Meeting Utah Businesses

During the last week, I have been meeting with various groups across the state of Utah.  I had a few meetings with various business leaders, employees, and industry leaders in Utah's thriving private sector.

thank you to @SenMikeLee for participating in the @NASDAQOMX executive roundtable this morning in SLC pic.twitter.com/oBHpggVNXD

— Michael Bartels (@ekimsletrab) May 28, 2014

On Wednesday morning I was part of an executive roundtable with several dozen heads of companies that are listed on NASDAQ.  Many of these companies are technology companies.  We had a very engaging conversation about the patent reform bill I am co-sponsoring with Senator Leahy and how “patent trolls” are crippling many companies in their industries.

I also met with regional Comcast representatives to discuss Utah-specific issues regarding infrastructure and access.  As Utah continues to be one of the world's foremost locations for new businesses, entrepreneurship, and the tech industry, it was important to hear from one of our state's internet providers regarding the importance of high-speed internet access to these different sectors and to Utahns.

On Thursday I met with over 60 Salt Lake City-based employees of the Williams Company.  I provided a report of the current issues facing Congress, and I was able to hear from these hard-working Utahns about their industry, their concerns, and their accomplishments.

I also had a very productive discussion with the Utah Steel Fabricators Association.  This group comprises most of the distributors, processors, and fabricators of steel in the state of Utah, which represents many thousands of Utah jobs.  We discussed the future of American manufacturing, and how certain reforms can help continue job growth in Utah.

Meeting with Local Officials

On Thursday morning, I met with a group of legislators from the Utah House of Representatives.  It was an engaging and lively discussion with many of our state legislators, and we spent several hours discussing issues such as healthcare and education, and how I can best be a resource to our state legislature.

I also spoke at the investiture of Judge Carolyn McHugh to the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. I supported Judge McHugh’s nomination, the first female member of this court to be appointed in over 20 years.

Meeting with Utah's Media

My interview w/ @ABC4Glen will air this evening. I look forward to following his work as new reporter at @abc4utah. pic.twitter.com/ADpSYzDAFH

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) May 29, 2014

I had an enjoyable tour of ABC4 Studios in Salt Lake City by Richard Jones, the General Manager.  I met with many of the employees of Channel 4, and had an in-depth interview with Glen Mills, Channel 4’s political reporter, who asked me questions about my bipartisan Smarter Sentencing Act, which I am co-sponsoring with one of my Democratic colleagues in the Senate. 

Sentencing reform

Transportation Reform

On May 21, a member of my staff participated in a tour of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District. The tour began at Smith and Morehouse Reservoir in Summit County where up to 1,360 acre-feet of water from runoff is stored. This water eventually arrives at the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District's water treatment facility in Layton, is processed, and then is piped to various municipalities in Weber and Davis Counties.

Later on the tour, my staff got a chance to go underneath the Wanship Dam, a dam that impounds up to 62,100 acre-feet water from the Rockport Lake. A tour such as this makes one truly appreciate the clean water that is released from a faucet in one's home or office.  As a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I recognize that it is crucial to maintain relationships with the stewards of our water infrastructure.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, Senator Mike Lee joined Senate Western Caucus Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) and Congressional Western Caucus co-chairs Stevan Pearce (R-NM) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and 42 other Caucus Members in sending a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy.  
 
In their letter, the Caucus members call on the EPA to refrain from moving forward with their controversial “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule that will drastically expand federal regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act. The members also highlight how this rule will negatively impact farms, small businesses, energy production, commercial development and substantially interfere with the ability of individual landowners to use their property.
 
“We urge you to change course by committing to operating under the limits established by Congress, recognizing the states’ primary role in regulating and protecting their streams, ponds, wetlands and other bodies of water.  We also again ask that you consider the economic impacts of your policies knowing that your actions will have serious impacts on struggling families, seniors, low-income households and small business owners,”Caucus Members wrote.
 
In addition to Barrasso, Pearce and Lummis, the letter was signed by Senators David Vitter (R-LA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mike Lee (R-UT), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Orrin Hatch (R-UT),  John Thune (R-SD), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Roy Blunt (R-AR), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Deb Fischer (R-NE),  John Cornyn (R-TX), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Johanns (R-NE),  James Risch (R-ID) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Representatives Rob Bishop (UT-01), Markwayne Mullin (OK-01), Jeff Denham (CA-10), Mike Simpson (ID-02), Don Young (AK-AL), Walter Jones (NC-03), Matt Salmon (AZ-05), Scott Tipton (CO-03), Mike Conaway (TX-11), Mark Amadei (NV-02), Cory Gardner (CO-04), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Chris Stewart (UT-02), Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Tom McClintock (CA-04), Kevin Cramer (ND-AL), Devin Nunes (CA-22), David Schweikert (AZ-06), Randy Neugebaurer (TX-19), Raul Labrador (ID-01), Kristi Noem (SD-AL), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Trent Franks (AZ-08), Paul Broun (GA-10), Mike Coffman (CO-06), Jason Chaffetz (UT-03).
 
The full text of the letter:
May 8, 2014
 
The Honorable Gina McCarthy
Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
 
Dear Administrator McCarthy,
 
As members of the Senate and Congressional Western Caucuses, we are contacting you regarding our opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) efforts to significantly expand federal regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
 
We have reviewed the proposed rule that you signed on March 25th and have concluded that the rule provides essentially no limit to CWA jurisdiction.  This is despite the Supreme Court consistently recognizing that Congress limited the authority of the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers under the CWA.  
 
There has been strong opposition to EPA’s approach due to the devastating economic impacts that a federal takeover of state waters would have.  Additional and substantial regulatory costs associated with changes in jurisdiction and increased permitting requirements will result in  bureaucratic barriers to economic growth, negatively impacting farms, small businesses, commercial development, road construction and energy production, to name a few.
 
The threat of ruinous penalties for alleged noncompliance with the CWA is also likely to become more common given the proposed rule’s expansive approach.  For example, the EPA’s disputed classification of a small, local creek as a “water of the United States” could cost as much as $187,500 per day in civil penalties for Wyoming resident Andrew Johnson.  Similar uncertainty established under the proposed rule will ensure that expanding federal control over intrastate waters will substantially interfere with the ability of individual landowners to use their property.
 
We share the concerns expressed by the Western Governors Association regarding the lack of meaningful state consultation in crafting this rule.  The Western Governors stated in a letter to you on March 25th that they –
 
“are concerned that this rulemaking was developed without sufficient consultation with the states and that the rulemaking could impinge upon state authority in water management.”

 
We fail to understand why the EPA has not adequately consulted our Governors about a rule that has such a significant impact on the economy of our states.  For example, rural states in the West have sizeable ranching and farming operations that will be seriously impacted by this rule.  Despite the claim that the Army Corps will exempt 53 farming practices as established by the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the list of 53 does not cover all existing agricultural practices.  There are a number of farming and ranching practices, such as the application of pesticides, that are not covered on this list that occur every day in the West without penalty.  Under this new proposed rule, it appears those farmers and ranchers will need to get a permit or be penalized if they continue to use those non-covered practices in new federal waters.
 
Congress has demonstrated strong opposition to past efforts to have the federal government control all wet areas of the states.  During the recent consideration of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), a bipartisan group of Senators voted 52 to 44 to reject the EPA’s CWA Jurisdiction Guidance, which would have also resulted in effectively unlimited jurisdiction over intrastate water bodies.  Efforts to pass legislation to have the federal government control all non-navigable waters have also failed in past Congresses.
 
We urge you to change course by committing to operating under the limits established by Congress, recognizing the states’ primary role in regulating and protecting their streams, ponds, wetlands and other bodies of water.  We also again ask that you consider the economic impacts of your policies knowing that your actions will have serious impacts on struggling families, seniors, low-income households and small business owners.