Today’s Agenda
Today, Senator Lee will meet with representatives of Disney, Utah Valley University, Questar, and the IRS. He will also attend an Army breakfast and meet Utah Army National Guard’s Sgt. Guy Mellor, who has been named the Army’s Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.
From the Senator’s Desk
Canada-US Pipeline: An American Jobs Resource
Despite Calling Canadian Oil ‘Stable’ And ‘Reliable,’ President Obama Is Blocking America’s Efforts To Access It, Create Jobs
OBAMA: ‘Importing Oil From Countries That Are Stable And Friendly Is A Good Thing’
PRESIDENT OBAMA: “…we’re still going to have to import some oil… And when it comes to the oil we import from other nations, obviously we’ve got to look at neighbors like Canada and Mexico that are stable and steady and reliable sources.”
OBAMA: “For those — just to give background to folks, there are these tar sands in Canada that can produce oil. There is talk about building a pipeline into the United States to import that oil… I will make this general point, which is that, first of all, importing oil from countries that are stable and friendly is a good thing.
Labor Unions Plead For Keystone XL Jobs
AFL-CIO: “For America’s skilled craft construction professionals, any discussion of the Keystone XL project begins and ends with one word: JOBS… Throughout America’s Heartland, the Keystone Pipeline represents the prospect for 20,000 immediate jobs, and as many as 500,000 indirect jobs via a strong economic multiplier effect… without one single dollar of government assistance.”
LABORERS’ INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA: “…not just a pipeline, but is a lifeline for thousands of desperate working men and women.”
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS: “‘The Keystone Pipeline project will offer working men and women a real chance to earn a good wage and support their families in this difficult economic climate,’ said… James P. Hoffa.”
From the Whip
The Senate will convene at 9:30am and will resume consideration of Executive Calendar #413, Richard Cordray, of Ohio, to be Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
At 10:30am, the Senate will proceed to a Roll Call Vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Cordray nomination.
If cloture is not invoked, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 1944, the Senate Democrats’ Revised Payroll Tax Cut Extension bill. If an agreement can be reached, it is expected that this cloture vote will occur later today. There will likely be a GOP alternative as a side-by-side vote.
On Twitter
SenMikeLee
@Judgenap and I discussed the constitutional problems with the #NDAA yesterday. Click here to watch: ow.ly/7REfL #tlot
SenLeeComs
LEE: “The #CFPB pretends to be accountable to itself.” Wolves watching the hen house, really. http://bit.ly/tK0ijY
SenLeePressSec
Senate GOP Vows Golden Rule on Judges (by @hsanchez128): http://bit.ly/v3M6kX
SenLeeResearch
Remembering Pearl Harbor: The story of the brave crew of the USS Utah, who saved a man from its capsized hull http://bit.ly/rGC2RF #utpol
Around the Water Cooler
Panel chairman blasts Justice Dept. on gun probe
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee accuses the Justice Department of giving inconsistent statements about what he calls a reckless and dangerous law enforcement program.
Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas says many questions remain about who authorized the arms-tracking investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is being criticized for failing to track illicitly obtained weapons that were later recovered in Mexico and the U.S., many of them at crime scenes.
Small business owners want Washington to REIN in regulations
Last month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the case on the Senate floor that government regulations don’t harm the economy and job creation. I’m not sure which job creators the majority leader is talking to, but almost every small business owner I have talked with tells me that over-regulation is harming their business and preventing them from hiring.
Mr. Reid said, “My Republican friends have yet to produce a single shred of evidence that the regulations … do the broad economic harms they claim. That’s because there aren’t any.” Well, on behalf of the nearly 30 million American small businesses, let me take this opportunity to share some information.
Looking Ahead
Tomorrow, Senator Lee be back to Utah to meet with constituents.