This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
On May 22, the Salt Lake Tribune published two stories on the front page that had to do with actions of our Utah lawmakers.
The first article told of the House and Senate's continued refusal to accept Medicaid expansion. Thus 111,000 Utahns will be without health care for at least another year.
The second article told of the $2 million dollars that Utah officials gave Ryan Benson to hire lobbyists to keep the greater sage grouse from being protected under the Endangered Species Act. Benson, an avid hunter, was previously given $600,000 to hire lobbyists to strip federal protections from the gray wolf.
House Speaker Becky Lockhart said, regarding the non-action on Medicaid, "Remember, this involves a lot of money potentially to the state of Utah ... This decision needs to be made very carefully and very slowly."
Yet $2 million, also a lot of money, can be given in the blink of an eye to someone who is trying to keep our valuable wildlife from protection?
Ellie Ienatsch
Sandy