releases: https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=1654e9c8-5421-4df0-8a75-506707caf354
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=1654e9c8-5421-4df0-8a75-506707caf354 | Op-ed: Hatch: Air Forces Utah test range needs to expand | 2014-12-04 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | UT | Orrin Hatch | H000338 | www.hatch.senate.gov | legacy | The Utah Test and Training Range at Hill Air Force Base (UTTR) provides essential resources and capabilities for the United States Air Force. Here, our service members prepare and learn to adapt to constantly evolving foreign threats by training with the latest "fifth-generation" weapons systems. The F-22 Raptor and the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are among the critical systems that utilize the UTTR. But these new weapons, which are more sophisticated and are steadily entering into operational use, require greater capacity than what the UTTR has provided over the last 60 years. To retain these important weapons systems in Utah, we need an expansion that maintains public access and upgrades the UTTR. The long-term viability of the UTTR and Hill Air Force Base — one of Utah’s largest employers — depends on it. I have spent much of the last year working on a proposal that will improve the UTTR’s capabilities with minimal effect on land use and access to the land surrounding the range. But there’s more here for Utahns than the obvious military and defense benefits: The UTTR improvement proposal will also add additional resources and revenue to our public school system by enabling the transfer of certain federal lands from the Bureau of Land Management into the state-owned school trust lands system. In the West Desert, state-owned land is managed through the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), whose charter is to develop revenue from managed lands for Utah’s public education system. Since 1994, SITLA has generated more than $1.4 billion for Utah’s public schools, and has worked to grow Utah’s permanent funds from $84 million to just under $2 billion. Revenue generated from school trust lands through responsible development is transferred into the Permanent School Fund, a perpetual endowment that distributes income annually to each K-12 public and charter school in Utah. Through the UTTR improvement proposal, the state Legislature and SITLA could begin the process of consolidating state-owned school trust lands into revenue-generating blocks of land elsewhere in the West Desert. This would add millions of new dollars to be distributed to Utah’s public schools. While the Obama administration has done much to stifle economic development and productive use of public lands, this proposal would protect mineral development in the areas near the UTTR in the West Desert. I remain committed to help development and economic production throughout the state. I look forward to continued discussions about this proposal with fellow Utahns. I am confident that we can provide the tools to meet our national security needs, generate additional funding for Utah’s public schools and protect Utahns’ access and ability to use public lands surrounding the UTTR. You can read more and offer your own comments on my website at (hatch.senate.gov/uttr). We are still fine tuning the proposal based on feedback we receive to ensure that Utahns can continue to enjoy our western way of life while helping our armed forces defend it. This op-ed appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune on December 4, 2014. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |