Press Releases
Lee, McClintock Introduce Bill to Repeal Jones Act
May 14, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) have introduced the Open America’s Water Act, a bill that would repeal the Jones Act and allow all qualified vessels to engage in domestic trade between U.S. ports.
“Restricting trade between U.S. ports is a huge loss for American consumers and producers,” said Sen. Lee. “It is long past time to repeal the Jones Act entirely so that Alaskans, Hawaiians, and Puerto Ricans aren’t forced to pay higher prices for imported goods—and so they rapidly receive the help they need in the wake of natural disasters.”
Lee, Good Introduce Resolution Recognizing “National Pregnancy Center Week”
May 12, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) today introduced a resolution designating the week of November 8 as “National Pregnancy Center Week” and recognizing the vital work of pregnancy centers across the United States. The resolution is co-sponsored by 17 of his colleagues, and Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) has sponsored companion legislation in the House.
“Each year, thousands of women and men facing difficult pregnancy situations turn to these centers for help, hope, and healing,” said Sen. Lee. “Thanks to the heroic and tireless efforts of their staff and volunteers, parents receive compassionate care and crucial resources that help them to choose life, saving millions of babies’ lives each year. It’s only right that we honor and support their life-affirming work.”
Lee, Buck Question Amazon’s Influence on JEDI Contract Procurement Process
May 4, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) today sent letters to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense Sean O’Donnell regarding whether Amazon violated antitrust or ethics laws by attempting to influence the procurement process for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (“JEDI”) contract for cloud computing services for the Department of Defense. A potential 10-year, $10 billion contract to support warfighter operations across the department, it is the largest government cloud contract to a single contractor in history.
Lee and Thune Introduce Bill to Strengthen National Guard Resources and Readiness
Apr 28, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and John Thune (R-SD) today introduced the Guarding Readiness Resources Act, a bill to ensure that National Guard units receive the reimbursement required by law for the use of federal equipment to support state missions.
Current federal law allows for the use of helicopters, trucks, and other federal equipment on state missions, but requires that states reimburse the National Guard for the costs associated with their use. However, state reimbursements are automatically diverted to the U.S. Treasury under the Miscellaneous Receipts Act (MRA), which mandates that any funds from a non-congressional source be sent to the Treasury. Without reimbursements, National Guard units are left with significant shortfalls in federal accounts used for operations and maintenance, under the level of the original congressional appropriation.
