Press Releases

Hatch, Bishop, Lee Applaud Air Force Announcement on F-35

Dec 3, 2013

Today, U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, and U.S. Representative Rob Bishop applauded the U.S. Air Force’s official announcement that Hill Air Force Base will be the first operational squadron of the F-35 stealth fighter starting in 2015.

Leahy & Lee Introduce Legislation To Protect Innovators Against Patent Lawsuit Abuse

Nov 18, 2013

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Committee member Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) joined together Monday to introduce legislation to protect businesses and innovators who are being improperly targeted by patent trolls.

Lee, Hatch Respond to Administration’s Last-Minute Delay of Nearly 100,000 Acres in Utah for Energy Leasing

Nov 15, 2013

WASHINGTON - Today, Utah Senators Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch responded to the announcement by the Bureau of Land Management that it will be deferring nearly 100,000 acres from the proposed oil and gas lease auction on Tuesday, November 19. The BLM announcement that it will reduce the land available at auction by nearly 70% comes just days before sale was scheduled; once again proving the administration's repeated promises of transparency and open communication are empty.

“At a time when the State of Utah, local counties, and Utah's federal delegation are participating in a large scale initiative to resolve many long-standing public land issues, this last-minute bait and switch only reinforces the widespread belief that, under this Administration, BLM is becoming a vehicle for policies created by radical environmentalists,” said Senator Lee.  “This bureaucratic maneuvering does more than hurt the companies that were ready, willing, and able to participate in Tuesday's auction.  It discourages companies from participating in future auctions, and perhaps ever investing in states that are dominated by federal land ownership. The cumulative impact of this and other similar actions serves to drive investment away from the families and communities that live near lands managed by the federal government. In order to thrive, these communities need a good faith partner in the BLM.”

“This misguided announcement by the Bureau of Land Management to defer the leasing of 100,000 acres for energy production because of pressure from environmental elites ironically comes on the heels of news last month that the United States produced more oil than it imported,” said Hatch. “The fact that our nation is a global leader in energy production seems lost on the President and his Administration who’s doing everything to stop that from happening. This hurts American jobs and American energy independence and must stop.”

Lee, Graves, Rubio Introduce Major Highway Funding Reform Bill

Nov 14, 2013

Today, U.S. Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA-14) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Transportation Empowerment Act, a bill to open up America’s transportation system to greater local control, better targeted projects, and a more efficient way to maintain and improve the nation’s infrastructure. The bill allows states to respond to the needs of their communities and develop systems that result in less traffic, shorter commutes, more affordable homes, and help families better manage the work-life balance.

Lee Outlines Conservative Anti-Poverty Agenda

Nov 13, 2013

Today, Senator Mike Lee outlined a conservative anti-poverty agenda to address the growing opportunity crisis in America. His speech, at a forum sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, detailed the causes of social immobility among the working and middle class and charted several reforms that clear a path to help individuals and families stuck in poverty.

Lee Introduces Comp-Time Bill to Help Working Families

Oct 31, 2013

Today, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced a bill to help workers handle the constant challenge of work-life balance by allowing all individuals who work overtime to choose between monetary compensation or comp-time. The “Working Family Flexibility Act” would free workers to choose the best way to alleviate the difficulties of juggling work, home, kids, and community. Sen. Lee’s bill is a companion to legislation first introduced by Rep. Martha Roby (AL) in the House.

Lee Introduces Family Fairness Tax Reform Plan

Oct 30, 2013

Today Senator Mike Lee introduced a tax reform plan that would replaces much of today’s complex tax system with a new, simple structure that provides solutions for America’s ongoing opportunity crisis and ends the discrimination of parents in the tax code. The Family Fairness and Opportunity Tax Reform Act is a pro-family, pro-growth plan that incentivizes social mobility, promotes middle-class economic security, and improves opportunity for all Americans.

Excerpts from Lee’s Speech on a New Conservative Reform Agenda

Oct 29, 2013

Today, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) will give a speech at the Heritage Foundation on the way forward for conservatives and the need for a new conservative reform agenda.

Lee Speaks on CR, Debt Limit, ObamaCare Funding Vote

Oct 16, 2013

Today, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) delivered remarks on the upcoming CR, debt limit, and ObamaCare funding vote.

Lee’s Full Remarks at the Values Voters Summit

Oct 11, 2013

For too long, Republicans have put off the difficult work of developing a modernized, principled conservative reform agenda to meet many of the new challenges of the 21st century. There are many reasons why this is so. But I think the biggest is that in this city, conservatives often fall into a trap – defining ourselves by what we are against: Big government, debt, higher taxes and regulations, Obamacare. But we haven’t invested nearly as much time and energy in communicating what we conservatives are for. I’m talking about more than simply the policies we advocate. Conservatism is not about the bills we want to pass, but the nation we want to be.