Sen. Lee, Rep. Gosar and Colleagues Send Letter Asking Sec. Carson to Rescind Zoning Rule
WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Gosar (R-AZ) joined a letter with twelve Senate and six House colleagues in asking Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson to rescind the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Final Rule in an effort to empower local communities to tackle their own unique zoning challenges
Ending Obama’s National Zoning Board
On July 16, 2015, President Obama’s Department of Housing and Urban Development issued an innocuous-sounding new regulation that it said would “promote fair housing choice and foster inclusive communities that are free from discrimination.”
This “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule supposedly would only assist local communities by providing them with more data needed to comply with the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Saving Communities with Federalism
How strong are America’s communities? Sadly, we know from decades of research, including work by the Social Capital Project, that they are growing weaker.
Men and women are having fewer children in total, and they are also having fewer children within wedlock. Between 1970 and 2015, births to single mothers rose from 11 percent of all births to 40 percent.
Sen. Lee Issues Statement on New Senate Health Bill
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Thursday after a new version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act was released:
“The new Senate health care bill is substantially different from the version released last month and it is unclear to me whether it has improved,” Sen. Lee said. “I will need time to study the new version and speak with experts about whether it does enough to lower health insurance premiums for middle class families.”
Why federalism is key to restoring civic connectedness and faith in the American government
The other week, I stumbled across a headline that I think illustrates the challenges facing American communities. It’s from CNBC, paraphrasing Mark Zuckerberg. “Facebook can play a role that churches and Little League once filled.”
Zuckerberg was celebrating an impressive milestone for his social media platform: It now has two billion monthly users.
Sen. Lee Welcomes August Work
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Tuesday, after it was announced the first two weeks of August recess had been cancelled:
“The American people elected us to govern and when our ability to govern is thwarted by artificially imposed deadlines it doesn’t’ serve anyone’s interest,” Sen. Lee said. “We have an enormous amount of work to do and whether you are on the left, right, or in the middle, it is difficult to dispute the fact that there is a lot that needs to be done. It just doesn’t make any sense to take the month of August off and that is why I welcome leadership’s decision to cancel the first two week of the planned August break.”
Sen. Lee Announces Health Care Town Hall
WASHGINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee announced his next town hall will be a health care town hall today. The Live Access event will occur next Wednesday, July 12 at 6pm MT.
Sens. Lee and Crapo Introduce the Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing Act
WASHINGTON – Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced the Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing Act of 2017, Thursday, a bill that would ensure the elimination of all federal regulations of suppressors.
“Suppressors can make shooting safer for the millions of hunters and sportsmen that exercise their constitutional right to use firearms every year,” Sen. Lee said. “The current process for obtaining a suppressor is far too expensive and burdensome. Our bill would remove these unnecessary federal regulations and make it easier for firearms users to protect themselves.
Sen. Lee Comments on Delayed Healthcare Vote
The first draft of the bill included hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the affluent, bailouts for insurance companies, and subsidies for lower-income Americans. But it ignored the middle-class families who have borne the brunt of Obamacare, and who have been left behind by both parties in Washington for too long. That’s why I opposed it. And it’s why I’m happy we postponed the vote today.
Sen. Lee, Rep. Stewart Urge Pres. Trump to Consider North Korean Government Involvement in David Sneddon Disappearance
WASHINGTON – Today Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) sent a letter to President Trump in preparation for this week’s summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in regarding the disappearance of BYU student David Louis Sneddon from China in 2004. The letter urges the President to consider the possibility that the North Korean government was responsible for David’s disappearance. Lee and Stewart cite reports from regional experts to support that possibility.