Senator Lee’s Floor Remarks on S. 5021: The “Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014”
Jul 29, 2014
We are here today because our federal highway policy status quo is not working. And it hasn’t been for a long time.
This is the sixth time American taxpayers have been asked to bail out the Highway Trust Fund since 2008. None of those patches – $52 billion worth of bailouts in seven years – fixed the problem. And neither will the $10.8 billion authorized by the bill before us today. It will buy us only a few months before we are right back where we are now.
July 28, 2014 - Mobile Office Visit to Escalante
Jul 28, 2014
Mobile Office Visit To Escalante City
When: Monday 28 July 2014 @ 11:00-12:00 PM
Where: Escalante Community Center, 100 West 94 North, Escalante, UT 84726
Senate to Vote on Lee's Transportation Reform
Jul 23, 2014
WASHINGTON – Today, the full Senate agreed to include Senator Mike Lee’s proposal to reform transportation funding in a package of amendments on the Highway Trust Fund. The “Transportation Empowerment Act” would allow states to keep the vast majority of revenue each raises through the gas tax, making it easier and more effective for communities to develop the transportation system they want and need.
“Nearly half the states are already taking steps to become more fiscally independent in how they fund transportation projects,” said Sen. Lee. “This legislation would make that process easier and empower all 50 states to be more responsive to the needs of their citizens. The states already own and maintain the roads. There is no good reason why they should have to send their citizen’s infrastructure money to Washington first.”
The Transportation Empowerment Act phases down the federal gas tax over five years from 18.4 cents per gallon to 3.7 cents and transfers highway authority from the federal government to the states.
“Under this new system, Americans would no longer have to send significant gas-tax revenue to Washington, where politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists take their cut before sending it back with strings attached,” Lee added. “Instead, states and cities could plan, finance, and build smarter and more affordable projects.”
Lee’s plan would ignite a new era of infrastructure innovation and diversity. Some communities could choose to build more roads, while others might prefer to repair old ones. Some might build highways, others light-rail. And all would be free to experiment with innovative green technologies, and new ways to finance their projects, like congestion pricing and smart tolls. For the country as a whole, this plan would mean a better infrastructure system, new jobs and opportunities, diverse localism, and innovative environmental protection.
“Americans know we need more roads, bridges, lanes, and mass-transit systems. My plan will not only allow local communities to develop infrastructure projects according to their own needs and values, but will allow their dollars to go further by cutting out the political middle-men in Washington. Properly planned and located, these projects would help create new jobs, new communities, more affordable homes, shorter commuting times, and greater opportunity for businesses and families,” said Lee.
Lee’s stand-alone bill (S.1702) has been cosponsored by Senators Rubio, Cruz, Roberts, and Johnson, while a House companion (HR3486) introduced by Rep. Tom Graves has 49 cosponsors.
“Nearly half the states are already taking steps to become more fiscally independent in how they fund transportation projects,” said Sen. Lee. “This legislation would make that process easier and empower all 50 states to be more responsive to the needs of their citizens. The states already own and maintain the roads. There is no good reason why they should have to send their citizen’s infrastructure money to Washington first.”
The Transportation Empowerment Act phases down the federal gas tax over five years from 18.4 cents per gallon to 3.7 cents and transfers highway authority from the federal government to the states.
“Under this new system, Americans would no longer have to send significant gas-tax revenue to Washington, where politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists take their cut before sending it back with strings attached,” Lee added. “Instead, states and cities could plan, finance, and build smarter and more affordable projects.”
Lee’s plan would ignite a new era of infrastructure innovation and diversity. Some communities could choose to build more roads, while others might prefer to repair old ones. Some might build highways, others light-rail. And all would be free to experiment with innovative green technologies, and new ways to finance their projects, like congestion pricing and smart tolls. For the country as a whole, this plan would mean a better infrastructure system, new jobs and opportunities, diverse localism, and innovative environmental protection.
“Americans know we need more roads, bridges, lanes, and mass-transit systems. My plan will not only allow local communities to develop infrastructure projects according to their own needs and values, but will allow their dollars to go further by cutting out the political middle-men in Washington. Properly planned and located, these projects would help create new jobs, new communities, more affordable homes, shorter commuting times, and greater opportunity for businesses and families,” said Lee.
Lee’s stand-alone bill (S.1702) has been cosponsored by Senators Rubio, Cruz, Roberts, and Johnson, while a House companion (HR3486) introduced by Rep. Tom Graves has 49 cosponsors.
July 23, 2014 - Mobile Office Visit to Junction
Jul 23, 2014
Mobile Office Visit to Junction City
When: Wednesday 23 July 2014 @ 2:30-4:00 PM
Where: Piute County Courthouse, 550 North Main, Junction, UT 84740July 23, 2014 - Mobile Office Visit Loa
Jul 23, 2014
Mobile Office Visit to Loa City
When: Wednesday 23 July 2014 @ 10:30-12:00 PM
Where: Wayne County Courthouse, 18 South Main, Loa UT 84747Lee Introduces Bill to Reduce Costs of Federal Infrastructure Projects
Jul 17, 2014
WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Mike Lee introduced a bill that would drive down the inflated costs of federally funded construction projects on our nation’s infrastructure and makes it easier for federal contractors to train and employ workers of all skill levels. The “Davis-Bacon Repeal Act” would also save the American people billions of dollars in wasted taxpayer money and diminishe the power of the cronyist alliance between big government and big labor unions.
“The Davis-Bacon Act exemplifies how big government hurts the people it purports to help, gives unfair advantages to favored special interests, and squeezes the middle class,” said Sen. Lee. “It crowds out low-skilled workers in the construction industry, preventing them from getting a fair shot at a job, and funnels taxpayer money to prop up big labor unions, which accrue windfall profits as Davis-Bacon removes the incentive for federal contractors to hire unskilled, non-unionized workers.”
Forcing the American citizens to subsidize labor unions in this way artifically inflates the costs of construction projects to repair and improve our national infrastructure. This is unfair, and unsustainable, and costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year. Senator Lee’s “Davis-Bacon Repeal Act” removes these government-imposed obstacles to economic opportunity facing low-skilled workers and returns wasted taxpayer dollars back into the hands of the American people. Senator Lee will offer the bill as an amendment to legislation that addresses the funding of our nation's highway and transportation systems.
Joining Senator Lee in support of the “Davis-Bacon Repeal Act” are nine original cosponsors: Sens. Alexander (TN), Cruz (TX), Scott (SC), Sessions (AL), Coburn (OK), Johnson (WI), Cornyn (TX), Rubio (FL), and Vitter (LA).
“The Davis-Bacon Act exemplifies how big government hurts the people it purports to help, gives unfair advantages to favored special interests, and squeezes the middle class,” said Sen. Lee. “It crowds out low-skilled workers in the construction industry, preventing them from getting a fair shot at a job, and funnels taxpayer money to prop up big labor unions, which accrue windfall profits as Davis-Bacon removes the incentive for federal contractors to hire unskilled, non-unionized workers.”
Forcing the American citizens to subsidize labor unions in this way artifically inflates the costs of construction projects to repair and improve our national infrastructure. This is unfair, and unsustainable, and costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year. Senator Lee’s “Davis-Bacon Repeal Act” removes these government-imposed obstacles to economic opportunity facing low-skilled workers and returns wasted taxpayer dollars back into the hands of the American people. Senator Lee will offer the bill as an amendment to legislation that addresses the funding of our nation's highway and transportation systems.
Joining Senator Lee in support of the “Davis-Bacon Repeal Act” are nine original cosponsors: Sens. Alexander (TN), Cruz (TX), Scott (SC), Sessions (AL), Coburn (OK), Johnson (WI), Cornyn (TX), Rubio (FL), and Vitter (LA).
Protecting the First Freedom guaranteed in the First Amendment
Jul 16, 2014
The most extraordinary feature of the bill before us today is the incongruity between its title and its content.
The title—the “Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act”—is clear and straightforward. It suggests the bill is aimed at the important and worthy goal of protecting women’s health.
But the text of the legislation plainly demonstrates that the true objective of the bill is to circumscribe Americans’ religious liberties within the narrow confines of the Democratic Party’s partisan agenda and the whims of politicians and bureaucrats.
July 22, 2014 - Mobile Office Visit Richfield
Jul 14, 2014
Mobile Office Visit to Richfield City
When: Tuesday 22 July 2014 @ 5:15-6:45 PM
Where: Sevier County Courthouse, 250 North Main, Richfield, UT 84701
July 22, 2014 - Mobile Office Visit Fillmore
Jul 14, 2014
Mobile Office Visit to Fillmore City
When: Tuesday July, 22 2014 @ 10:30-12:00 PM
Where: Fillmore @ Territorial State House, 50 West Capital Avenue Fillmore, UT 84631
July 22, 2014 - Mobile Office Visit Delta
Jul 14, 2014
Mobile Office Visit To Delta City
When: Tuesday July 22, 2014 @ 2:00-3:30 PM
Where: Delta Community Center, 75 West Main Street, Delta, UT 84624
