Press Releases

“Let’s Talk” Tele-Town Hall with Sen. Mike Lee – July 26, 2016

On Tuesday, July 26 at 7:45 p.m. MT, Senator Mike Lee will be hosting a statewide teleforum to discuss federal land policy. The Obama Administration is considering designating 1.9 million acres in San Juan County as the Bears Ears National Monument. Excessively large national monument designations like this are very controversial, because they ignore state and local government land management policy and silence the voices of local residents impacted by the monument by excluding their elected representatives in Congress from the designation process.

Lee, Klobuchar Comment on Insurance Merger Transaction Announcements

WASHINGTON—Today, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, released the following statements on the Department of Justice’s announcement on the Aetna/Humana and Anthem/Cigna transactions.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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).

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.