Sen. Mitt Romney lists the 10 things he's most proud of from his time in the U.S. Senate

Sen. Mitt Romney is nearing the end of his first and only term in the U.S. Senate, after deciding against a second run. Romney, who earlier served as governor of Massachusetts and was a Republican presidential nominee, said it was time for the “next generation” of leaders to step forward.

Romney served during a tumultuous six years, starting his service in January 2019, midway through Donald Trump’s first term as president, and a year before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. was also roiled during the summer of 2020 by demonstrations — sometimes violent — that spread across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

And then there was Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters at the U.S. Capitol tried to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden as winner of the presidential election. Romney called the events of that day an “insurrection” and said Trump “incited” his supporters to action.

He also traveled to Israel after the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and fought for funding for Ukraine after Russia invaded in February 2022.

Romney saw some of his most productive legislative years after President Biden took office in 2021, when Democrats had control of the House and Senate, but were well short of the 60 votes needed to pass legislation in the Senate.

Romney and a group of like-minded senators, including then-Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — who both later left their party to become independents — worked with other Republicans, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to help negotiate and pass legislation like the infrastructure bill and the CHIPS Act.

During these negotiations, Romney also focused on securing funding for projects in Utah, including for Hill Air Force Base, the Great Salt Lake and for a new passport office.

He admits there are many things left undone.

When Romney decided to run for Senate in 2018, he said he wanted to tackle the national debt — and it’s only grown since then, despite his and others’ efforts.

Romney sponsored and championed a bill, the Fiscal Stability Act, that aimed to force lawmakers to face the growing national debt. Despite the bill receiving bipartisan support, he couldn’t get it across the finish line.

During his last visit to Utah, he listed five of his biggest worries — the debt, growing authoritarianism in the world, AI, climate change and performative politics.

But on Tuesday, Romney took a moment to look back at his record in the Senate and celebrate the wins he feels he was able to accomplish.

“In just one month, I will reach the end of my Senate term — time has flown by,” Romney said in the intro to the report. “Over the last six years, we have faced many challenges. Yet, we’ve been able to accomplish important things for the Beehive State and our country. I’m also grateful for the tireless efforts of my team to improve the lives of Utahns.”

Romney released a video to accompany the report on what he considers his top ten accomplishments.

Here is what Romney sees as his 10 greatest accomplishments during his six years in the Senate:

1. Bipartisan infrastructure bill

In 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, with Romney and nine other U.S. senators present for the signing. Romney was one of 10 senators — five Republicans and five Democrats — who worked closely on the legislation. Romney said at the time the bill “represents the largest investment in infrastructure in our nation’s history.”

Part of a $1.2 trillion package, including $550 in new spending, the bill included billions of dollars for road, public transit and water projects across the U.S., including in Utah.

The bill — which saw about $3 billion go towards Utah infrastructure repair — was rejected by Utah’s four Republican congressmen and Sen. Mike Lee at the time. Still, Romney said he was “proud” to have worked on the bill, “which includes historic investments that will benefit Utah and rebuild our nation’s physical infrastructure,” he said. “This legislation shows that Congress can deliver for the American people when members from both sides of the aisle are willing to work together to address our country’s critical needs.”

2. Drought and wildfire work

Representing a state with a plethora of breathtaking landscapes, Romney contributed to numerous initiatives to preserve Utah’s outdoors as a beloved space for both locals and tourists to enjoy. The legislation he sponsored included:

• Enhancing Mitigation and Building Effective Resilience (EMBER) Act: Introduced in June, Romney and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) worked on the legislation to modernize wildfire Prevention and management across the country.
• MATCH Act: A bipartisan bill between Utah, California and Colorado to accelerate aid and cleanup for communities affected by wildfire disasters.
• Central Utah Project: Ensured $160 million “to provide water for municipal use, mitigation, hydroelectric power, fish and wildlife and conservation” for the state of Utah.

3. The Great Salt Lake

In 2022, when the lake was reaching record lows, Romney introduced the Great Salt Lake Recovery Act to allow “engineers to study the hydrology of saline lake ecosystems in the Great Basin,” as well as in the Great Salt Lake “to investigate the feasibility of a project for ecosystem restoration and drought solutions in the Great Salt Lake.”

“It is incumbent on us to take action now which will preserve and protect this critical body of water for many generations to come,” Romney said when the legislation was initially passed.

4. Combatting international threats

Romney has been outspoken on the threat he believes authoritarian countries pose to the United States. In 2021, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and included a measure from Romney on the U.S.’s growing dependence on products from China related to its national security.

“This bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation we have taken up this year, and I’m proud that it includes my measure to require the United States to develop a unified, strategic approach to China,” Romney said. “We must take decisive action now to confront China’s growing aggression and dissuade them from pursuing a predatory path around the world, and this year’s defense bill will help us accomplish that end.”

5. Passport agency in Salt Lake City

After three years of effort, Romney and Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced earlier this year that a new passport office would open in Salt Lake City. The closest passport office to Salt Lake is currently 500 miles away in Denver, but after work by Romney and other members of Utah’s congressional delegation, an office will soon be open in Utah.

Utah will be the home of one of six new passport offices, with the Salt Lake City passport agency expected to open in 2026.

6. Combatting teen vaping

In an effort to reduce youth vaping, Romney supported multiple laws to limit access to these products, including prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 and banning the online sell of tobacco products to children.

While serving on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, he also introduced the Resources to Prevent Youth Vaping Act and the ENND Act.

7. Prioritizing the family

To combat child poverty in America, Romney introduced the Family Security Act again in September as “pro-family, pro-life and pro-marriage legislation that would modernize and streamline antiquated federal policies into an expanded Child Tax Credit for working families.”

The act would provide a “monthly child allowance of $250 for school-aged children and $350 for younger children, with a yearly maximum of $1,250,” Deseret News previously reported. “Billed as deficit-neutral,” Romney said it would be paid for “by killing or streamlining existing programs and ditching federal deductions for state and local taxes.”

He also co-sponsored two bills related to abortion — one prohibiting abortions past the 20-week mark and another that gives a child who survives an abortion the right to medical care.

8. Bipartisan COVID relief act

Romney helped lead a bipartisan, bicameral effort to negotiate the December 2020 COVID-19 relief package — a $908 billion proposal that included $560 billion in unused CARES funds, lengthened the benefit timeframe for federal unemployed workers, and provided emergency aid for small businesses.

9. Strengthening Utah’s role in national defense

While in the Senate, Romney worked to secure funds for Utah’s Hill Air Force Base, including over $30 billion for the Air Force’s F-35 program and about $7 billion for the Sentinel program since 2018. Nearly $100 million was also secured for infrastructure updates at the Ogden Air Force base.

“With the growing threats we face, it is paramount that our military has the resources, equipment and capabilities it needs to keep our nation safe. This bipartisan and bicameral legislation strengthens our national security and supports our service members at this critical time,” Romney said after Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.

“It also includes measures which will bolster Utah’s role in our national defense and help address the current military recruitment crisis — which has real and immediate impacts on our national security — by enhancing military recruiter access to high school and college students,” he added.

10. Working across the aisle

Many of what Romney sees as his achievements while in office were the result of bipartisan efforts, including:

• Reforms to the Electoral Count Act.
• Bipartisan gun safety legislation.
• Securing religious liberty protections in the Respect for Marriage Act.

“We still face big issues. The rise in authoritarianism around the world, our growing national debt, and the threats posed by AI will demand that elected officials come together, in a bipartisan manner, to find effective strategies and solutions to these great challenges,” Romney said in the report.