Lee, Cruz, And Rubio Issue Joint Statement on House Reconciliation Bill

Oct 22, 2015

WASHINGTON – Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement Thursday in anticipation of Friday’s House vote on H.R. 3762:

“On Friday the House of Representatives is set to vote on a reconciliation bill that repeals only parts of Obamacare. This simply isn’t good enough. Each of us campaigned on a promise to fully repeal Obamacare and a reconciliation bill is the best way to send such legislation to President Obama’s desk. If this bill cannot be amended so that it fully repeals Obamacare pursuant to Senate rules, we cannot support this bill. With millions of Americans now getting health premium increase notices in the mail, we owe our constituents nothing less.”

Let’s Be Honest About the Debt Limit

Oct 22, 2015

Here we go again. The federal government has predictably maxed out its credit card for the fifth time in the last four years. The Treasury Department now insists there will be “catastrophic economic consequences” unless the debt limit is raised by November 3.

Lee, Klobuchar Announce Hearing On Proposed SABMiller Acquisition by Anheuser-Busch Inbev

Oct 20, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC— Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, today announced the committee will hold a hearing on Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s proposal to purchase SABMiller for over $103 billion. The hearing will examine how the proposed merger of the world’s two biggest beer producers would impact competition and consumers across the country.

Lee Battles Big Egg In Defense of Little Mayo

Oct 20, 2015

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today calling for an investigation into the America Egg Board and their alleged anti-competitive campaign against Hampton Creek’s “Just Mayo” vegan mayonnaise.

America’s national security depends on what takes place in Northern Utah

Oct 16, 2015

Earlier this week, I had the honor of speaking with a group of service members, civilians, and contractors from the Hill Air Force Base and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, as well as leaders and representatives from the Air Combat Command and Air Force Sustainment Center. The occasion of the event was the arrival of the first operational F-35 fighter jets to the 388th fighter wing at Hill AFB.

Congress Needs Uber-Level Innovation

Oct 15, 2015

The Republican establishment’s failure of leadership over the years is no excuse for conservatives’ failure of imagination now. Conservatives have to start working immediately on our own agenda of prudent but disruptive institutional innovation, so that regardless of who the next Speaker is, he or she will walk into the job with a blueprint for success.

Lee and Klobuchar Statement on SABMiller Acquisition by Anheuser-Busch Inbev

Oct 14, 2015

WASHINGTON—Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, issued the following statements today regarding Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s proposal to purchase SABMiller for over $103 billion.
 
“The proposed acquisition of SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch Inbev announced today, if consummated, would rank among the five largest mergers in history and consolidate approximately 70 percent of the U.S. beer market,” Lee said. "A deal of this size and scope demands close scrutiny of its impact on competition. In addition to the thorough review I expect this deal to receive from the agencies, should the parties reach a final agreement, the Antitrust Subcommittee will also be looking closely into how the merger may affect consumers and the marketplace.”
 
“The U.S. beer market is a $100 billion a year industry and Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s proposed acquisition of SABMiller raises important antitrust concerns,” Klobuchar said. “The merger could have negative consequences for consumers, including increased cost, and could deprive our thriving craft and independent brewers of distribution channels critical for reaching retail customers. The Antitrust Subcommittee must provide oversight and examine this deal closely.”

At the Utah Food Bank with Senator Ben Sasse

Oct 13, 2015

It’s not every day that I get to stand in front of a group of people and say that “we’re here today because I won a bet.” But the terms of this particular wager were just too good to turn down. If, by some miracle, Nebraska had ended up beating BYU, I would have sent ten of America’s finest turkeys, from Norbest turkey farms in Sanpete County, to the Omaha Open Door Mission – a wonderful Gospel Rescue Mission in Omaha, Nebraska. But because the Cougars were victorious over the Cornhuskers, Senator Ben Sasse agreed to buy ten delicious pork loins from Pillen Family Farms in Nebraska for the Utah Food Bank.

SMARTER Act

Oct 9, 2015

More than thirty years before Parker Brothers sold their first “Monopoly” board game, the federal government began laying the foundation for our modern anti-trust regulatory regime in order to prevent real monopolies from emerging in the marketplace. While this regulatory framework has largely succeeded in protecting the fair and open competition upon which our free-enterprise economy depends, a relatively minor design flaw has caused the enforcement of our nation’s antitrust laws to be inconsistent and uneven.

Principled Conservatism at its Best

Oct 9, 2015

Last week I was honored to stand with several of my Senate colleagues to announce the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, a bill that makes modest, but important and long-overdue, changes to our federal sentencing laws and penal system.