Who Is Mike Lee?

My VIP for this week is Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) who is seeking to add stricter requirements in his bill to ban noncitizens from voting in federal elections. In her article published at The Deseret News, Cami Mondeaux reported that “nearly every Republican senator has signed on to co-sponsor the legislation.” 

Lee filed an update to his Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act on Thursday evening, renaming it to the SAVE America Act and including additional language to require pho ID as a requirement to vote. The name change came as a suggestion from President Donald Trump, Lee said, which he called “aptly named.”

“The SAVE America Act makes our original SAVE Act better. President Trump rightly believes we should include Voter ID in this bill as we make a renewed push to secure our elections and protect the rights of American voters,” Lee said in a joint statement with Rep. Chip Roy, who leads the legislation in the House. “By requiring Voter ID and proof-of-citizenship, the SAVE America Act will ensure that our federal elections are decided by U.S. citizens – and U.S. citizens alone.”

Lee introduced the original SAVE Act in the Senate last year, and the bill already passed the House in a bipartisan vote. However, the bill has yet to be considered in the Senate, prompting Lee to launch a pressure campaign earlier this month to schedule a vote….

The SAVE America Act would implement proof-of-citizenship requirements in order to vote in federal elections, requiring voters to provide identification that is compliant with the most recent REAL ID guidelines, a passport, or some other citizenship document. For any identification card that does not include birthplace or citizenship status, the voter must also provide a birth certificate, a naturalization certificate, an adoption decree, or some document that proves he or she was born in the United States.

The most recent iteration would add language requiring voters to “present an eligible photo identification document before voting,” a measure that was raised by House Republican leaders earlier this month.

The bill has already been endorsed by Trump, and the president has posted several times on social media pushing for a vote.

It’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and can lead to felony charges or deportation. Such instances of noncitizens voting are rare and often done by mistake, according to recent studies.

Still, Trump made election integrity a key priority for his second administration, even going so far as signing a sweeping executive order last year that included a citizenship requirement.

More than 9% of voters in the U.S. do not have citizenship documents on hand, amounting to about 21.3 million people, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice. That can especially affect married women who changed their last names, the study shows.

Lee and other Republicans have pushed back on that assertion, arguing the SAVE Act would provide “multiple ways” to prove one’s citizenship.

Why Reauthorize Presidential Reorganization Authority?

 My VIPs for this week are Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Kentucky) for their efforts to support President Donald Trump to cut the size and cost of the federal government.

According to Cani Mondeaux, Lee introduced on Thursday a bill in the Senate that “would reauthorize presidential reorganization authority until the end of 2026.” This bill “would allow Trump to decrease the size of the federal government and eliminate programs he deems wasteful or unnecessary.” Mondeaux continued, “The bill would extend reorganization authority to Trump, greenlighting a little-used statute that allows the president to temporarily adjust the federal government if approved by Congress.” 

“Congress cannot afford to sit on its hands in this fight,” Lee said in a statement. “Reauthorizing presidential reorganization authority is the most comprehensive tool that the president can use to restore good governance to Washington.”

Under the Reorganizing Government Act, Congress must pass a joint resolution of approval within 90 days of submission. By doing that, the Senate can approve Trump’s plans to reform the structure of the federal government without being filibustered by Democrats.

Instead, it would only need majority support in both chambers.

Under the bill, Trump would have the authority to reduce the federal workforce, deregulate and eliminate special interests, make department-level changes, request the elimination of statutory programs, but could not use the bill to increase the budget or add federal employees.

The same bill is set to be introduced in the House by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.

“The federal bureaucracy has grown dramatically in size and scope, creating unnecessary red tape. We must cut through the inefficiency and streamline government to improve service delivery and save taxpayers money,” said Comer, R-Ky. “We owe it to the American people to make government efficient, effective, and accountable.” …

Although the act of creating or abolishing federal agencies is typically a power held by Congress, presidential reorganization authority has been granted to nine presidents on 16 separate occasions throughout history. The last time it was approved was in 1984 for then-President Ronald Reagan.

George W. Bush requested the authority in 2002 but such a package was not approved by Congress. Similarly, Barack Obama sought reorganization authority during his term to restructure the Department of Commerce and other agencies. Authority was not granted.

Mike Lee and Chuck Grassley

            This week I have two VIPs. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are seeking a clear solution to “caravans” coming from Central and South America to the southern United States border. The two Senators sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with an urgent plea for them to make an agreement with Mexico. They are urging the United States to enter into a “safe third country agreement” with Mexico, which would require migrants to seek asylum in Mexico and not the United States. In an interview with Glenn Beck, Lee explained the plan and how it would work.

Mexico would require people who enter Mexico, let’s say from Honduras or El Salvador or any of these other countries in Central America… with the intent of claiming asylum, they would have to claim asylum in Mexico rather than in the United States. Now, this would be similar to an agreement we already have in place with Canada and a rule imposed by the E.U. for refugees arriving in E.U. countries from Syria.

In other words, when people are fleeing a country that is dangerous to them … they ought to apply for asylum in the first country [they] reach.

            This agreement makes total sense to me. In fact, I am surprised that it has not been made already – even years ago. Why should so-called refugees be able to travel through some countries to reach a country of their choice? If they are truly fleeing violence, they should be happy to be in a safe country, any safe country. These Senators should be praised for bringing the lack of such an agreement to the forefront. Hopefully, they will be able to get such an agreement signed before too many other such “caravans” arrive at our border!

Mike Lee for US Senate

Conservatives are awakening to the need to root government more firmly in the Constitution. They want their lawmakers to focus less on power, perks, and pork-barrel spending and more on what is good for the United States of America. The delegates at the Utah State Nominating Convention recently nominated a real conservative to represent Utah in the United States Senate. Readers living in Utah may want to pay attention to Mike Lee who is running for the Senate seat for Utah to replace Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) who was eliminated from the nominating process at the convention. Lee will face off with Tim Bridgewater at the June 22 primary. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Chairman of the Senate Conservatives Fund, endorsed Mike Lee for the U.S. Senate after Senator Bennett had been eliminated. Senator DeMint described Mike Lee as a "true constitutional conservative" and then made the following statement after endorsing Mike Lee by a video message at the convention: "There is much to be done in the U.S. Senate to protect our freedoms. We need a Senator who is committed to balanced budgets, constitutional limits, and individual liberty. I believe that person is Mike Lee. For Mike, the Constitution is not an abstract idea or a campaign slogan. He knows it is the road map for changing the course of our country. If Mike is nominated today, he will add his voice to the growing number of new Republicans who understand that protecting and defending the Constitution will restore the greatness of America. I'm not here to tell you how to vote. I'm here to ask for your help. Please send Mike Lee to the Senate so he can join me in the fight for our future. Change in Washington really can begin in Utah. Thank you." Mike Lee has also been endorsed by former Senator Rick Santorum, the latest in a wave of support by major conservative leaders. Santorum noted Mike Lee's experience in clerking for Justice Sam Alito (first in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and second during Alito's first year as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice). Santorum stated that Mike is "a solid conservative. He's the kind of candidate that is exactly what we should be looking for." Who is the man who defeated Senator Bennett? Mike Lee is the son of Rex Lee, who was a prominent defender of the Constitution for many years. Rex Lee served as Solicitor General under President Ronald Reagan and was the President of Brigham Young University. Mike Lee has spent his career assisting individuals and organizations to free themselves from out of control government regulations. He is a lifetime student of the Constitution and graduated from Brigham Young University Law School. He served as a law clerk to Judge Dee Benson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah and later spent time as General Counsel to Governor Jon Huntsman. Mike Lee practiced appellate law and served twice as a law clerk for current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. He first clerked for the solidly conservative judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and then he was asked to return as a clerk during Justice Alito's first year on the U.S. Supreme Court. Mike understands the Constitution and is a valuable resource for individuals and organizations throughout our nation. Mike also started a project called the Article I Society, where he gave lectures on the Constitution and the limits it places on the authority of Congress. Mike is running for the U.S. Senate because he believes that Washington has ignored the Constitution that was created to protect Americans from a government that spends too much, taxes too much, and regulates too much. He and his wife have three young children, and they want their children to inherit a country that is free and strong. Mike Lee is a conservative. He has already come out in early opposition to the Supreme Court Justice nominee Elena Kagan: "Kagan's decision to exclude military recruiters from the Harvard campus - especially at a time when our military is fighting overseas - gives me great pause in considering her for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. Her lack of judicial experience makes it difficult to ascertain how faithful she might be in independently and impartially deciding cases that will come before her. And although many have served on the Supreme Court without prior judicial service, Kagan's professional track record falls short of establishing that she would consistently respect the text and original understanding of the Constitution." Mike supports the Enumerated Powers Act, which forces Congress to justify - under Article I - the constitutional authority for any legislation it adopts. He points out that the individual mandate in President Obama's health care takeover was unconditional, and he signed a pledge to repeal it. He pledged to ban earmarks and to support a Balanced Budget Amendment. He also pledged to support a term limit for members of the House and the Senate. He is focused on limiting our government. He knows that the government should not be subsidizing, bailing out, and taking over private companies. He would have opposed the Wall Street bailout. Mike knows that the Constitution is a road map for changing the course of our country. If he is elected, he will join a growing number of new Republicans who understand the importance of supporting and defending the Constitution. He knows that we can restore the greatness of America by aligning government with the Constitution. Utah conservatives, please spend some time considering whether Mike Lee should be your next U.S. Senator. Then remember to vote on June 22!