Last week, Sutherland Institute kicked off its annual Congressional Series, hosted by the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics and sponsored by Zions Bank. Representatives Blake Moore (UT-01) and Burgess Owens (UT-04) participated.
The series began with Rep. Moore and Nic Dunn, Sutherland’s vice president of strategy and senior fellow, discussing welfare reform and the fiscal outcomes following the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill.
In one of his early questions, Dunn referenced an episode of Sutherland’s podcast, Defending Ideas, where Rep. Moore called 2025 the “Super Bowl” of tax policy.
Referencing the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, Dunn asked, “Well, did we win the Super Bowl of tax policy?”
“I do my best to call balls and strikes,” said Moore. Highlighting the preservation of existing tax cuts, and new provisions like no taxes on tips and overtime, increased access to the child tax credit, and the car loan interest deduction, “I think it’s a huge win,” he said.
Later, on the topic of work disincentives and welfare reform, Dunn, noting the positive work being done in Utah on the issue, asked, “Is this [OBBB] the kind of a first step to broader welfare reform?”
“When you say the words ‘Sutherland Institute,’ I make it synonymous with benefits cliffs – You’ve done a really great job of putting that out there,” said Moore. “We don’t do enough to address benefits cliffs in this bill,” he continued.
He later said he would like to see more innovative pilot programs from states.
In the following forum, Rep. Owens and Jason Perry, director of the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics, covered the state of education and what’s on the horizon for education policy.
Speaking in front of an audience of University of Utah students, Perry asked Owens what his advice and mentorship would be for students in pursuing their potential.
“My community was segregated, we had to decide within how we were going to handle those tenets of faith, family, free markets, and education… to make sure that we were going to get respect,” Owens said. “Because we believed in working hard, because we believed in merit… I saw success everywhere.”
Perry later asked Owens for insight on upcoming federal education policy, mentioning that some students in the audience are “studying for jobs that don’t even exist yet.”
“What education has been missing out on for decades is innovation,” Owens said. “We have to make sure we’re bringing to the plate, the greatest innovation – we now have AI,” he continued.
Owens went on to discuss “Learning and Employment Records” (LERs) and education choice.
“What would it be like if… there was a digital record of your skillsets, your passions, whatever it is that you have accumulated over time” to better build your education with your learning style. “Whatever your personality is should be addressed in the way we educate you,” Owens said.
