Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced the Only Congress Can Change The Draft Act, which would ensure that only Congress can change current law controlling whether or not women must sign up for the Selective Service System.
 
“When it comes to whether or not women should be forced to fight in combat, there are honest differences of opinion on the issue,” Lee said.
 
“Some say the right policy now is to end selective service altogether. Some want to add women, but only as a contingency. Some say women might be drafted, but precluded from combat positions. This is an unsettled debate. So it’s a decision that should be made by the American people’s elected representatives – not unelected bureaucrats or judges,” Lee continued.
 
Under current law, only men between the ages of 18 and 25 must register with the Selective Service System. But there is a real danger that either the Obama administration or federal courts could try and change current policy.
 
This bill, cosponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would ensure that neither federal courts nor unelected bureaucrats could change current policy and force American women into combat. 

WASHINGTON—On Wednesday, 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, sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Chairman of the FCC Tom Wheeler, requesting a close review of Charter Communications’ proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.
 
“We are on the threshold of a dramatic transformation of the way consumers obtain video content that should increase competition and benefit American consumers,” the letter states.
 
“American consumers will benefit if we cross this threshold to increased competition, and we believe that your agencies play a role in making sure that transformation occurs. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Antitrust Subcommittee, we have carefully examined consolidation in these industries to ensure that existing market leaders to not block or co-opt new options for receiving video content or exercise disproportionate control over the video content market.”
 
The Senators note concern that the merged companies and comcast would control 70 to 90 percent of the broadband internet connections to American homes, which could hinder the ability of online video distributors to offer a viable alternative to cable services.  Regional cable companies could also find it difficult to compete. Additionally, they cite that maintaining a robust marketplace of ideas, news, and entertainment relies in part on the viability of independent programmers, who could end up being discriminated against if the merged companies are able to pay less for content.”
 
The full letter is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Thursday, after Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced he is suing Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to stop Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service implementation of their sage grouse management plan.
 
“I commend Gov. Herbert’s decision to fight the Obama administration’s efforts to control federal land in Utah from Washington, DC,” Lee said. “Western states have a well-established and exemplarily record of implementing their own sage grouse conservation plans and there is zero need for other federal agencies to get involved.”