Press Releases
Sen. Lee, Colleagues Urge HHS to Expand Ethical Sources of Fetal Tissue
Mar 26, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Friday led 15 of his colleagues in sending a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) requesting that the agency evaluate its ability to expand the existing organ donation network to include preterm and stillborn infant donors, so as to provide an ethical alternative to aborted fetal tissue. Under no circumstance should scientific research and experimentation use cells or tissues derived from abortion.
The letter reads in part:
“Respecting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is critically important and this action would be a significant step toward protecting human life at all stages. If a consistent, high-quality, and ethically uncontroversial source of human fetal tissue exists, medical research would undoubtedly expand, advancing our nation’s understanding of human development and leading to potentially life-saving discoveries.”
Sen. Lee Reintroduces Poverty Measurement Improvement Act
Mar 25, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) today introduced the Poverty Measurement Improvement Act, a bill that would improve the accuracy of poverty measurement in the United States by requiring the Census Bureau to supplement its existing poverty data with additional data from other federal agencies.
“To help the vulnerable in our social safety net programs, we must make sure that our limited resources are being used as effectively as possible, and going towards those who are most in need,” Sen. Lee said. “This bill will help us ensure that we have the data to do just that.”
Sens. Lee, Crapo, and Risch Introduce MORE PILT Act
Mar 25, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Thursday introduced the Making Obligations Right by Enlarging Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act, or MORE PILT Act. Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) joined as original cosponsors of the bill.
States, counties, and local governments are not able to collect property taxes on public land in their jurisdictions. The Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program was established in 1977 to provide funding to offset the absence of property tax revenue. Unfortunately, PILT payments have historically been a small fraction of what local governments would otherwise generate through property taxes, leaving rural communities in Western states deprived of crucial funds.
Sen. Lee, Colleagues Introduce U.S.-U.K. Free Trade Resolution
Mar 24, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) today introduced a resolution recognizing the mutual history and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, and expressing the Sense of the Senate that the United States President should lay the groundwork for a mutually advantageous future trade agreement between the U.S. and the U.K.