China and the Law of the Sea Treaty
For the past several years, the Chinese government has aggressively laid claim to important waterways and small island chains in the South China Sea that are contested by many countries in the region. This week, an international arbitration court in The Hague ruled against many of the Chinese claims, rebuking their antagonistic actions, in a suit brought by the Philippines through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOST). The ruling was not a surprise to anyone, as China has been brazenly violating international maritime norms for years. China’s response was also predictable: Beijing immediately dismissed the court’s ruling as biased, stating that they will not abide by it.
Rethinking Occupational Licensing
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the American labor force – one of the economy’s core building blocks – faces many structural challenges today. Millions of Americans are out of work, and for a longer period of time – six months on average – than in recent economic recoveries. Millions more are underemployed, working in part-time jobs even though what they want and need is full-time work. And the share of Americans participating in the labor market is hovering near its lowest point since 1977.
Lee Announces Senate Field Hearing in Utah on Public Lands Management
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) announced Friday that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will be conducting a field hearing at San Juan County High School in Blanding, Utah on July 27, at 3:00 p.m.
Sen. Lee Introduces The Voluntary Check-Off Program Participation Act
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Voluntary Check-Off Program Participation Act Wednesday, a bill that give would give farmers and ranchers the freedom not to participate in Department of Agriculture check-off programs.
Sens. Lee, Booker Introduce Commodity Check Off Reform Bill
WASHINGTON – Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced on Wednesday? S. 3201, the Commodity Checkoff Program Improvement Act of 2016, a measure intended to bring much needed transparency and accountability to the federal government’s commodity check off programs.
Sen. Lee Introduces the Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Act
WASHINGTON – Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Orin Hatch (R-UT) introduced the Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Act Wednesday, a bill that would allow local land managers to decide whether to allow mountain biking in wilderness areas.
Remarks on Occupational Licensing, The ALLOW Act
But over the past several decades, the economic value of diligence and drive has faded, as the legal obstacles to work have multiplied.
As a result, economic success today increasingly depends on acquiring the right combination of credentials and licenses – bureaucratic status symbols that tend to require time and money that only the most privileged Americans can afford.
Sens. Lee, Sasse Introduce Alternatives to Licensing that Lower Obstacles to Work (ALLOW) Act
WASHINGTON – Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) introduced legislation Tuesday that would make it easier for many Americans to begin work in their chosen field by reducing unnecessary licensing burdens.
Lee Testimony on First Amendment Defense Act
WASHINGTON—This morning, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA).
Make Congress Responsible Again
Washington is broken. And American politics in 2016 seems to be a competition to assign blame for the federal government’s dysfunction, rising costs, and habitual failure to perform even its most basic responsibilities. The usual suspects offer up their favorite villains: Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and progressive, insiders and outsiders all accuse each other.