Press Releases

A Vote for the Constitution

This week, the Senate passed a resolution of disapproval for President Trump’s emergency declaration for funding for a border wall. Now, I wholeheartedly and unequivocally support building a wall on our southern border. I agree with the President that there is a crisis unfolding on our border that is endangering men, women, and children, and the surrounding communities; and I agree that it is of the utmost importance to secure our border.

Lowering Drug Costs by Increasing Competition

America has a health care spending problem. As a nation, we spend double the amount that other developed nations spend on health care and yet our life expectancy is lower than that of many developed nations. Already health care makes up 25% of all federal spending, and in a decade it will make up 33% of all spending. Almost all of our future deficits could be eliminated if we brought health care spending under control. And of the many reasons health care spending is so high in the United States, almost all of them have to do with excessive government

Floor Remarks on Emergency Declaration

Mr. President, it’s significant that the very first clause of the very first section of the very first article of the Constitution consists of the words “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.” The Founding Fathers wasted no time in getting right to the heart of the matter, which is to say that the legislative powers within the federal government – that is, the power to make law within that federal system – would themselves be exercised only by that branch

Sen. Lee Statement on Yemen Resolution Passage

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Thursday, after the Senate passed a resolution pursuant to the War Powers Act calling for the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen.

Yemen Resolution Floor Remarks

Mr./Madam President, I rise to stand with Senator Sanders and Senator Murphy, as cosponsors of the legislation before us: S.J. Res 7, which would remove U.S. armed forces from Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. 56 Senators voted in favor of this resolution just a few months ago, in December of the last Congress. That vote was a victory for the Constitution and the separation of powers, to say nothing of prudence and justice.

Sen. Lee Announces Support for Termination of Emergency Declaration

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) made the following statement Thursday after the White House communicated it would not support the ARTICLE ONE Act, a bill that would reclaim legislative powers for Congress from the executive branch. “Congress is supposed to be the first among the federal government’s three co-equal branches,” Sen. Lee said. “For decades, Congress has been giving far too much legislative power to the executive branch. While there was attention on the issue I had hoped the ARTICLE ONE Act could begin to take that power back. Unfortunately, it appears the bill does not have an immediate

Sens. Ernst, Lee Put Forward Paid Parental Leave Plan That is Budget Neutral and Flexible for Parents

U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are putting forward a paid parental leave plan that is budget neutral and flexible for parents who choose to opt in. Their legislation, the CRADLE Act, would allow parents to receive one, two, or three months of paid leave by giving them the option to postpone activating their Social Security benefits. The plan provides every new mom and dad the flexibility to stay home with their newborns during the critical first months after birth, without creating another massive mandated government program or adding to our ever-growing deficit.

Sen. Lee Introduces ARTICLE ONE Act to Reclaim Congressional Power

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the ARTICLE ONE Act today, a bill that would take back significant legislative powers given to the executive branch by the National Emergencies Act of 1976. Specifically, the bill would automatically end all future emergency declarations made pursuant to the NEA after 30 days unless Congress voted affirmatively to extend the emergency. Currently Congress can cancel an emergency declaration only by passing a resolution that that can withstand a presidential veto.

Make the Department of Justice Accountable Again

“The prosecutor,” Justice Robert Jackson once said, “has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America.” That statement is just as true today as it was when Justice Jackson first uttered it in 1940, but federal prosecutors are actually some of the most unaccountable federal officials in the country today. The problem traces to a loophole in the Inspector General Act of 1978 which refers all allegations of Department of Justice lawyer misconduct to the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the DOJ inspector general.

Make American Ports Free Again

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico a few years ago, you probably saw pictures of shipping containers stranded at United States ports waiting to be delivered to survivors there. One of the reasons those containers couldn’t get to Puerto Rico is because of a 1920 law that was designed to promote a civilian merchant marine fleet that could “serve as a naval or military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency.”