My First Legislation Passes — Day Lee Briefing 11/03/2011
The Senate has passed a bill introduced by Senator Lee for the first time, and then another right after the first. The bills authorized the transfer of vacant and virtually unused federal land in Utah to the growing cities of Mantua and Alta. Both pieces of legislation passed by unanimous consent.
Lee Co-Sponsors Reform to Eliminate Budget Gimmicks
Today, Senator Mike Lee will co-sponsor legislation that eliminates the most common budgetary gimmicks used by Congress to hide hundreds of billions of dollars in spending. In the past six years alone, the tricks addressed in the Honest Budget Act (S.1651) have enabled Congress to spend over $350 billion, money that the country simply doesn’t have.
My Vote on Recent Appropriations Bill — Day Lee Briefing 11/02/2011
Yesterday, Senator Lee voted against the 2012 appropriations bill for the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. He opposed the bill because it will increase spending in those areas by roughly $10 billion over 2011 levels, and because that increase is achieved through budgetary gimmicks that hide the extra spending at first glance.
The Pie That Only Gets Bigger
Yesterday, the Senate voted down my motion to maintain 2011 spending levels in certain areas of 2012 appropriations, including agriculture and commerce. This would have saved taxpayers roughly $10 billion. Unfortunately, too many members of the Senate are still committed to fighting every attempt to enact even the smallest amount of savings.
Governor Herbert, Utah Congressional Delegation React to Announcement on Hill Air Force Base
Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Utah’s entire congressional delegation, including Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, and Congressmen Rob Bishop, Jim Matheson and Jason Chaffetz, today expressed deep concerns with the Air Force’s decision to eliminate jobs at Hill Air Force Base. The Governor and Utah’s delegation sent a letter today to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley detailing their
disappointment with the decision. Currently, there are approximately 24,000 employees that work at Hill Air Force Base in various roles.
Lee: Failed Motion Shows Commitment to Big Spending Remains
Today, Senator Mike Lee’s motion to maintain certain 2012 spending appropriations at 2011 levels was voted down. The motion would have affected legislation that will authorize funding for several departments, including agriculture, commerce, and transportation.
Senate Still Committed to Growing Government Spending — Day Lee Briefing 11/01/2011
Today, the Senate voted down Senator Lee’s motion to maintain 2011 spending levels in certain areas of 2012 appropriations, including agriculture and commerce. This would have saved taxpayers roughly $10 billion in comparison to the spending levels that were ultimately passed, which Senator Lee voted against.
Utah Tourism and the VISIT USA Act — Day Lee Briefing 10/31/2011
We are excited that Utah’s Senator Mike Lee has co-sponsored important tourism legislation – the VISIT USA Act will stimulate international business and leisure travel to the U.S. and improve U.S. visa process.
Lee Troubled By Proposed Rule Allowing Agencies to Mislead Public
Today, Senator Mike Lee reacted to reports that the Department of Justice may be attempting to allow federal agencies to provide misinformation about the existence of certain government documents. Senator Lee cautioned that the proposed rule could be a “slippery slope” toward making government unaccountable to the people.
Promises Made, Promises Broken
At a political fundraiser last night, President Obama said he kept “a little checklist” with his campaign promises, and that he believes he’s kept about 60 percent of his campaign promises. That might be news to those individuals who reviewed his 2008 health care platform, because Obamacare has done more to break candidate Obama’s campaign promises than to keep them.