Today’s Agenda
Senator Lee meets with staff in preparation for this week’s committee hearings and possible votes. He will also test drive an electric truck made by Orem-based VIA motors.
From the Senator’s Desk
“Late on Friday, the Administration released its latest list of waivers granted from some of Obamacare’s onerous mandates. In the past month, another 62 plans covering 117,001 individuals received waivers, bringing to more than 3.2 million Americans who have received exemptions from some – but certainly not all – of the law’s mandates. Of those, over 1.58 million participants were in union-affiliated plans that received waivers – raising questions about why so many union members are being exempted from the law.” — Memo from the Republican Policy Committee
The number of individuals who have received waivers from ObamaCare’s mandates is widely interpreted as the same number of those who will be pushed out of their current insurance plans and on to a government plan unless ObamaCare is repealed.
Recent Votes
On Senator McCain’s amendment to prohibit the use of Federal funds to construct ethanol blender pumps or ethanol storage facilities, Senator Lee voted YEA
Around the Water Cooler
Privacy: “The bill is exactly the kind of thing that Congress should be about, updating laws to make them conform at once to changing technologies and eternal standards of privacy and individual rights.”
Debt Limit: “If we can’t do something really significant about the debt ceiling, then we’ll probably end up with a very short- term proposal over a few months”.
The Week Ahead: “Deadlines will be looming over lawmakers’ heads this week as they continue debt limit talks as well as debate whether to continue supporting the mission in Libya.”
A Look Ahead
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit the Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday to discuss Afghanistan and Pakistan. Senator Lee will also oversee a Water and Power Subcommittee meeting that day. Tomorrow, he meets with members of the uranium mining industry from Southern Utah and has a Joint Economic Committee meeting on federal spending. His weekly tele-press conference with Utah press is also tomorrow.