Senator Lee Commends FTC’s Careful Analysis
Apr 2, 2012
“Our antitrust laws serve important purposes, but federal regulators should not interfere with productive market forces absent evidence demonstrating a significant threat to consumer welfare. Based on the evidence presented at our Antitrust Subcommittee hearing, I am convinced that although significant in size this merger does not pose a threat to robust competition. I am pleased that the FTC’s extensive investigation corroborated my view and demonstrated that this transaction is unlikely to have adverse affects on the PBM and specialty drug markets or lead to the exercise of monopsony power over retail pharmacies, and that the merger may well lead to lower prices for PBM services.”
Letting States Control Their Land -- Day Lee Briefing 04/02/2012
Apr 2, 2012
Senator Lee is quoted on Utah's attempt to reclaim the federal lands within its borders.
Obama Versus the Supreme Court -- Day Lee Briefing 03/30/12
Mar 30, 2012
Today’s Agenda
Today, Senator Lee is in Utah to meet with constituents.
From the Senator’s Desk
On Twitter
SenMikeLee
In the House today they voted on President Obama's budget. It lost 414-0.
SenLeeComs
Encouraging that majority of House GOP voted 4 @RepublicanStudy budget http://1.usa.gov/HyPKme Shows we are still party of fiscal discipline
SenLeePressSec
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Pat Condon joins @SenMikeLee as policy adviser http://bit.ly/H1WGfs #utpol #airforce
SenLeeResearch
Obama #budget fails to get a single supporting vote... again: http://bit.ly/GXcwsL #tcot #tlot #deficit #spendingproblem
Around the Water Cooler
High court has options on health care law
The arguments are done and the case has been submitted, as Chief Justice John Roberts says at the end of every Supreme Court argument. Now the justices will wrestle with what to do with President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. They have a range of options, from upholding the law to striking it down in its entirety. The court also could avoid deciding the law's constitutionality at all, although that prospect seems remote after this week's arguments.
Obama, taking on Congress, could find new foe in Supreme Court
President Obama might be campaigning this summer not just against the GOP nominee and congressional Republicans but also the Supreme Court.
Obama faces a bigger and more direct threat from the court than any candidate in recent history. The justices are expected to rule in June on whether his signature healthcare law is constitutional, and oral arguments this week indicated there’s a good chance they will strike down at least part of the law: the mandate to have insurance.
SENATE JUDICIARY: Obamacare not an enumerated power
Mar 29, 2012
This month marks the two-year anniversary of Obamacare’s enactment. For most Americans, it is not a time to celebrate with cake or confetti; it is a solemn acknowledgment of the looming implementation of Obamacare’s most controversial provision - the “individual mandate” that will force every American to purchase government-approved health insurance.
Medicaid and Coercion -- Day Lee Briefing 03/29/2012
Mar 29, 2012
As the Supreme Court hears three days of oral arguments this week about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), Sen. Mike Lee is doing his best to keep Americans apprised about what's happening at the high court.
Lee Introduces the Federal Reserve Modernization Act
Mar 29, 2012
Today, Senator Mike Lee introduced legislation that would make much needed reforms to the nation’s Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve Modernization Act (FRMA) will focus the Fed’s mission on price stability, require better reporting and make the organization more transparent to Americans.
Introducing the Federal Reserve Modernization Act
Mar 28, 2012
Ensuring the 21st century is another American century should be Congress’s top priority. There is no reason for America to take a backseat to China or any nation as the world’s economic superpower. Congress’s role in the effort is clear—it can either lay the policy foundation for, or create hurdles against, achieving economic prosperity.
Obama's constitutional disregard
Mar 28, 2012
As inconvenient as constitutional limits may seem, individual liberty requires that they be respected. In fact, it is precisely when temptation is greatest to disregard constitutional structures to achieve some national policy outcome that our Constitution’s limits must be enforced. As the Supreme Court once explained, though the Constitution’s restrictions may at times appear “formalistic” and may prohibit measures that are “the product of the era’s perceived necessity,” our founding document wisely “protects us from our own best intentions … so that we may resist the temptation to concentrate power in one location as an expedient solution to the crisis of the day.”
Whole Thing Goes Down -- Day Lee Briefing 03/28/2012
Mar 28, 2012
The Supreme Court concluded a marathon public debate on health care Wednesday with justices signaling an ideological divide that could topple some or all of the the sweeping reform bill championed by President Barack Obama.
Lee Reacts to Oral Argument on Individual Mandate
Mar 27, 2012
The Obama administration’s argument that the federal government can compel citizens to purchase health insurance did not appear to sway these five justices, and their questions to the Solicitor General suggested they look on the constitutionality of the individual mandate with great skepticism. It will be interesting to see how the justices respond to the 'severability’ arguments tomorrow, which will determine whether some or all of the law is struck down. But there is little doubt that the individual mandate will not survive.
