Today’s Agenda

Senator Lee meets with the nominees for Ambassador of Mexico and Mali, appears on Fox Business’ “Freedom Watch, and attends his weekly press conference with Utah media.

From the Senator’s Desk

“If you’re creating a budget, what’s the first thing you need to know: How much you have or how much you want to spend?

“The answer to this question exposes a fundamental difference between how Republicans and Democrats approach the nation’s finances.  And it was on full display last week in the Senate. 

“Republicans have united together behind S.J.Res. 10, the Hatch-Lee Balanced Budget Amendment which forces Congress to balance its budget each year, limits spending to 18% of GDP, and requires a supermajority to raise taxes or increase the debt ceiling.

“Why did we choose to limit spending at 18%?  Because it is the 40-year average of annual federal tax receipts.  In other words, through taxation, the U.S. collects roughly 18% of GDP in any given year.  That’s how much we usually have, so in order to balance the budget, that’s how much we should be allowed to spend.

“That’s called fiscal responsibility and conscientious budgeting.”  Blog Post, Spend What You Have, Not What You Want

A Look Ahead

Senator Lee attends a delegation meeting with BLM Director Bob Abbey, and will welcome the Dalai Lama to the Foreign Relations Committee.  He also hosts his weekly constituent open house featuring green Jell-O.