Press Releases
Lee’s Candy Bomber Bill Signed into Law
Jun 7, 2022
Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) bill renaming the Provo Veterans Center after the late Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen was signed into law today by President Biden. Col. Halvorsen is affectionately referred to as the ‘Candy Bomber’ for his unique and effective efforts distributing candy to the impoverished children of Berlin during the 1948 Berlin Airlift. Halvorsen’s compassion, humanitarianism, and community service did not end in 1948. He dedicated much of his life to serving children, promoting diplomacy between the United States and Germany, and regularly participated in community celebrations and re-enactments of the Candy Bombing of the Berlin Airlift. While Halvorsen died in February of this year, his legacy continues through the Utah-based Gail S. Halvorsen Aviation Education Foundation.
Support Mounts for Lee’s Digital Advertising Act
May 27, 2022
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), joined by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), introduced the Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act. The bill would restore and protect competition in digital advertising by eliminating conflicts of interest that have allowed the leading platforms in the market to manipulate ad auctions and impose monopoly rents on a broad swath of the American economy.
Lee’s UK Free Trade Resolution Passes Senate
May 26, 2022
Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) resolution calling for a free trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom passed the United States Senate. Sen. Lee has advocated for a US-UK trade agreement since Britain’s vote to exit the European Union which allows for such a deal. In negotiation with Democratic colleagues, Lee introduced various versions of the resolution over the course of the past three years. He also published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal with the Right Honourable Iain Duncan Smith MP calling for a free trade agreement between the allies. In 2015, the United Kingdom was Utah’s largest export market, and in 2016 Utah exported over $3.5 billion in goods and services to the UK.
Lee Amendments Push for American Energy
May 25, 2022
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and other Republican members of the Senate Commerce Committee offered over 70 amendments to a bill further regulating American energy companies. While Lee introduced dozens of amendments, those that Lee offered for votes focused on reversing the Biden Administration’s moratorium on energy leases on federal land and countering a proposed SEC rule targeting energy producers with sweeping Environmental Social Governance (ESG) criteria obligations. Gas prices in Utah and across the United States are currently at historic highs. Democrats led by Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) objected to the amendments. Sen. Lee’s efforts to overturn Chair Cantwell’s rulings against the amendment were defeated on party-line, 14-14 votes.
