port operations. Bennett criticized the administration’s handling of the disclosures as "sloppy" but said the purchase of P&O by DP World (DPW) was reported in financial news and that port operation contracts have long involved foreign firms. He emphasized that port security is the responsibility of the Coast Guard and Customs and that screening requirements for sensitive positions remain in place.
Senator Bell pressed whether there is appetite in Washington to narrow the Clean Water Act’s reach over small, man-made wetlands. Bennett said inertia and the Senate’s supermajority requirements make statutory changes difficult, though he described increased behind-the-scenes conversations on entitlement and regulatory issues.
Bennett concluded by urging Utah senators to continue the dialogue with the federal delegation and acknowledged the political difficulty of confronting long-term entitlement growth.
Next steps: Bennett invited further questions and indicated he would welcome more formal and frequent channels between Utah’s Legislature and the federal delegation.
