Press Releases
Sen. Lee Reintroduces CBO Show Your Work Act
Mar 18, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) today reintroduced the “CBO Show Your Work” Act, legislation designed to improve the legislative process by making the Congressional Budget Office more transparent and accountable.
“Congress does need a scorekeeper to provide budgetary estimates for the policy changes it considers,” Sen. Lee said. “But at a bare minimum, that scorekeeper should be forced to show how its models work, which the CBO doesn’t currently have to do. This bill would require the CBO to publish its data, models, and all details of computation used in its cost analysis and scoring, so that the American people and the economic community can see the math for themselves.”
Sen. Lee, Colleagues Call for Judiciary Hearing on Obama-Biden FTC’s Sweetheart Deal with Google
Mar 18, 2021
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent letters to Federal Trade Commission Acting Chair (FTC) Rebecca Slaughter and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) calling for a public Judiciary Hearing into recent revelations that the Obama-Biden FTC failed to enforce antitrust law in an 2011 investigation of Google and instead let the company off with a slap on the wrist. The senators call for testimony from Google executives and relevant FTC officials, including the former Commissioners who now represent big tech firms.
Utah Delegation, State Officials Welcome Interior Secretary Haaland’s Decision to Visit Utah
Mar 17, 2021
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and Representatives Chris Stewart (R-Utah), John Curtis (R-Utah), Burgess Owens (R-Utah), and Blake Moore (R-Utah), Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Brad Wilson and Attorney General Sean Reyes issued the following statement in response to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s announcement of her upcoming visit to Utah to tour Bears Ears and Grand-Staircase Escalante national monuments.
Sens. Lee, Tillis, and Paul Introduce Mens Rea Reform Act
Mar 12, 2021
WASHINGTON - Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced the Mens Rea Reform Act of 2021 today, a bill that aims to reduce overcriminalization, rein in excessive regulation, and curb overzealous prosecutions.
As the power of the federal government has grown in size and scope, regulators and prosecutors have found ways to penalize activities that most Americans would view as innocent or non-criminal. As a result, ordinary Americans have found themselves facing jail time for supposedly “criminal” activities like abandoning a snowmobile on federal land, accidentally diverting sewage backups to the wrong drain, or unknowingly selling goods to the wrong person. In each of these cases, the government did not have to prove that the person knew or intended to commit a crime; they simply had to prove that the person committed the action.
