Senator Lee Delivers his 2013 Annual Report to the Utah Legislature
February 21, 2014
On Wednesday, February 20, I delivered my annual report to the Utah Legislature. I take very seriously my responsibility to stand accountable to the legislature on a regular basis to keep them abreast of what I am doing in the Senate. I spent about twenty minutes with the Utah House of Representatives and the Utah Senate to introduce to them some of my recent legislative proposals and to answer their questions.
I highlighted several elements of my Conservative Reform Agenda. Our country is currently facing an inequality crisis where those on the bottom of the income scale are trapped in poverty, those in the middle class face economic insecurity, and those at the top of the income scale enjoy an environment of cronyist privilege.
I have introduced several proposals recently to address this inequality crisis, and several of my proposals are designed to return power that has concentrated in Washington back to the states and their state legislatures. For example, the Higher Education Reform Act would enable states to create alternative accreditation standards higher education institutions. The Transportation Empowerment Act would lower the federal gas tax and empower states to build and maintain their own transportation infrastructure without all of the bureaucratic overhead costs that come from sending the money to Washington first. I also introduced the Welfare Reform and Upward Mobility Act to Utah's legislators. This proposal will strengthen work requirements for social welfare programs to turn these into programs that help Americans earn a good living and build a good life. As this proposal will also improve state administration of welfare programs, I was encouraged to see a strong reception of these proposals by Utah's state legislature.
Local governments solve local problems better than an expensive, centralized government in Washington D.C., and when I meet with Utah's local officials, I am convinced that they need to be equal partners and allies when it comes to solving our nation's greatest problems.
In addition to sharing some of my recent legislative proposals to this group, I also shared my 2013 Annual Report, which you can read here:
