Ending H-1B Visa Fraud
Mr./Madam President, I rise again today to speak about the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act – an important and bipartisan piece of legislation, which passed the House in July by an overwhelming vote of 365-65.
As I have explained in this chamber before, the concept of the bill is simple. Our current method for allocating green cards caps the total number of green cards that nationals of a given country can receive. In practice, this results in de facto country-of-origin discrimination. Because immigrants from countries with large populations are restricted to receiving the same number of visas as immigrants from smaller countries, their wait times have ballooned, in some cases stretching on for literally decades.
Sen. Lee Reintroduces the Davis-Bacon Repeal Act
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) re-introduced the Davis-Bacon Repeal Act Thursday, a bill designed to repeal the wage subsidy law requiring all federally-funded projects worth more than $2,000 to pay workers the “prevailing wage” rate on non-federal projects in the same locality.
“The Davis Bacon Act exemplifies how big government hurts the people it purports to help, gives unfair advantages to favored special interests, and squeezes the middle class,” Sen. Lee said. “The Davis-Bacon Repeal Act would remove these government-imposed obstacles to economic opportunity facing low-skilled workers, and return wasted taxpayer dollars back into the hands of the American people.”
Sens. Lee, Romney Welcome Advancement of Utah Judicial Nominee
WASHINGTON— U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) today released the following statement after David B. Barlow of South Jordan, nominee to serve as United States District Judge for the District of Utah, was successfully reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. His nomination now heads to the full Senate. In July, Romney and Lee introduced Barlow at his nomination hearing before the Judiciary Committee.
“We have full confidence that David will serve Utah and the country with honor and integrity, faithfully applying the law and our Constitution to all matters and parties that come before him. We urge our colleagues to enthusiastically support his confirmation when he comes before the Senate for a vote.”
Modernizing Drone Regulation
Good morning. Thank you for coming out today. And thank you to the National League of Cities for hosting this event today and for your consistent advocacy for cities across America.
It’s always refreshing to get “off campus”, as we like to say. Sometimes you have to get away from the halls of Congress to find people who think creatively about policy. And I am especially excited for the invitation to speak about today’s topic.
Sen. Lee Introduces Drone Integration and Zoning Act
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Drone Integration and Zoning Act Wednesday, a bill to establish a regulatory framework for drones based on the principles of local governance and cooperative federalism.
“The FAA cannot feasibly or efficiently oversee millions of drones in every locality throughout the country,” Sen. Lee said. “The reason that the states have sovereign police powers to protect the property of their citizens is because issues of land use, privacy, trespass, and law enforcement make sense at the state and local level. The best way to ensure public safety and allow this innovative industry to thrive is to empower the people closest to the ground to make local decisions in real time and that is exactly what the Drone Integration and Zoning Act does.”
Fighting Fake News on H-1B Reform
SALT LAKE CITY – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Wednesday after Lou Dobbs falsely claimed on cable television that S. 386 “would double the size of H-1B visas.”
Fairness for American Workers and Immigrants
A system of laws should be clear and coherent, meaning that it should not only give adequate notice of what is required to comply with the law, but should in fact be capable of being complied with.
These are not partisan principles – they are simple, yet incredibly important guideposts that should direct the actions of anyone entrusted with crafting a legal system.
Making Infrastructure Affordable Again
Construction is one of the most important industries in our economy. It provides much of the infrastructure needed in our daily lives, and it’s a huge source of jobs in our country for both high and low-skilled workers.
But unfortunately, there’s an 80-year old wage subsidy law on the books that is artificially inflating costs of federally funded construction projects on our nation’s infrastructure – costing taxpayers billions of dollars and unfairly discriminating against low-skilled workers.
Keeping the Internet Safe for Families and Small Business
The internet has brought about remarkable opportunities in our modern world. It allows us to keep in touch with family and friends thousands of miles away, order goods and services with the click of a button, and access all sorts of information. And it’s an incredible tool for a robust exchange of ideas. But unfortunately, the internet – and social media platforms in particular – can also be used to spread extremism, violence, hate speech, and pornography.
Consumers Deserve Better Antitrust Enforcement
Earlier this summer, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission separately announced that each agency had begun investigating the large tech firms to see if they have violated the antitrust laws.
This is welcome news. The federal government should bring much-needed antitrust scrutiny to these companies.