This Week in Washington

By Senator Mike Lee

Balancing the Budget

Getting our country’s fiscal house in order is a top priority of mine, and great strides were taken this week towards making that a reality. On Thursday, I introduced an amendment to the United States Constitution that would require Congress to balance its budget each and every year. The Hatch-Lee Balanced Budget Amendment is sponsored by fellow Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, and has the backing of all 47 Republican Senators.

Specifically, this bill will require Congress to not spend in excess of 18 percent of the economy, measured by gross domestic product, each fiscal year.  A deficit will run only if agreed upon by a two-thirds vote by both Houses, and a three-fifths vote would be necessary to increase the debt limit. 

The amendment provides two other very limited exceptions which allow spending in excess of receipts during a national security emergency or during a time of war.  Three-fifths of Congress would be required to vote for a specific excess during a military conflict declared to be an imminent and serious military threat to our national security; and a just a simple majority vote would be needed during a declared war.

With an annual deficit approaching $1.7 trillion and national debt of almost $15 trillion, the threat to our economy, job growth, and future prosperity is too great to stand idly by and watch as Congress recklessly mortgages the futures of our unborn grandchildren. I applaud my Republican colleagues for supporting this crucial piece of legislation and am confident that we will see enough support from the other side of the aisle to make this essential legislation part of our Constitution.

Libya

Earlier this week the President addressed our nation in an attempt to defend his decision to send our men and women in uniform to Libya. But his words did little to resolve confusion regarding America’s national security interest in the conflict, or the strategic military objectives he plans to achieve by our continued involvement.

The American people deserve to know exactly what our interest in Libya is, and concrete military objectives and a detailed plan to achieve them. He has failed to provide that, and it is unconscionable and irresponsible.  

What we need from him now is to first, decide if regime change is in our immediate national security interest. If it is, he must justify that to the American people, then seek authorization from Congress to commit the necessary resources to complete that military objective. If regime change is not the objective of the mission—which the Department of Defense has already stated—the President must take all necessary action to turn over the maintenance of the no-fly zone to our coalition partners or NATO, and focus our resources on our greatest national security threats.

As a member of Congress, I will support our troops where they have been committed. But we must prevent the President from escalating our role in Libya without proper justification and clear military objectives. 

Reclaiming Utah Lands

In other news, Congressman Rob Bishop and I introduced The Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance Act this week. The legislation is set to transfer 32 acres of federally owned land in Box Elder County to the town of Mantua, Utah. It is a testament to the growth of our state and cities like Mantua that this bill is necessary. The city can use the land productively and the federal government has no pressing need for it.  With the help of Rep. Bishop, I hope we can move this bill quickly through Congress.

I strongly believe that States should have access and ownership of their own lands, and this legislation is only the beginning. I am also working on legislation to return forest service land to the town of Alta for a community center and fire station, and will continue to use my position on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to fight for the rights to Utah lands that our great State deserves.