Sen. Lee Statement on Passage of COVID Package

Mar 6, 2021

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) issued the following statement on the passage of the COVID spending package today in the Senate: “For more than a year now, Congress has fought back against the COVID pandemic the same way the American people have: together. “Five times, we crafted major COVID relief bills in a bipartisan process, and passed them with overwhelming bipartisan support. Today, Democrats abandoned that approach and instead passed a partisan grab bag of special interest handouts in the name of fighting a disease. This bloated, wasteful bill was not written for patients or businesses or workers suffering from COVID; it was written for the Democratic Party. It’s a shame and a sham. “Throughout this difficult time, the American people have bravely held up their end. Today congressional Democrats dropped theirs.”

Sen. Lee Announces Hiring of Lee Lonsberry as Communications Director

Mar 5, 2021

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) today issued the following statement announcing the hiring of Lee Lonsberry of KSL Radio, who will assume his new role in early April. “I am pleased to announce that Lee Lonsberry will be joining my staff as Communications Director. Lee is one of the most respected members of the Utah media, fair and honest, and a consummate professional. His experience in Utah, and on Capitol Hill working for Rep. Rob Bishop, makes him the ideal messenger for my team as he works to serve the people of Utah.”

Sen. Lee Comments on February Employment Numbers

Mar 5, 2021

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), member of the Joint Economic Committee, today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Labor Department February 2021 report: "The 379,000 payroll jobs added in February suggest the recovery is accelerating. Americans’ hard work and perseverance during the challenges of the last year are finally being realized, and more Americans are being vaccinated. With a third vaccine now available for distribution, expectations are set for a record recovery from the pandemic-induced recession."

Sen. Lee Introduces Drone Integration and Zoning Act

Mar 4, 2021

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) today introduced the Drone Integration and Zoning Act (DIZA), a bill to establish a regulatory framework for drones based on the principles of local governance and cooperative federalism. “The FAA cannot feasibly or efficiently oversee millions of drones in every locality throughout the country,” Sen. Lee said. “Further, its current legal position claiming regulatory authority over every cubic inch of air in the United States – including air just inches above Americans’ private property – is both unsustainable and unlawful. In our constitutional system, the states have sovereign police powers to govern over inherently local issues, including the protection of property, land use, privacy, trespass, and law enforcement. The best way to ensure public safety, protect property rights, and unleash drone innovation is to empower the people closest to the ground to make local decisions in real time, which is exactly what the Drone Integration and Zoning Act does.”

Sen. Lee Introduces Government Spectrum Valuation Act

Mar 4, 2021

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Government Spectrum Valuation Act Wednesday, a bill designed to estimate the value of electromagnetic spectrum assigned to each federal agency as a first step towards meeting the nation’s spectrum needs. “So much of the technology we depend on in modern life depends on radio frequency spectrum,” said Sen. Lee. “Unfortunately, this fixed resource is becoming increasingly in demand and congested; and we do not currently have a way of making sure that federal spectrum is being efficiently allocated and managed. This bill will provide us with data that we need to better manage federal spectrum, and to better facilitate a strategy for operating our current technologies and future innovations.”

Sen. Lee Urges President Biden to Protect American COVID Innovation

Mar 4, 2021

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) today joined Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) to send a letter to President Biden urging his administration to reject an upcoming proposal at the World Trade Organization that would strip American companies of their intellectual property rights for any innovation related to COVID-19.

Sen. Lee Introduces Childcare Worker Opportunity Act

Mar 2, 2021

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) today introduced the Childcare Worker Opportunity Act, a bill to repeal burdensome District of Columbia licensing requirements for childcare workers. The bill is cosponsored by Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and house companion legislation is sponsored by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C). In December of 2016, the District of Columbia issued regulations requiring certain childcare workers to have either an associate or bachelor’s degree, depending on the type of child care they provide.

Sen. Lee Introduces Bill to Protect State Water Rights

Mar 2, 2021

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) yesterday introduced the State Water Rights Protection Act, a bill to prevent presidents from unilaterally creating reserved water rights when designating national monuments, as allowed under current law. As the size and scope of national monuments have significantly grown over time, often without the approval of a state and its inhabitants, these designations can impact, and in some cases terminate, privately held water rights.

Sen. Lee Announces Committee Assignments for the 117th Congress

Mar 2, 2021

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) today announced his committee assignments for the 117th Congress. “I am proud to once again serve the people of Utah on committees with such a wide range of responsibilities. With the First Amendment under attack, a new immigration crisis threatening stability along our border, and monopolistic technology corporations dominating the economy and even our politics, the work of the Senate Judiciary Committee has never been more important."

Sen. Lee, Colleagues Urge CDC to Help Reopen Schools

Mar 1, 2021

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Friday led his colleagues in sending a letter to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky regarding their concerns about continued school closures and their harmful effects on children, parents, and the economy, as documented in recent research. In light of scientific research showing low community transmission in schools, especially among younger children, the letter also calls on the CDC to revise its guidelines to help schools reopen.