Press Releases
Hatch, Bishop, Lee Applaud Air Force Announcement on F-35
Dec 3, 2013
Today, U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, and U.S. Representative Rob Bishop applauded the U.S. Air Force’s official announcement that Hill Air Force Base will be the first operational squadron of the F-35 stealth fighter starting in 2015.
Leahy & Lee Introduce Legislation To Protect Innovators Against Patent Lawsuit Abuse
Nov 18, 2013
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Committee member Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) joined together Monday to introduce legislation to protect businesses and innovators who are being improperly targeted by patent trolls.
Lee, Hatch Respond to Administration’s Last-Minute Delay of Nearly 100,000 Acres in Utah for Energy Leasing
Nov 15, 2013
WASHINGTON - Today, Utah Senators Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch responded to the announcement by the Bureau of Land Management that it will be deferring nearly 100,000 acres from the proposed oil and gas lease auction on Tuesday, November 19. The BLM announcement that it will reduce the land available at auction by nearly 70% comes just days before sale was scheduled; once again proving the administration's repeated promises of transparency and open communication are empty.
“At a time when the State of Utah, local counties, and Utah's federal delegation are participating in a large scale initiative to resolve many long-standing public land issues, this last-minute bait and switch only reinforces the widespread belief that, under this Administration, BLM is becoming a vehicle for policies created by radical environmentalists,” said Senator Lee. “This bureaucratic maneuvering does more than hurt the companies that were ready, willing, and able to participate in Tuesday's auction. It discourages companies from participating in future auctions, and perhaps ever investing in states that are dominated by federal land ownership. The cumulative impact of this and other similar actions serves to drive investment away from the families and communities that live near lands managed by the federal government. In order to thrive, these communities need a good faith partner in the BLM.”
“This misguided announcement by the Bureau of Land Management to defer the leasing of 100,000 acres for energy production because of pressure from environmental elites ironically comes on the heels of news last month that the United States produced more oil than it imported,” said Hatch. “The fact that our nation is a global leader in energy production seems lost on the President and his Administration who’s doing everything to stop that from happening. This hurts American jobs and American energy independence and must stop.”
“At a time when the State of Utah, local counties, and Utah's federal delegation are participating in a large scale initiative to resolve many long-standing public land issues, this last-minute bait and switch only reinforces the widespread belief that, under this Administration, BLM is becoming a vehicle for policies created by radical environmentalists,” said Senator Lee. “This bureaucratic maneuvering does more than hurt the companies that were ready, willing, and able to participate in Tuesday's auction. It discourages companies from participating in future auctions, and perhaps ever investing in states that are dominated by federal land ownership. The cumulative impact of this and other similar actions serves to drive investment away from the families and communities that live near lands managed by the federal government. In order to thrive, these communities need a good faith partner in the BLM.”
“This misguided announcement by the Bureau of Land Management to defer the leasing of 100,000 acres for energy production because of pressure from environmental elites ironically comes on the heels of news last month that the United States produced more oil than it imported,” said Hatch. “The fact that our nation is a global leader in energy production seems lost on the President and his Administration who’s doing everything to stop that from happening. This hurts American jobs and American energy independence and must stop.”
Lee, Graves, Rubio Introduce Major Highway Funding Reform Bill
Nov 14, 2013
Today, U.S. Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA-14) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Transportation Empowerment Act, a bill to open up America’s transportation system to greater local control, better targeted projects, and a more efficient way to maintain and improve the nation’s infrastructure. The bill allows states to respond to the needs of their communities and develop systems that result in less traffic, shorter commutes, more affordable homes, and help families better manage the work-life balance.
