Elected in 2010 as Utah's 16th Senator, Mike Lee has spent his career defending the fundamental liberties of all Americans and advocating for America's founding constitutional principles.
Senator Lee acquired a deep respect for the Constitution early in life while watching his father, Rex E. Lee, serve as the Solicitor General under President Ronald Reagan. He attended most of his father's arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, giving him a unique and up-close understanding of government.
Lee graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Political Science, and served as BYU's Student Body President in his senior year. He graduated from BYU's Law School in 1997 and went on to serve as law clerk to Judge Dee Benson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, and then with future Supreme Court Justice Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
America owes its veterans and their families an enormous debt of gratitude for putting themselves at risk to protect our rights and freedoms. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice to safeguard our lives, and for that, Americans will be forever grateful.
It is one of the highest priorities of the federal government to provide for the common defense of our country, which includes providing robust care for our veterans and their families. This starts with ensuring that preparations for any military action, regardless of size, includes consideration for the current and future needs of the service-members who will participate in those missions.
In recent years, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been rightfully criticized for failing to meet the most basic standards that Americans expect for veterans. Senator Lee has worked to ensure that the VA is made accountable and able to exceed expectations in providing the benefits and care promised to veterans and their families. He has also sought to encourage the use of technological advances and new ideas to better provide services and resolve long-standing problems in the bureaucracy. This will ultimately give veterans more options for service and more control over their choices, while continuing to provide the military branches with the recruitment and retention tools they need to keep our forces in a high state of readiness.