Speeches
A Gross Dereliction of Duty
Sep 18, 2014
It is a gross dereliction of that duty – and an insult to those men and women – to tack on a military authorization to this must-pass spending bill, just so members of Congress can hurry back home.
The CR Prevents Congress from Doing Its Job
Sep 17, 2014
At some point today or tomorrow the Senate will hastily consider – and likely pass – a massive, hodgepodge spending bill to fund every last department and program within the federal government... even those we know don’t work. The alternative – if you can call it that – is to deny funding for every last department and program within the federal government... even those we know are essential.
Protecting Freedom of Speech
Sep 11, 2014
“Attention all citizens! To assure the fairness of elections by preventing the disproportionate expression of the views of any single powerful group. The government has decided that the following associations of persons shall be prohibited from speaking or writing in support of any candidate.” This is a statement that I have taken directly from a dissenting opinion issued by associate justice Antonin Scalia in a case called Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce. A 1989 ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Improving America's Regulatory Climate
Aug 21, 2014
It is my distinct privilege to welcome all of you to the inaugural – and hopefully first annual – Utah “Solutions Summit.”
In future years, the theme of the conference will change, but the purpose will stay the same. We want to bring together Utah’s leaders – in business and civil society and all levels of government - to discuss what we can do together to meet the greatest challenges facing our state and our country.
Answering Reagan’s Challenge
Aug 13, 2014
My first real exposure to the Reagan Administration occurred when I was about ten years old. My father, the late Rex E. Lee, served as the Solicitor General of the United States during President Reagan’s first term in office. It is the job of the Solicitor General to serve as the federal government’s advocate before the U.S. Supreme Court. Like every lawyer, the Solicitor General has a client—it’s the federal government, and specifically the presidential administration in power. As a practical matter, that meant that my dad was President Ronald Reagan’s voice in the Supreme Court.
