Remembering 2011 Milestones -- Day Lee Briefing 12/20/2011
Dec 20, 2011
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear three days of oral arguments on various pieces of the health reform law on March 26, 27 and 28 — just days after the law’s two-year anniversary.
2011 Milestones -- Day Lee Briefing 12/19/2011
Dec 19, 2011
The federal government is too big and too expensive and the temptation for Congress to continue to spend billions and even trillions of dollars it does not have is simply too high.
Cushioning the Fall -- Day Lee Briefing 12/16/2011
Dec 16, 2011
Today’s Agenda
Today, Senator Lee will be in Washington for a vote on an omnibus spending bill or a Continuing Resolution.
From the Senator’s Desk
From the Whip
The Senate will convene at 10:00am and will be in morning business until 12:00pm.
Roll Call Votes are expected today.
The current CR expires tonight at midnight. Democratic members of the appropriations conference committee finally signed the conference report last night. It is expected that the House will act on the conference report to accompany HR 2055, the Omnibus package, at some point today. The Senate will have to complete action on the bill following disposition in the House. If an agreement is not reached, another CR may be required.
The two Leaders continue to work on an agreement to consider a payroll tax compromise. On Thursday, the Majority Leader filed cloture on the motion to proceed to HR 3630, the House Payroll package. Unless an agreement is reached to hold the vote on Friday or a compromise agreement is reached, this vote will occur on Saturday morning. The House passed the bill 234-193 on Tuesday night (Payroll tax, UI, TANF, Doc fix, Job initiatives, etc.)
On Twitter
MT @govsm: .@SenMikeLee not scared to delegate twitter responsibility among many staffers. He has 4 official accounts. ow.ly/80S1D
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) December 15, 2011
Lee Sponsors Bill to Protect American Civil Liberties bit.ly/tqN87w (@Judgenap)
— Brian Phillips (@SenLeeComs) December 15, 2011
@donandroma thanks for the great interview this week! Hope to get you and @SenMikeLee talking again soon.
— Emily Bennion (@SenLeePressSec) December 16, 2011
Insane: Look who's #2 on list of time needed to start a #business by country: bit.ly/rM90gn #redtape #regulations #biggov #tcot #tlot
— Joe Tauke (@SenLeeResearch) December 16, 2011
Bonus tweet from @moreron:
@SenMikeLee Stand your ground on #NDAA detainee problems. We're behind you on this.
— Ron Davis (@moreron) December 15, 2011
Around the Water Cooler
Speaker: Will keep pipeline language in tax bill
House Republicans will stick to their insistence that a bill extending a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits include language speeding work on a controversial oil pipeline, Speaker John Boehner said Friday.
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This means that if the government infringes on your rights, you are entitled to mount a timely and meaningful defense of those rights in court. It’s one of the cornerstones of our entire legal system, with roots dating back at least as far as the Magna Carta, which declared, “No free man...shall be stripped of his rights or possessions...except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.”
Looking Ahead
Tomorrow, Senator Lee will be back in Utah to meet with constituents.
Lee Sponsors Bill to Protect American Civil Liberties
Dec 15, 2011
Today, Senator Mike Lee co-sponsored the Due Process Guarantee Act of 2011, which clarifies that a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force by Congress does not authorize the indefinite detention of American citizens or legal residents who are apprehended in the United States.
The Challenge of Our Time -- Day Lee Briefing 12/15/2011
Dec 15, 2011
On the eve of a possible government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tamped down their rhetoric on Thursday and tried to reassure skeptics that their differences can be resolved at the 11th-hour.
Senate to Vote on Two Balanced Budget Amendments Today -- Day Lee Briefing 12/14/2011
Dec 14, 2011
Today, Senator Lee will vote on two balanced budget amendments and attend a GOP Conference meeting with Ben Bernanke. He will also be a guest on Glenn Beck TV at 6:00 PM EST (4:00 MST) and on KABC radio at 12:35 PM EST (10:35 MST), and he will host a Jell-O bar for visiting constituents at 3:30 PM EST.
Lee Statement on BBA Vote
Dec 14, 2011
Though it was no surprise that getting the requisite two-thirds vote on either amendment was a tough hill to climb, I am shocked that more than sixty percent of the Democrat caucus could not support either version.
One of the Most Important Pieces of Legislation to Come Before Senate in Decades
Dec 14, 2011
I stand today to urge my colleagues to support one of the most important pieces of legislation that has come before this body in decades: Senate joint resolution 10, the Hatch-Lee Balanced Budget Amendment Balanced Budget Amendment proposal.
Debating the Balanced Budget Amendment -- Day Lee Briefing 12/13/2011
Dec 13, 2011
Numerous state legislative leaders have signaled their willingness to ratify a balanced budget amendment
Highlights from Today's Floor Debate on the Balanced Budget Amendment
Dec 13, 2011
Today, the Senate vigorously debated the details of a balanced budget amendment. Below are comments from some of my colleagues, who agree that we need a strong BBA that will truly force the federal government to live within its means, rather than a Trojan horse BBA that will make runaway deficits a permanent part of Washington’s books
