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Today’s Agenda

Today, Senator Lee will meet with representatives of the Utah Insurance Department, Emery County, Wheeler Machinery, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Federal Bar Association, the Creative Coalition, and the Association of Governments.

From the Senator’s Desk

From the Whip

The Senate will convene at 9:30am and will resume consideration of S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Act.  The time until 11:30am will be for debate only.

At 11:30am, the Senate will begin up to 30 minutes of debate on executive calendar #509, Gregg Jeffrey Costa, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, and executive calendar #510, David Campos Guaderrama, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas.

Around 12:00pm, the Senate will proceed to two Roll Call Votes on confirmation of the nominations.

Following the votes, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1925 and Majority Leader Reid will be recognized. The two Leaders are still discussing a path forward on VAWA.

Wednesday’s Session:

Roll Call Votes:

-Manchin #2079 (mandatory 2 year closure moratorium)(43-53) not agreed to

-Paul #2028 (local postal autonomy)(35-64) not agreed to

-Paul #2039 (collective bargaining)(23-76) not agreed to

-Casey #2042 (maintain delivery standards)(44-54) not agreed to

-DeMint #2046 (union dues)(46-53) not agreed to

-Passage of S.1789, the Postal Reform bill, as amended (62-37) passed

UC Items:

S.Res.437 (Boston College Men’s Hockey)

S.Res.438 (National Safe Digging Month)

On Twitter

MT @senleecoms: Happy Anniversary Harry! Sunday marks 3rd full year the Dem-controlled Senate has failed to produce a budget #3yearsnobudget

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) April 26, 2012

LEE:"Shldnt allow desire by some to score political points to prevent states from effectively serving women, victims of dom violence" #VAWA

— Brian Phillips (@SenLeeComs) April 26, 2012

RT: @TheJenReport: Salazar's political game with Utahn's jobs, education thejenaustinreport.com/?p=128 #utah #utpol

— Emily Bennion (@SenLeePressSec) April 26, 2012

Featured Tweet

My next #FF goes out to @SenMikeLee - A wonderful staff member attended our Foreclosure Luncheon yesterday. We appreciate the support!

— NeighborWrksSaltLake (@NWSaltLake) April 27, 2012

Around the Water Cooler

Analysts say North Korea's new missiles are fakes

Analysts who have studied photos of a half-dozen ominous new North Korean missiles showcased recently at a lavish military parade say they were fakes, and not very convincing ones, casting further doubt on the country's claims of military prowess.

EPA Official's 'Philosophy' On Oil Companies: 'Crucify Them' - Just As Romans Crucified Conquered Citizens

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) took to the Senate floor today to draw attention to a video of a top EPA official saying the EPA’s “philosophy” is to “crucify” and “make examples” of oil and gas companies - just as the Romans crucified random citizens in areas they conquered to ensure obedience.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow, Senator Lee will be back in Utah to meet with constituents.

Today’s Agenda

Today, Senator Lee will meet with representatives of the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation, the Farm Bureau Federation, the Center for Persons with Disabilities, and Weber State University. He will also be a guest on American Family Radio at 8:20 AM EDT (6:20 MDT), and he will host a Utah tele-press conference at 6:15 PM EDT (4:15 EDT).

From the Senator’s Desk

Ahead of this afternoon’s release of the official Medicare trustees report, the Administration is out with its own “study” attempting to put a positive spin on Obamacare’s impact on Medicare.  The report claims that Obamacare will “save” $200 billion between now and 2016.  However, those claims are based on spending reductions that the non-partisan Medicare actuary believes “would become unsustainable and that Congress would likely override or modify them.”  If the spending reductions are not overridden, the actuary has stated that 15 percent of hospitals and other providers could become unprofitable by 2019, and up to 40 percent of providers could become unprofitable in the long term.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today makes this exact point – illustrating how the Obama Administration created an $8 billion Medicare Advantage demonstration program that overrides many of Obamacare’s cuts.   GAO found that this massive demonstration project “is at least seven times larger than that of any other Medicare demonstration conducted since 1995 and is greater than the combined budgetary impact of all of those demonstrations.”  According to GAO, the demonstration “precludes a credible evaluation of its effectiveness,” and is instead focused on shelling out money to temporarily undo much of Obamacare’s cuts – a whopping 71% of Obamacare’s Medicare Advantage cuts will be undone in 2012, compared to just 32% in 2013 and 16% in 2014. (Can anyone think of a reason why the Obama Administration might want to undo the Medicare Advantage cuts this year…?)  For all these reasons, as a New York Post op-ed this morning noted, the demonstration program looks suspiciously like a political attempt by the President to avoid angering seniors by cutting Medicare Advantage while running for re-election.

The GAO report proves how the Administration’s study is fundamentally flawed.  The Administration report assumes all the Medicare spending reductions will go into effect, but the GAO report illustrates how the Obama White House has already reversed one of the major spending reductions – the Medicare Advantage cuts – in order to fend off political dissent during the President’s re-election campaign.  The Associated Press previously reported on the Medicare Advantage demonstration last year, noting that the program “could head off service cuts that would have been a [political] headache for Obama and Democrats in next year’s elections.”  Even a former Democrat staffer who worked in the Clinton Administration admitted that the effort amounted to a political stunt: “It’s fair to say that [Medicare] could not tolerate dislocation, given the political climate.”

While Obamacare’s spending reductions are subject to alteration for political purposes, the new spending on the law’s massive new entitlements are sacrosanct, and virtually guaranteed to take effect if President Obama remains in office.  Of course, undermining the spending reductions while keeping the new spending would make the entire law, and Medicare itself, even more fiscally unsustainable than the status quo.  That’s why, when it comes to today’s dueling reports, don’t believe what the Administration says in its spin-laden study – look at what it already did to undermine politically unpalatable spending reductions.

On Twitter

SenMikeLee

Fairness in the market means companies compete on a level playing field, and no one receives special treatment: http://ow.ly/aos67 #taxes

SenLeeComs

For those using #dontdoublemyrate, are you aware the president is #doublingyourdebt?

SenLeePressSec

.@SenMikeLee spends a lot of time in that room! RT @gretawire: Senate Judiciary Com Room http://pic.twitter.com/3KNkZ0dd

SenLeeResearch

How much does it cost to move a single bush? $205,075 if you're in government: http://bit.ly/HI9E3z #tcot #tlot

Around the Water Cooler

Democrats' latest tax target: Private corporations

First it was people earning at least $1 million a year. Now Democrats seeking their next election-year target for tax increases on better-off Americans may have found it: the owners of many privately held corporations.

Stocks: Blue chips take cue from earnings

U.S. stocks finished mixed Tuesday, with the Dow holding onto solid gains, while Netflix's disappointing outlook weighed down tech stocks.

"Stocks are moving higher today on the back of decent earnings reports, but overall, I think investors are wondering whether the economic and market momentum that boosted stocks from last October through March is starting to fade," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow, Senator Lee will meet with representatives of NASA, the Club for Growth, the Western Energy Alliance, the American College of Radiology, and eBay business owners. He will also host a Jell-O bar for visitors at 3:30 PM EDT (1:30 MDT).

“Our current tax code is just way too complicated, biased against saving, and distorts economic behavior.  Also, we have the unfortunate distinction of having the highest corporate tax rate in the world.  Not surprisingly, this has not provided incentive for corporations to stay or relocate here – resulting in the flight of jobs and capital away from the U.S.”

The senator also took the opportunity to ask Dr. Kevin Haslett, who has a PhD in tax economics yet finds the tax code so complex that he will not do his own taxes, questions about federal tax policy in a Joint Economic Committee hearing:

Beyond the subject of taxes, Senator Lee expressed his support this week for the Senate Republican Conference’s decision to hire lawyer Miguel Estrada for the purpose of filing an amicus brief in a case challenging the unconstitutional “recess” appointments made by President Obama in January. Part of the senator’s statement:

“President Obama’s unconstitutional appointments are fundamentally different than the recess appointments of any other president in our nation’s history.  President Obama unilaterally appointed individuals to important executive positions when the Senate was not in recess, asserting that he may independently determine when the Senate is and is not in session.”

The full statement can be found here.

In the News

President Obama Checks Others' Power, But Not His Own

There is no better example than Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The senator showed the appropriate amount of deference to many of the president’s wishes and appointments, voting for those he fundamentally disagreed with that were otherwise good men and women. However, Sen. Lee has now taken the lead in demonstrating that the president’s desires do not carry the weight of a royal decree.  He along with many others in his chamber are standing up to the president, demanding that he recognize their constitutionally guaranteed rights as representatives of the people and as citizens of this country.

LEE: “Buffett Rule” Attempting to Divide, Distract Americans

Lee discussed President Obama’s push to distract Americans with the “Buffett Rule,” legislation that raises taxes on job creators and ignores the need for comprehensive tax reform.

Around Capitol Hill

Senate GOP joining legal action against Obama recess appointments

Reviving an issue that angered Republicans and some business groups this year, Senate Republicans plan to file an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of recent recess appointments by President Obama.

Congress poised to hit GSA on spending

Dan Tangherlini, meet Capitol Hill.

Congress returns to Washington next week with its mind on taxes but its sights on another target: the General Services Administration (GSA).