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U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett urges state control on education and criticizes federal health‑care drafting
Summary
U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett told the Utah State Senate he regrets centralizing education under federal mandates, defended his vote against No Child Left Behind, and criticized the closed‑door process used to craft recent federal health‑care legislation.
U.S. Senator Robert Bennett addressed the Utah Senate in a time‑certain visit and took questions from senators on education, defense and health care. Bennett said his vote against No Child Left Behind "strikes me as one of the wisest votes that I cast," argued for more state control of education policy and raised the possibility of a pilot opt‑out approach for states that want federal funds without federal strings attached.
On defense and aerospace local impacts, Bennett said he and other members of Utah's delegation were meeting with federal and industry officials and called NASA's decision to move away from known technologies "a stupid decision" in the context of national capabilities.
On health care, Bennett criticized the process used by Democratic leaders in the Senate to craft major legislation, saying the drafting was done behind closed doors and that many senators were not provided the final text for review. He described a political strategy aimed at slowing the bill to allow public exposure and debate.
Bennett encouraged bipartisan problem‑solving and said he has worked with Democrats (including on the Healthy Americans Act) to find market‑oriented and universal coverage ideas; he suggested future debates should start from a common set of principles and focus on workable solutions.
