Today’s Agenda

Today, Senator Lee appears on CSPAN’s Washington Journal and
will attend a joint session of Congress featuring the Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu.  He meets with the
Workers Compensation Fund of Utah and will call in to Lincoln Brown Radio Show in
Vernal.  Both the Foreign Relations and
Judiciary Committee will be discussing nominations.

From the Senator’s
Desk

“Since 1995, Congress has passed 13 separate debt
ceiling increases, either standing alone or as part of larger bills.  Despite congressional Democrats’ insistence
that raising the debt limit is necessary to prevent economic disaster, a look
at current Senate Democrat’s voting record on the issue calls that rhetoric
into question.

“Forty of the 51 Senate Democrats and 2 Independents have voted against raising the debt
limit, including the caucus’s most senior leaders:  Majority Leader Harry Reid (4 times), Whip
Richard Durbin (4 times), President Pro Tem Daniel Inouye (4 times), Policy
Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (5 times), Conference Secretary Patty Murray
(6 times), and Policy Committee Vice Chair Debbie Stabenow (6 times).  That’s 29 votes against raising the debt ceiling from the Senate Democrats’ Leadership.”

#2ndOpinion

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the budget proposal
from Rep. Paul Ryan will “kill Medicare”. 
However, the trustees who oversee Medicare say that current financing for the
entitlement program is “unsustainable”.  In other words, if we do nothing, the program
will not survive.  Rep. Ryan has put
forth a courageous proposal that will maintain benefits for current retirees
while acknowledging that we must reform it to save it.  Senator Lee supports his effort to make the
transition to a sustainable program less painful.

Around the Water
Cooler

Migration:
“Utah saw about 8,069 more people move here from other states than it saw move
out”

Netanyahu:
“We can only make peace with the Palestinians if they’re prepared to make
peace with the Jewish state.”

A Look Ahead

Senator Lee will attend the Senate Prayer Breakfast tomorrow
morning and meets with members from the dietary supplements industry in
Utah.  He’ll discuss job creation in the
bio-tech industry at the Joint Economic Committee and have lunch with Governor
Herbert and the Utah Delegation that afternoon. Senator Lee will also stop by
the weekly event for Utah constituents, with
plenty of green Jell-O on hand.