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Sens. Lee, Paul Call on Pres.-Elect Trump to Increase Congressional Involvement in National Security, Foreign Affairs

Congress: 115

2017-2018

Lee Letter Seeks Accountability for US Ambassador in Macedonia

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) sent a letter to US Ambassador to Macedonia Jess Baily today, asking for clarity on; the mission’s assistance to the new government; the involvement of George Soros’ Open Society Foundation; and the implementation US Agency for International Development (USAID) programs. Sen. Lee eagerly awaits a reply from the State Department and hopes that the new administration will hold executive branch officials accountable for the way our tax dollars are spent.

Sens. Lee, Klobuchar Comment on FTC Chair Departure

WASHINGTON – Today, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, released the following statements on Edith Ramirez’s departure from the Federal Trade Commission.

Elections Have Consequences for Housing Policy

“Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won.” These were the infamous words President Obama used to scold congressional Republicans just three days after his inauguration in 2009, foreshadowing how he would approach policymaking for the next eight years.

Lee Introduces Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act

WASHINGTON – Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) released the following statement Thursday after introducing the “Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act,” a bill which denies all federal funding for implementing the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Final Rule.”

“Every American should be free to choose where to live, and every community should be free to zone its neighborhoods and compete for new residents according to its distinct values,” Lee said. “We don’t need a National Zoning Board. Washington should let Americans ‘govern local.’”

“A better debate would be about how Americans could better spend the money that is wasted every year by the dysfunctional Community Development Block Grant Program,” Lee added.

A study by the Reason Foundation found examples showing how this program contributes to cronyism by channeling taxpayer dollars to politically connected groups while doing absolutely nothing to combat poverty or housing segregation.

The Local Zoning Decisions Act would restrict any federal funding from being used to implement, administer, or enforce HUD’s housing rule. The bill also prohibits any funds from being used for HUD’s “Fair Housing” database which could be used to further the administration’s radical pursuit of using “disparate impact theory” to punish communities that are not as demographically diverse as the administration would like.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has introduced a companion bill in the House.

Utah Speaks Out About Obamacare

Madam President I rise today to give voice to some of my fellow Utahns who are suffering because of the health care law passed seven years ago this March.
These are not stories from wealthy Utahns who have had to pay higher taxes. Nor are these stories from low-income Utahns who already had insurance through Medicaid.
These are letters from the too often invisible victims of Obamacare: those middle class families who used to be able to afford health care when they needed it, but are now forced to pay for what often amounts to a second mortgage, for a so-called “insurance” plan that never seems to pay out because of high deductibles.

Use Term Limits to Drain the Swamp

Our first and perhaps greatest Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, ended his Gettysburg Address by calling on his fellow Americans to rededicate themselves to the “great task” of preserving our “government of the people, by the people, [and] for the people.” I share that commitment, which is why I have always supported term limits for our elected federal officials.

The Right Way to Repeal Obamacare

Last November, the American people voted for change in Washington. They elected Republican majorities to both chambers of Congress and elected a Republican President because, as a party, we pledged to fix the broken status quo of the past eight years. Reforming our dysfunctional federal government and restoring sanity to our nation’s capital starts with relieving the American people from the burdens and excessive costs of our defective health-care system and requiring Washington to once again live within its means.

Floor Speech on Bears Ears National Monument

On January 20, change is coming to the White House. But until that day, it appears that President Obama will desperately cling to the status quo and continue to do what he has unfortunately done on so many occasions: abuse his executive powers to put in place unpopular policies without the cooperation of Congress and then pretend as if everyone supports him.