Under current law, beneficiaries see a reduction in their annuity from 55 percent of the retiree's pay to 35 percent. Thousands of these survivors were never told about this annuity cut and the unexpected loss of income can be devastating, Bishop said.

• Congress also approved the 2005 Military Construction Appropriations bill (HR4837), which contains $7.7 million in funding for an ICBM Propellant Analysis project at northern Utah's Hill Air Force Base.

"This complex will allow Hill to expand their workload and upgrade their equipment, as well as increase the life of these weapons and provide more accurate data analysis," Hatch said. "Clearly, this complex is necessary for Hill to best support our forces."

• On Monday, Congress finally passed a relief package that will make Utah farmers, ranchers and fruit growers eligible for assistance for crop and grazing losses caused by the six-year drought that has ravaged Utah and other Western states. It also includes relief for farm damage caused by hurricanes in the Southeast.

U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, called the package "critical" and said all Utah producers with losses in 2003 or 2004 will receive assistance.

All Utah counties meet the qualifications for 2003, and most did for 2004, he noted. Farmers will be able to claim benefits under one of the two years.

• Also on Monday, Congress passed legislation bringing the United States into compliance with an export ruling by the World Trade Organization. Buried in the legislation were a number of other provisions that will help Utah businesses.

One in particular is a provision that specifies that foreign manufacturers of arrows have to pay the same excise tax that domestic manufacturers pay. Utah-based Easton Aluminum has been fighting for the change for years, claiming the current law created a loophole that allowed foreign companies to unfairly compete.

There is also a provision that allows tax breaks for producers of geothermal electrical power — and Utah has lots of untapped geothermal reserves.

A provision on depreciation for aircraft manufacturers will benefit an Ogden company that makes aircraft engines, and other provisions will help Utah's high-tech industry better export their products to foreign companies. High-tech companies will also benefit from new rules regarding employee stock options and stock purchase plans because they won't have to pay payroll taxes on those stocks.