Are All Men Created Equal, Or Are Some More Equal Than Others?

Jan 19, 2018

Mr. President, today hundreds of thousands of Americans from all walks of life will participate in the 45th annual March for Life. Why do these citizens march, year after year? It certainly isn't for their health. Or for the media coverage. No, these Americans march on behalf of those who cannot.

Earmarks Are Not The Solution

Jan 19, 2018

Remember earmarks, those infamous, special-interest spending provisions party leaders used to sprinkle over legislation like sugar to get representatives and senators to hold their noses and vote yes on bills they would otherwise oppose? You probably haven’t heard about earmarks lately, thank goodness. Republicans banned them when the Tea Party class came to Washington in 2010 opposed to the crony corruption. Who can forget pork-barrel embarrassments like the “Bridge to Nowhere,” the “Monuments to Me” projects that members got named after themselves, or the turtle tunnel in Florida (yes, it’s a tunnel for turtles)? Earmarks were everything Americans couldn’t stand about Washington – corrupt, wasteful, entitled, and out of touch.

Sen. Mike Lee: Say no to the return of the Swamp Thing (aka earmarks)

Jan 18, 2018

Remember earmarks, those infamous, special-interest spending provisions party leaders used to sprinkle over legislation like sugar to get representatives and senators to hold their noses and vote yes on bills they would otherwise oppose? You probably haven’t heard about earmarks lately, thank goodness. Republicans banned them when the Tea Party class came to Washington in 2010 opposed to the crony corruption. Who can forget pork-barrel embarrassments like the “Bridge to Nowhere,” the “Monuments to Me” projects that members got named after themselves, or the turtle tunnel in Florida (yes, it’s a tunnel for turtles)? Earmarks were everything Americans couldn’t stand about Washington – corrupt, wasteful, entitled, and out of touch.

FISA 702 Reauthorization

Jan 17, 2018

Mr. President, Our Founding Fathers knew what it was like to live in a dangerous world. When America was founded it was threatened by foreign adversaries. Its military might was feeble compared to the great powers of that time. And yet, the Founders insisted on a Constitution that protected Americans’ civil liberties.

Sen. Lee Questions International Court Attack on State Sovereignty

Jan 17, 2018

“Given that the United States is the predominant funder of the Organization of American States it is of great concern that one of its international courts has issued an opinion recommending Costa Ricans to change their law,” Sen. Lee said. “The United States must do more to safeguard religious liberties around the world, prevent taxpayer dollars from funding ineffective international organizations, and most importantly uphold national sovereignty and the principles of subsidiarity.”

Sen. Lee Disappointed in FISA Vote

Jan 16, 2018

WASHINGTON - Today, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement after the Senate voted to invoke cloture on reauthorizing FISA surveillance provisions. “I am deeply disappointed by the vote tonight which empowered Senate leadership to forbid any amendments to our nation’s surveillance system. The new warrant provisions in this bill are filled with loopholes that any biased government agent can exploit, and tonight’s vote has made it much more likely that improperly obtained private conversations will be used for political gain."

The Truth About FISA Reauthorization

Jan 12, 2018

This Friday, the House of Representatives passed the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, a bill that proponents claim adds key privacy protections to our nation’s foreign surveillance system. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. For example, proponents of the House bill claim that their legislation includes a new provision that requires the federal government to obtain a warrant before searching their spying database for domestic targets. And it is true; there is a new provision that requires a warrant to search the federal government’s dragnet databases under in certain circumstances.

A Good Start Towards Draining Washington’s Housing Swamp

Jan 12, 2018

One of the primary goals of the Obama administration was to use the full force of the federal government to force red state, suburban, and rural areas to adopt policies designed to change them into urban blue state communities. On the environmental side this policy invasion took the form of punitive regulations against the mining industry and million-acre land grabs that undermined the grazing industry.

Sens. Lee, Leahy Release Joint Statement on Upcoming Debate on Section 702 Legislation

Jan 11, 2018

Today the House of Representatives passed the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, by a vote of 256 to 167. The bill would reauthorize Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act. The House also rejected an amendment offered by Congressman Amash (R-Mich.) -- by a vote of 233 to 183 — which would have provided an overhaul of Section 702 with reforms intended to protect Americans’ privacy rights. Statutory authorization for Section 702 will expire after January 19, 2018. Following is the joint statement today of Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the principal Republican and Democratic authors and sponsors of the USA Liberty Act, which reauthorizes and reforms Section 702

Sen. Lee Statement on Passing of Bruce Cole

Jan 10, 2018

"Yesterday, our republic lost a devoted friend. Bruce Cole dedicated his life to forming responsible and patriotic American citizens. Dr. Cole was the longest-serving chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities, who served in that role from 2001 to 2009. He was a distinguished scholar of Renaissance art and a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal.