Utah’s U.S. 1st Congressional District incumbent Rep. Blake Moore, proper, and challenger Rick Jones, left, mentioned points affecting northern Utah in the course of the 1st Congressional District basic election debate on the Val A. Browning Heart on the campus of Weber State College in Ogden on Monday. (Leah Hogsten)
Estimated learn time: 6-7 minutes
OGDEN — The financial system was prime of thoughts for Republican Rep. Blake Moore and his Democratic challenger, Rick Jones, throughout their debate on Monday.
Though each candidates for Utah’s 1st Congressional District agreed that the financial system is among the foremost points on voters’ minds, they disagreed on what’s inflicting financial instability and what to do about it.
Moore stated the blame lies with the “huge quantity” of spending by the federal authorities in latest months, and that he plans to chop again on the deficit and obligatory spending in Congress. Jones, alternatively, factors to the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s battle in Ukraine, and the dearth of enforcement of antitrust legal guidelines within the U.S. as the first drivers of inflation.
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The financial system, inflation and fuel costs
Financial considerations dominated greater than half of the hour-long debate, which was held at Weber State College. Moore appeared keen to speak in regards to the financial system and inflation, and used the problem to assault Democratic leaders in Washington.
“I might love to speak about it regularly,” he stated.
Moore stated there’s “completely a cause to be upset” in regards to the present state of the financial system within the U.S., including that authorities spending — the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act specifically – is in charge.
“This can be a tax on each single American,” he stated, talking of the excessive ranges of inflation. “I do not care how a lot you make, no matter your revenue standing is — this is a gigantic tax. And so sure, persons are annoyed. They’re seeing it play out of their day by day lives, and we have now to be prepared to come back in and tackle this.”
As for addressing inflation, Moore stated Congress must rein within the nationwide debt, which surpassed $31 trillion final week.
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Jones disagreed and argued that just about all presidents prior to now 40 years — each Republican and Democrat — have overseen “astronomical deficits,” with out dealing with the identical ranges of inflation.
Utah’s U.S. 1st Congressional District incumbent Rep. Blake Moore, proper, and challenger Rick Jones, middle, mentioned points affecting northern Utah with moderator Kerry Bringhurst in the course of the 1st Congressional District basic election debate on the Val A. Browning Heart on the campus of Weber State College in Ogden, Monday. (Photograph: Leah Hogsten)
“The reality is a number of the inflation is because of COVID,” Jones stated. “It killed 1,000,000 folks after which slowed down one other 4 or 5 million with long-haul COVID. There’s the Ukrainian battle, and it has been years since the US has aggressively enforced antitrust. This has tended to create extra firms with monopoly energy that train that energy to the drawback of so many individuals.”
When requested about fuel costs, specifically, Moore confused the significance of American power independence to insulate the nation from selections made by OPEC+, the group of main oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia. He criticized the Biden administration for halting the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline final yr.
“Relating to fuel costs, we will not neglect that just a little over a decade in the past, a barrel of oil was within the neighborhood of $150,” Jones stated in response. “And extra not too long ago, it has been within the neighborhood of $100.”
Well being care prices
There was some settlement between the candidates on easy methods to tackle rising well being care prices. Moore stated he needs extra competitors in well being care, and to permit sufferers to check costs and companies — similar to they might when grocery buying or choosing automobile insurance coverage.
“Have you ever ever finished that along with your X-rays?” he requested. “No, you’ve got by no means finished that as a result of we do not permit — we do not encourage — transparency and competitors sufficient in our well being care markets.”
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“I might utterly agree with that,” Jones stated, “and I am unable to applaud the Biden administration robust sufficient for decreasing drug costs, and I feel it must be that approach for everybody.”
Nonetheless, they weren’t in full lockstep on the subject of different methods to decrease well being care prices. When requested how he plans to scale back prices for school college students, Jones stated he helps increasing Medicaid to assist extra low-income Individuals qualify for insurance coverage.
“Our well being care prices actually are utterly out of line relative to the remainder of the world,” he stated.
Moore, alternatively, stated he’s optimistic that telehealth and different distant well being choices can show more cost effective and extra accessible for youthful Individuals. He additionally believes extra funding in telehealth analysis will let extra folks entry preventative care and stop expensive and debilitating long-term well being issues.
The way forward for abortion
Other than financial considerations, the candidates addressed the way forward for abortion following the Supreme Courtroom’s June resolution that overturned the constitutionally protected proper to abortion. Maybe unsurprisingly, they every typically caught to the occasion line of their responses.
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“My give attention to this from the very begin has been … to advertise two actually essential issues to me,” Moore stated. “One is defending life, and I will not apologize for it. And the opposite case is ensuring that ladies have the sources they want after they’re in a tough scenario.”
These conditions, Moore stated, embrace offering sources for adoption in addition to increasing the kid tax credit score to incorporate fetuses, as a result of “if we imagine that is life, then why would not it apply to a child within the womb?”
Jones stated he considers abortion in sure circumstances to be well being care and stated ladies ought to have the selection inside the first trimester of being pregnant.
“I am, to be sincere, appalled at the concept that a 10-year-old, or younger kids, must carry infants to time period,” he stated. “I simply assume that goes in opposition to a lot of what we imagine in. … I additionally assume it is silly to attempt to criminalize abortion when about two-thirds of the nation do need no less than what was accessible with Roe v. Wade — which permitted ladies to make the decision within the first trimester.”
Moore stated he agreed with exceptions to abortion bans in instances of rape, incest or when the well being of the mom is in danger. He stated we must always “depend on the medical group to assist us perceive what these instances are.”
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Local weather change and drought
Each candidates spoke of the significance of taking steps to mitigate local weather change and drought and stated the federal authorities has a task to play in doing so. Moore touted his help of Utah Rep. John Curtis’ Conservative Local weather Caucus and highlighted the possibly devastating impacts of the shrinking Nice Salt Lake.
“Now we have to take a complete method to this,” Moore stated. “Now we have to cope with issues acutely within the close to time period. Now we have to be prepared to take a look at greenhouse fuel emissions over time. What can the U.S. be doing to guide on this effort?”
Jones confused the necessity for decreasing the quantity of carbon emissions, however neither candidate supplied specifics on how to do this.
“Most likely sooner or later, we’ll must do some steps to essentially discourage carbon consumption,” Jones stated. “However for now, we have to hold the total array of choices open and guarantee that the transition (away from carbon) is effectively thought out.”
To look at Monday’s debate between Utah’s 1st Congressional District Rep. Blake Moore and his Democratic challenger, Rick Jones, click on on the video participant under.
SALT LAKE CITY — Going to a Utah Jazz game is more than just basketball. After pausing for a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nu Skin Stunt Team is back — and it’s a performance you don’t want to miss.
“We just really enjoy having them. They have so much energy and the athleticism that they bring is unmatched,” said Meikle LaHue, the Utah Jazz director of entertainment. “They are so impressive and the entertainment that they bring is, I mean, I’m on the edge of my seat when I watch them perform because the tricks they do are just crazy.”
Working for the Jazz is a dream come true for the stunt team members.
“This is the pinnacle of what it gets to be on a stunt team for being a professional cheerleader for the NBA. It doesn’t get any better than that, in our sport,” said national champion Hailey D’Lynn. “Being able to wear this team name on my chest, it’s amazing and it’s a dream come true, it’s what we all strive for.”
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Rookie Cameron Canada added: “This has been a dream of mine for like as long as I picked up the sport and just to be able to be this close to the NBA and represent the state of Utah in front of all the fans, grateful to be having this opportunity.”
The Stunt Team was started 12 years ago. They spent 10 years entertaining Jazz fans, and when it went away, the performers missed being on the Delta Center floor.
“Last year, [Coach] announced ‘the Stunt Team is going to make a comeback this year,’ and I was so excited I was like, ‘Finally! Yes, I’ve been waiting for this,’” cheered the longest-tenured member, Elsa Hassett.
Head Coach Summer Willis shared how rare it is to see stunt teams in the NBA.
“You don’t see a lot of stunt teams on the professional level so the fact that we get to be one of them and represent is just a huge opportunity,” said Willis.
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The Nu Skin Stunt Team performs at Utah Jazz games throughout the season during timeouts and quarter breaks.
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Utah’s bid to gain control over millions of acres of federal land, dealing a blow to the state’s efforts to assert greater authority over its natural resources.
Why It Matters
Federal agencies currently oversee nearly 70 percent of Utah’s land, including areas crucial for energy production, mining, grazing and outdoor recreation. Utah officials have argued that state control would ensure better local governance and unlock revenue opportunities through taxation and development. However, the state’s proposal excluded its iconic national parks and monuments from the transfer.
Utah’s push for control highlights a broader debate over federal land management in the West, where sprawling landscapes often fall under the jurisdiction of agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Critics of federal oversight argue it limits economic potential, while supporters counter that it safeguards public lands for conservation and recreational use.
What To Know
In a brief order on Monday, the high court denied the Republican-led state’s request to file a lawsuit aimed at transferring ownership of approximately half of Utah’s federally managed land, an area comparable in size to South Carolina.
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The Supreme Court, as is customary in such instances, provided no explanation for its decision, stating only that “the motion for leave to file a bill of complaint is denied.”
The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 17, 2024. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected to hear Utah’s bid to gain control over millions of acres of federal land. The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 17, 2024. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected to hear Utah’s bid to gain control over millions of acres of federal land. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The decision comes after Utah sued in August to try to gain control of 18.5 million acres that is held by the federal government.
The filing, which state leaders said was the result of “decades of legal analysis,” targeted BLM land “unappropriated” to parks, monuments or other national sites.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Attorney General Derek Brown said they were disappointed in the court’s decision.
The federal Bureau of Land Management declined to comment to The Associated Press.
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What People Are Saying
Republican Utah Governor Spencer Coxsaid in August: “Utah deserves priority when it comes to managing its land. It’s been a tragedy to see what this administration and past administrations have done to our land, closing down roads that have been open for generations.”
Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Attorney General Derek Brown said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune: “We are also heartened to know the incoming [Trump] administration shares our commitments to the principle of ‘multiple use’ for these federal lands and is committed to working with us to improve land management. We will continue to fight to keep public lands in public hands because it is our stewardship, heritage and home.”
Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero, a Democrat, praised the Supreme Court’s decision in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribuneas a “win for all Americans and the protection of our environment. Today’s actions serve as an important reminder that our public lands should not be privatized or exploited for short-term benefits.”
What Happens Next
While it’s unclear what state officials will do next, the state said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune that they “remain able and willing to challenge any BLM land management decisions that harm Utah.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Utah’s challenge against public lands, striking a major blow to the state’s effort to wrest control of millions of acres of land from the federal government.
The state in August filed a lawsuit asking the court to declare the federal Bureau of Land Management’s ownership of 18.5 million acres of land in Utah unconstitutional, with potential ramifications for public lands across the country.
The filing, which state leaders said was the result of “decades of legal analysis,” targeted BLM land “unappropriated” to parks, monuments or other national sites.
Utahargued the BLM’s ownership and oversight of that land harms the state’s sovereignty and that the federal government should start to “dispose of these lands.”
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“We’re grateful the Supreme Court swiftly rejected the State of Utah’s misguided land grab lawsuit,” Steve Bloch, legal director for the environmental nonprofit Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said in a statement. “For more than 100 years, the Supreme Court has affirmed the power of the federal government to hold and manage public lands on behalf of all Americans.”
The state has paid Clement & Murphy, PLLC, a law firm based in Virginia, over $500,000 since 2023 to litigate the case.
Utah has also budgeted over $2.6 million for a public relations campaign to raise “awareness” that the BLM’s policies for public land in the West “are harming Utahns by restricting access to public lands, hindering active management, and reducing economic and recreation opportunities.”
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance in December sued the Utah governor and attorney general for bringing this case to the Supreme Court.
The group wants the state 3rd District Court to bar Utah from questioning the constitutionality of “unappropriated” public lands in any court.
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