Senator Mike Lee Not Closed to Waiver Idea

(Note: This post has been updated, as Sen. Lee responded to the Daily Herald article with a Facebook Post indicating he is not inclined to introduce legislation providing a waiver.)

This is exiting to me. Senator Mike Lee is not saying he will introduce legislation providing that the federal government give Utah permission to have a guest worker program for immigrants (HB116), but he is open to considering it.

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The authors of HB116 anticipated federal permission would be preferred before the bill goes into effect, so the bill itself asks that a waiver allowing a guest worker program be sought from the federal government. I have not heard that any federal authority has even considered granting such a waiver to Utah.

Till now. Extremely. The first ray of hope that a waiver can be obtained.

I love Sen. Lee for his fight to balance the budget. If government were to end its deficit spending, that would be historic, and who knows but what it might not save our very nation, at least in a manner of speaking. I don't know what kind of ruination will come if we continue to pile up debt, but obviously at some point we face an economic ruin. I love Sen. Lee for his efforts on the budget, and I love him for being open minded enough to weigh whether a federal waiver should be created to make HB116 legal.

So, this is good news.

Well, after writing the above, here is what Sen. Lee posted on Facebook:

"One local newspaper has apparently interpreted a statement I made last week as somehow expressing a willingness to help Utah secure a waiver from Congress to allow the state to implement HB 116. Lest there be any uncertainty, I have never been, and am not now, willing or inclined to secure such a waiver. I have indicated many times that I'm open to considering and debating the merits of any serious proposal to expand the authority of the states (all states) in the employment-regulation arena, but trying to exempt a single state from a broad range of existing immigration laws would, I believe, be an unwise exercise in futility."

Alas, alas. So, still no ray of hope. I know of no congressperson considering introducing legislation for a waiver.