Press Releases
Lee Announces Town Hall for Military Community and Veterans
Aug 14, 2014
SALT LAKE CITY – Senator Lee announces an upcoming town hall meeting that will focus on the needs of Utah’s veterans and military community. The event will be held on August, 26 at 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. At the Ed Kenley Centennial Amphitheater in Layton.
"As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I have an important responsibility in guiding the actions Congress takes to maintain the capabilities of our armed forces to provide for our national defense,” Lee explains. "I also have the responsibility to ensure that we provide veterans who have served the country with the benefits and recognition that they deserve. The feedback I receive from those who are part of the military community is crucial in helping me effectively fulfill these responsibilities.”
This event will provide a valuable opportunity for the military and veteran community to meet Senator Lee and the members of his staff that advise the senator on legislation related to the military and veterans. His staff that helps veterans with federal casework will also be in attendance to offer their services to veterans that need additional help working with federal agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs.
All are invited to attend, but for those who are unable to attend, Senator Lee has made a form available on his website where constituents can leave their feedback or questions for the Senator to address during the town hall meeting. This form can be found here:
lee.senate.gov/UTVETMIL
Lee at Reagan Ranch: Answering Reagan's Challenge
Aug 13, 2014
Lee, Herbert Host Utah Solutions Summit on Improving America’s Regulatory Climate
Aug 12, 2014
SALT LAKE CITY - Senator Lee, Governor Gary Herbert, Salt Lake Chamber, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, and the Utah Association of Counties will host a daylong solutions summit to discuss America’s vast and uncertain regulatory burden that is hindering economic growth, exacerbating unemployment, and making it harder for Utah businesses to succeed. The summit will facilitate a discussion of regulatory compliance issues states, communities, and businesses must deal with and offer a number of solutions to improve America’s economy through regulatory reform.
Senator Mike Lee, Governor Gary Herbert* and Lt. Governor Spencer Cox will give remarks, along with Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who will deliver a special keynote address in the morning. The early session will also include two panels featuring state and city officials, as well as business leaders to discuss the relationship between regulation and economic development.
The media is invited to attend the morning and lunch speeches, as well as the panel discussions. There will be special seating for reporters, along with access to Wi-Fi. Live blogging and tweeting are encouraged. Following the lunch speech, media outlets will have special access to the event speakers for one-on-one interviews.
Media is required to RSVP no later than Tuesday, August 19, 2014 to Emily Long, 202-224-3904 emily_long@lee.senate.gov.
*Governor Herbert will not be in attendance. His remarks will be delivered by pre-taped video.
UTAH SOLUTIONS SUMMIT
August 21, 2014
Little America Hotel
Salt Lake City
Agenda (subject to change):
8:00am Registration
8:30am Welcome
United States Senator Mike Lee
9:15am Keynote
United States Senator Tom Coburn
10:00am Local Regulations Panel Discussion
Chris Gamvroulas, President of Ivory Development, Ivory Homes
John Curtis, Mayor, Provo City
Stuart Clason, Director of Economic Development, Salt Lake City
Caitlin Gochnour, Ogden City Council
Maxine Turner, President, Cuisine Unlimited, Inc.
11:00am State Regulations Panel Discussion
Rich Walje, President & CEO, Rocky Mountain Power
Natalie Gochnour, Chief Economist, Salt Lake Chamber
Darrel Bostwick, Bostwick & Price
Bryce Bird, Director, Division of Air Quality, Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Derek Miller, President & CEO, World Trade Center Utah
11:45am Welcome
Governor Gary Herbert (by video)
11:50pm Lunch?
12:20pm Speech
Lt. Governor Spencer Cox
12:50pm One-on-One Interviews with Event Speakers
Senator Lee Announces August Town Hall Meetings
Aug 4, 2014
SALT LAKE CITY - Senator Lee announced five upcoming town hall meeting that he will be holding during the month of August. He plans to visit Cache County, Salt Lake County, Sanpete County, and Washington County. In addition to these visits, he will also be holding a town hall meeting that will focus on the military and veteran communities in Utah.
For a full list of the dates, times, and locations of these events, please visit the Town Hall Page of Senator Lee's Website.
Senator Lee looks forward to meeting with Utahns across the state to hear their concerns, answer their questions, and share more information about the solutions he is working on in Washington DC. He invites all Utahns to attend a town hall meeting in their area to be a part of this important dialogue.
Cache County
Salt Lake County
Military and Veterans Town Hall
Sanpete County
Washington County
Lee: A Better Way to Improve America's Transportation Infrastructure
Jul 29, 2014
“Under the Transportation Empowerment Act, Americans could finally enjoy the local infrastructure they want. More environmentally conscious states and towns could finally have the flexibility to invest in more green transit projects and bike lanes. Regions reaping the benefits of America’s energy renaissance could accelerate their infrastructure build-outs to keep up with their explosive growth. Dense cities could invest in more sustainable public transit networks.
“Meanwhile, surrounding counties could re-open the frontiers of the suburbs to a new generation of more livable communities. State and local governments will also be freed to experiment with innovative funding mechanisms not tied to the unreliable gas tax. And by cutting out the Washington middle-men, all those states and communities and taxpayers will be able to get more for less…
“Today Americans are unnecessarily stuck in traffic, stuffed in overcrowded subway cars, missing their kids’ games and recitals, priced out of neighborhoods close to their jobs and spend almost a full 40-hour work week per year stuck in gridlock.
“They deserve better than what Washington is offering, which is just the status quo plus a little more money. A new era demands a new approach.”
Senate to Vote on Lee's Transportation Reform
Jul 23, 2014
“Nearly half the states are already taking steps to become more fiscally independent in how they fund transportation projects,” said Sen. Lee. “This legislation would make that process easier and empower all 50 states to be more responsive to the needs of their citizens. The states already own and maintain the roads. There is no good reason why they should have to send their citizen’s infrastructure money to Washington first.”
The Transportation Empowerment Act phases down the federal gas tax over five years from 18.4 cents per gallon to 3.7 cents and transfers highway authority from the federal government to the states.
“Under this new system, Americans would no longer have to send significant gas-tax revenue to Washington, where politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists take their cut before sending it back with strings attached,” Lee added. “Instead, states and cities could plan, finance, and build smarter and more affordable projects.”
Lee’s plan would ignite a new era of infrastructure innovation and diversity. Some communities could choose to build more roads, while others might prefer to repair old ones. Some might build highways, others light-rail. And all would be free to experiment with innovative green technologies, and new ways to finance their projects, like congestion pricing and smart tolls. For the country as a whole, this plan would mean a better infrastructure system, new jobs and opportunities, diverse localism, and innovative environmental protection.
“Americans know we need more roads, bridges, lanes, and mass-transit systems. My plan will not only allow local communities to develop infrastructure projects according to their own needs and values, but will allow their dollars to go further by cutting out the political middle-men in Washington. Properly planned and located, these projects would help create new jobs, new communities, more affordable homes, shorter commuting times, and greater opportunity for businesses and families,” said Lee.
Lee’s stand-alone bill (S.1702) has been cosponsored by Senators Rubio, Cruz, Roberts, and Johnson, while a House companion (HR3486) introduced by Rep. Tom Graves has 49 cosponsors.
Lee Introduces Bill to Reduce Costs of Federal Infrastructure Projects
Jul 17, 2014
“The Davis-Bacon Act exemplifies how big government hurts the people it purports to help, gives unfair advantages to favored special interests, and squeezes the middle class,” said Sen. Lee. “It crowds out low-skilled workers in the construction industry, preventing them from getting a fair shot at a job, and funnels taxpayer money to prop up big labor unions, which accrue windfall profits as Davis-Bacon removes the incentive for federal contractors to hire unskilled, non-unionized workers.”
Forcing the American citizens to subsidize labor unions in this way artifically inflates the costs of construction projects to repair and improve our national infrastructure. This is unfair, and unsustainable, and costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year. Senator Lee’s “Davis-Bacon Repeal Act” removes these government-imposed obstacles to economic opportunity facing low-skilled workers and returns wasted taxpayer dollars back into the hands of the American people. Senator Lee will offer the bill as an amendment to legislation that addresses the funding of our nation's highway and transportation systems.
Joining Senator Lee in support of the “Davis-Bacon Repeal Act” are nine original cosponsors: Sens. Alexander (TN), Cruz (TX), Scott (SC), Sessions (AL), Coburn (OK), Johnson (WI), Cornyn (TX), Rubio (FL), and Vitter (LA).
Lee Reacts to Hobby Lobby Decision
Jun 30, 2014
"Today's decision in Burwell v Hobby Lobby marks an important victory for religious liberty. Americans do not shed their religious freedoms merely by going into business. The Court's ruling upholds and strengthens the rights of individuals and the rule of law, while protecting the Constitution."
Lee Reacts to Supreme Court's Recess Appointments Decision
Jun 26, 2014
Regardless of whether the President is a Democrat or a Republican, Members of Congress have a duty to support the Constitution and defend the Senate’s prerogatives. That is why I took measures to oppose President Obama’s unconstitutional recess appointments, including speaking out against these appointments at every opportunity and opposing the President’s nominees until the Senate imposed the Leahy-Thurmond rule in the summer of 2012.
Lee to Offer Amendment to Keep Housing Decisions in Local Hands
Jun 17, 2014
WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Mike Lee announced his plans to offer an amendment that would block funding for a regulation that allows the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to dictate local zoning requirements in any community across the country.
“Even for our highly centralized federal government, this rule represents an extreme step in consolidating government decisions over distinctly local matters within the hands of distant, unaccountable bureaucrats,” said Lee. “Local authorities are far more attuned to the unique conditions and needs of their communities, and they have a personal stake in their success. In every state across the country, there is no doubt that a mayor and city council officials will be more personally invested and more effective in improving the lives of the people in their community than a federal official located in Washington, D.C.”
Senator Lee plans to offer his amendment to the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act should it be brought to the floor this week.
If funded, the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule would empower federal officials to assert the authority to force any community that receives a Community Development Block Grant to comply with zoning plans written in Washington. This rule effectively allows HUD to carve up the country, block by block, according to its own priorities and preferences.
Community Development Block Grants are allocations of federal tax dollars, issued to local governments by HUD, to address a variety of community development needs. One of the primary uses of these resources is to provide affordable public housing for individuals and families in need. Sadly, the inevitable consequence of federal management over how local officials spend this money will only make it harder for communities to provide adequate low-cost housing for their neighbors in need.
To protect the ability of local officials to serve low-income communities, Senator Lee’s amendment would prevent this egregious power grab by the federal government and would keep housing decisions closest to the people who are affected by them.
Rep. Paul Gosar is the original sponsor of a similar amendment in the House, which was successfully added to H.R. 4745, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2015.
