Sen. Lee Praises Decision to Pull House Health Bill

Mar 24, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Friday after House leadership canceled a vote on the American Health Care Act: “The decision to pull this bill was a sound, commonsense one. We can now begin the hard and necessary process to get this right.” “We will begin working collaboratively here in the Senate and with our friends in the House to produce a bill that will get 51 votes in the Senate and 216 in the House. The bill will reduce costs, save taxpayers money, and make our health care system great again.” “The reality is that the current House bill was not ready for the House floor and certainly not ready for the Senate. We need an open, transparent, and deliberate process. The stakes for all Americans are simply too high for anything else.”

Sen. Lee Renews Call to Find Utahn Missing in Asia

Mar 23, 2017

WASHINGTON - Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) joined with seven Senate colleagues Thursday to reintroduce a Senate Resolution on the disappearance of BYU student David Louis Sneddon in China in 2004. An identical resolution unanimously passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in December, and a similar resolution introduced by Congressman Chris Stewart was adopted in the House of Representatives last year.

Sen. Lee Opposes House Health Care Bill

Mar 22, 2017

“I promised the people of Utah I would do everything I can to repeal Obamacare.” Lee said. “The American Health Care Act fails to both repeal Obamacare and replace it with an alternative that lowers costs."

Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

Mar 20, 2017

"In a former life, when I was a practicing attorney, I had the good fortune of appearing before you. So, I know from personal experience that you are one of the very best judges in the country. You come to oral argument prepared and you ask probing, fair questions that help you understand the arguments."

Sen. Lee Praises Trump’s Budget

Mar 16, 2017

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Lee (R-UT) released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s budget: “President Trump’s budget is a solid step towards addressing the gross over-spending that is driving our national debt,” Lee said. "Many of the programs eliminated by Trump’s budget can and should be financed by state and local entities, and Trump should be commended for making some of the tough calls necessary to move our country in a direction of solvency, with the principle of federalism in mind."

Sen. Lee Fights to Repeal Costly and Useless NOX Rule

Mar 14, 2017

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced a resolution pursuant to the Congressional Review Act Tuesday that will repeal a costly and ineffective Environmental Protection Agency regulation targeting the Huntington and Hunter power plants in Utah. The resolution of disapproval was introduced by the entire Utah Delegation.

GOP Senators Call on Sec. Tillerson to Investigate State Department Meddling

Mar 14, 2017

WASHINGTON  - Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and a group of Senators called on Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson today to immediately investigate how US funds are being used by the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support left-of-center political groups and impress left-leaning policies on sovereign nations, regardless of their desire for self-determination. One such group is USAID multi-grant recipient, the George Soros-backed Open Society Foundations. Sen. Lee and his colleagues believe this behavior is unacceptable and must be halted immediately. Sens. Inhofe (R-OK), Tillis (R-NC), Cruz (R-TX), Perdue (R-GA), and Cassidy (R-LA) join in signing the letter. “Over the past few months, elected officials and political leaders of foreign nations have been coming to me with disappointing news and reports of US activity in their respective countries. This includes reports of diplomats playing political favorites, USAID funds supporting extreme and sometimes violent political activists, and the US Government working to marginalize the moderates and conservatives in leadership roles,” Sen. Lee said. “This sort of political favoritism from our missions around the world is unacceptable and endangers our bilateral relationships.” The letter calls on Secretary Tillerson to, “…investigate all funds associated with promoting democracy and governance and review the programs, accounts, and multiplicity of US entities involved in such activities. We must … review how all our tax dollars are being utilized in order to halt activities that are fomenting political unrest, disrespecting national sovereignty and civil society, and ultimately undermine our attempts to build beneficial international relationships.” The most damaging consequence of the United States weighing in so heavily on one side of the political spectrum abroad is that we ostracize many foreign citizens who have traditionally supported strong relations with the United States. Such division allows aggressive opportunists like Russia space to operate and cause further damage. Sen. Lee is hopeful Secretary Tillerson acts quickly on this issue and looks forward to continuing to work with him in the future.

Keeping Our Promise to Repeal

Mar 10, 2017

“For five years, Senate Democrats have blocked our efforts to repeal Obamacare,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said on January 6, 2016. “That ends today.” “With this vote, we are keeping a promise and putting a bill that repeals Obamacare and defunds Planned Parenthood on the president’s desk,” Ryan continued. “This budget reconciliation bill, which would reduce the federal deficit by a half trillion dollars, forces the president to confront the failures of Obamacare head on. But most importantly, it clears the path to repealing this law with a Republican president in 2017 and replacing it with a truly patient-centered health care system. We will not back down from this fight to defend the sanctity of life and make quality health care coverage achievable for all Americans.”

Slow Walking the Swamp Drain

Mar 10, 2017

The federal government employs well over 2 million people. One man cannot lead an organization that large by himself. Not only do you need a full cabinet, but you need hundreds of undersecretaries and deputies as well. Being president without the aid of your cabinet and agency leaders makes the job almost impossible. But this is exactly the position Senate Democrats have chosen for the new Trump administration.

Lee Statement on American Health Care Act

Mar 7, 2017

“This is not the Obamacare repeal bill we’ve been waiting for. It is a missed opportunity and a step in the wrong direction,” Sen. Lee said.