Press Releases
Sen. Lee, Colleagues Question DOJ, FTC Antitrust Enforcement
Oct 5, 2021
Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Reps. Ken Buck (R-CO), and Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to Richard Powers, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, and Lina Kahn, Chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission questioning the dual antitrust enforcers’ increasingly divergent standards in enforcing the law.
Sen. Lee Introduces Act to Protect Downwinders
Sep 27, 2021
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Downwinders Act to renew and extend protections for Utahns and others under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). Downwinders are residents of certain counties that developed cancer after nearby above-ground atomic weapons testing. Eligibility under RECA is currently set to expire on July 7, 2022.
Sen. Lee Introduces Bills to Combat Agriculture Fees
Sep 27, 2021
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced two bills to reform agricultural checkoff programs. The bills will make checkoff programs more responsive to contributors and voluntary rather than mandatory. Checkoffs are mandatory Department of Agriculture fees assessed on a per-unit basis that fund boards designed to promote the commodity as a whole. However, checkoff funds are frequently coopted against the interests of some or even a majority of contributors. Countless farmers, ranchers, and other producers have seen their checkoff dollars squandered or even used against their interests. These bills would prohibit certain wasteful, anti-competitive, and deceptive behavior from checkoff board and make checkoff participation voluntary.
Sen. Lee Introduces Infrastructure Plan
Sep 22, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced today his plan to pay less and build more infrastructure. The bill, titled the Transportation Empowerment Act, would cut taxes and save federal dollars all while allowing more infrastructure to be built.
The proposal focuses federal infrastructure spending on the Interstate Highway System and cuts the federal gas tax from 18.3 cents to 7 cents a gallon and the federal diesel tax from 24.3 cents to 8.3 cents a gallon. It also covers the Highway Trust Fund’s outstanding obligations and replenishes the depleted fund by transferring $120.2 billion in unspent COVID-19 funds.
Of the bill, Sen. Lee said, “The Federal Government can easily meet its infrastructure obligations and we don’t have to spend trillions of dollars to do it. By focusing on what is truly federal, we can cut taxes, pay less, and build more. This bill does just that.”
Sen. Lee is joined by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) as cosponsors.
A one-pager for the bill can be found here. The full text of the bill can be read here.
Sen. Lee Introduces Bill Protecting Children from Sex Reassignment Research
Sep 21, 2021
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act, a bill prohibiting federal funding of sex-reassignment research on minors. Medical interventions to reassign sex are experimental, irreversible, and often fail to produce the intended effects of improving patients’ mental health. This bill would prohibit federal funding from being used in research or publications that seek to establish or affirm gender identities that are incongruent with a minor’s biological sex.
Sens. Lee, King’s Made in USA Bill Passes Senate
Sep 15, 2021
The United States Senate unanimously passed Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Angus King’s (I-ME) Reinforcing American-Made Products Act which establishes a national standard for products to be labeled “Made in USA” in interstate commerce.
Sens. Lee, Tuberville Introduce Bill Requiring Senate Vote for CDC Director
Sep 14, 2021
Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) today introduced the Restoring Trust in Public Health Act which would require that nominees for Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) be confirmed by the United States Senate. Recently, the CDC has impacted the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans through its COVID-19 guidelines and eviction moratorium all under directors that have not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Lee Introduces War Funding Controls
Sep 14, 2021
Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Mike Braun (R-IN) today introduced the Restraining Emergency War Spending Act to place Congressional controls on the use of emergency funding for enduring wars. Congress has appropriated over $2 Trillion of defense emergency funds over the past two decades with largely amorphous requirements, and the funds have been spent on everything from operations in Afghanistan and Iraq to standard deterrence missions in the European theater.
Sen. Lee, Colleagues Advocate for Religious Freedom in SCOTUS Brief
Sep 10, 2021
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and 11 of his Senate colleagues submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court today encouraging the Court to protect religious educational institutions from discrimination in the form of disqualification from certain programs.
Sen. Lee, Colleagues Demand Answers from Biden on Afghanistan Withdrawal
Sep 2, 2021
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and 25 of his senate colleagues sent a letter to President Biden demanding information regarding the humanitarian crisis left by the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan. Specifically, the letter requests information on the number and status of Americans, green-card holders, and allies who were left behind.
