Tagged

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Mike Lee filed three amendments to a Senate bill being considered this week that would extend the time people have to collect unemployment insurance beyond six months.  The amendments continue Senator Lee’s push to enact solutions to problems in the Obama economy by focusing on job creation, accessibility of higher education and training, and improving work-life balance. 

The first amendment is modeled after Sen. Lee’s Transportation Empowerment Act (S. 1702) and would significantly reduce the administrative and regulatory burdens the federal government places on states’ use of transportation funding.  Under this proposal, states could respond more quickly to the needs of citizens, start and finish projects sooner, and spend less money to complete them – all while creating and maintaining good jobs. 

“Americans aren’t looking for unemployment insurance, they are looking for employment,” said Senator Lee. “The Democrats’ solution is to keep people tied to unemployment programs, rather than addressing the underlying problem.   My amendment would lift unnecessary burdens government imposes and give states and businesses the freedom to invest, grow, and hire more workers.”

The second amendment is built on Sen. Lee’s Higher Education Reform and Opportunity Act (S. 1904), legislation that would open up new educational opportunities for many low-income and non-traditional students.  The bill allows states to set up a new and parallel system for accrediting educational institutions, curricula, apprenticeships, programs, and even individual courses, which are then available to receive federal student loan money. 

“In today’s economy, employers need individuals with specialized skills,” said Senator Lee.  “But the current accreditation system – which drives up costs and leaves behind many non-traditional students, like working parents – acts as a barrier for millions of Americans who need the education and training to fill those jobs.  This amendment would make higher education and training more accessible and affordable to those who need it most.”

The third amendment is based on Sen. Lee’s Working Family Flexibility Act (S. 1623), which allows private-sector employees the same choice between comp time and overtime pay currently enjoyed by government employees.  Currently, federal law unfairly discriminates against these employees by prohibiting the use of comp time, forcing them to sacrifice family time for the family budget. 

“For many families, especially with young children, their most precious commodity is time,” said Sen. Lee. “But today, federal labor laws restrict the way moms and dads and everyone else can use their time. This can lead to tough decisions about how many hours parents can work, or even if they’re able to work at all.  My amendment would make that choice easier and help working families achieve the right balance.”

Today,  I joined Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to introduce the Restoration Of America’s Wire Act

In 2011, the Department of Justice released a legal opinion regarding Internet gambling that abruptly reversed the position it held for fifty years and undercut laws Congress passed relying upon the DOJ’s legal views.  Overnight, we went from a nation in which all gambling on the Internet was illegal under federal law to one in which states could authorize almost any and every form of gambling on the Internet that they choose.

It is time to step in and fix the damage done to the Wire Act and allow Congress, the states, law enforcement, and the public an opportunity to fully review, assess, understand, and debate the significant policy implications entailed in the spread of Internet gambling.

Summary of Provisions: 

• Section 1 – short title.

• Section 2 – removes from the Wire Act the phrase “sporting event or contest,” adds definitions to some of the terms found in the Wire Act.

Explanation of Section 2:

• The Wire Act uses the phrase “sporting event or contest” in one clause, but not in another.  While DOJ had always interpreted the Wire Act to ban all online gaming, the 2011 reversal – finding that it only prohibited sports betting - was predicated in part on the use of this phrase in only part of the Act.  Our bill will remove any ambiguity as to what form of online gambling the Wire Act applies to, and restore its longstanding interpretation.
• Among the definitions, this bill exempts from the definition of “bet or wager” certain non-gambling activities to mirror the exemptions found in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA); things such as, e.g., securities transactions, insurance contracts, bank transaction, and certain fantasy sports.  This bill also makes clear that using a “wire communication facility” for gambling, includes using the Internet.

• Section 3 – construction clause.

Explanation of Section 3:

• Finally, we include a construction clause to clarify that our legislation does not alter, limit, or extend the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978; in-person, state licensed retail lottery sales; or state charitable gaming laws.

In addition, I also sent the following letter to the Utah Attorney General in response to a request he made on the DOJ’s legal opinion regarding online gambling:

Sen. Lee Responds to Letter Requesting Review of Wire Act Interpretation