Today’s Agenda
Today, Senator Lee
has a morning meeting with a Utah constituent on land issues, and sits down
with the potential ambassadors to the UAE and Honduras. He has two media interviews, including Neil
Cavuto on Fox Business at 4:35 pm MT, and holds his weekly Utah press
teleconference.
From the Senator’s
Desk
The House Republican Study
Committee sent a letter yesterday to the Speaker of the House and the Majority
Leader calling for major spending reductions and reforms to resolve the debt
limit issue. The third prong of the plan
includes passage of the Hatch-Lee Balanced Budget Amendment. From the letter:
The “Cut, Cap and Balance”
proposal, outlined in a letter to Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric
Cantor, calls for:
- Immediate spending cuts to slash the deficit in
half next year. According to March
projections from the Congressional Budget Office, this would require spending
cuts of approximately $380 billion in the 2012 fiscal year. - Statutory, enforceable caps that align spending
with average revenues by ratcheting total federal spending down to 18% of GDP. - House and Senate passage of a Balanced Budget
Amendment to the Constitution that includes a spending cap at 18% of GDP and a
high hurdle for tax increases.
The Democrats have given up, saying
that the only answer to excessive borrowing is more borrowing. Therefore, it is
imperative that we move quickly and unite behind a plan to restore fiscal
responsibility to Washington and renew the Age of America.
Around the Water
Cooler
Health
Reform: “Utah’s proposal lands a little bit more to the side of the free
market, which I think will work here”
Wild
Lands: “The attempt by the Obama administration late last year to
circumvent Congress’ role in wilderness policy was an example of overreach by
the Executive Branch.”
Debt
Limit: “It’s our goal to form a coalition of as many conservative groups as
we can find that would support a pledge to commit the signers not to vote for a
debt-ceiling increase unless three conditions are met
A Look Ahead
The Senate is expected to take up the Economic Development
Administration Reauthorization this week.
Senator Lee will be looking at issues
regarding the effectiveness of the agency’s programs. He meets with the Utah Cattleman’s
Association tomorrow and holds his weekly constituent open house featuring
green Jell-O.