Wild Lands Policy
Revoked

Earlier this month, Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salazar announced he would not designate any lands as “Wild Lands”
in accordance with the 2011 Continuing Resolution. Secretary Salazar has
rightly recognized that Congress—not the Department of the Interior—has the
authority to designate wilderness areas. He has also recognized the importance
of working with federal, state and local representatives in managing federal
land.

With nearly 70 percent of Utah lands
under federal control, it is critical that we have a say early in the process
to protect the rights of Utahns and all Americans to access and use federal
lands. Seeing this resolution rescinded has been a top priority of mine since
my first day in office.

I sent a letter to Secretary Salazar in
January requesting all documents regarding the formation of the new policy,
including meeting notes, electronic and hard-copy correspondence, and any maps
that include Utah lands affected by the order.

Salazar’s failure to respond to the
request forced me to take other measures in order to encourage
compliance.  I notified the Secretary that I would put a “hold” on the
nomination of Dan Ashe as Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service until all
documents pertaining to the formulation of the “wild lands” policy had been
turned over.  After more than four months, the Secretary’s office finally
complied in part with the document request this week. 

The ‘wild lands’ policy that was
abandoned by the Secretary would have harmed the Utah economy, prevented job
growth, blocked domestic energy development, and resulted in less revenue for
our state. I appreciate that the Secretary has shifted his position and we can
now work together with state and local officials to determine the future
designation of our current wilderness study areas.

Rising
unemployment and the President’s Failed Policies

This month’s jobs report underscores what has
already been a tough week for our economy.  According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate edged up to 9.1% in May, from a level
of 9.0% in April and 8.8% in March. 

In addition, long-term unemployed (those
unemployed for 27 weeks or longer) numbers jumped up to 45.1% and 6.2 million
in May, from 43.4% and 5.8 million in April.

After 28 months in office, it is clear the
President’s policies have failed to positively affect our economy.  His two
signature accomplishments—ObamaCare and the stimulus package—have only
exacerbated the two biggest challenges we face: overspending and mounting
debt. 

Furthermore, Senate Democrats haven’t passed
a budget in more than two years, and couldn’t even bring themselves to vote for
the President’s proposal.  I will continue to make these issues a priority
and demand action from Democratic leaders have failed to take charge on nearly
every single issue. 

Call
for hearing on the BBA

As our astounding national debt mounts,
Congress must take swift action to correct the fundamental and structural
problems with the way Washington spends money.  I joined the other 7
Republican members of the Judiciary Committee in sending a letter to Senator
Dick Durbin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, calling for
immediate hearings on the Hatch-Lee Balanced Budget Amendment.

The current system encourages Congress
to overspend, and only a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution will
make subsequent spending reforms enforceable.

Libya Resolution

Nearly 90 days after the
initiation of force in Libya, we have yet to see a debate on President Obama’s
failure to request authorization of U.S. troops on the ground there.  I joined Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) and Bob
Corker (R-TN) in introducing a joint resolution requiring the Administration to
provide a detailed justification of U.S. operations in Libya.

The resolution further calls on
the President to request authorization for the continuation of U.S. involvement
in NATO activities and states that Congress should fully debate such a request
expediently.

Debt Ceiling Discussion