Utah Senator Mike Lee hosted the second annual Utah Solutions Summit Monday at Energy Solutions Arena. Lee hopes to use the event to find good ideas to take back to Washington.
The summit featured some of Utah’s most well-known business and political leaders. It featured discussion on some topics Lee champions, including federalism and how the states are the best place for people to come up with innovative new solutions. One of Lee’s guest speakers was Sen. Ben Sasse, R - Nebraska.
“This is not a Republican only idea," he says. "It’s an American idea. And you see lots of Democrats and Republicans coming together about re-empowering the states.”
Lee says a great example of how this idea can be applied in a practical way is looking at his efforts to pass criminal justice reform. He says a lot of the principles behind his effort come from Utah ideas.
“Utah has been a real leader in this area and this is one of many examples of how states can lead the way when it comes to policy reform," Lee says. "What Utah is doing on a state level I’m trying to bring to Washington.”
Lee says while the public views congress as being ineffective, he believes there’s an opportunity to build consensus on several issues, such as regulatory overreach, that will enable congress to make some changes