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January 4, 2015

On Meet the Press, Barrasso Previews New Congress, Keystone, Obamacare, Attorney General Nomination

“I’m optimistic. I think we have a great opportunity as well as an obligation to the American people to listen to what the voters said. They want us to work together. What we're ready to deliver is effective, efficient and accountable government.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) appeared on “Meet the Press” this morning to talk about the new Congress including the future of the Keystone XL pipeline and Obamacare. Barrasso also discussed how the President’s executive action on immigration will play an important role in the confirmation hearings of the President’s nominee to be Attorney General, Loretta Lynch.

Below are key excerpts of the interview:

On Attorney General Nominee Loretta Lynch:

“I think we need to do—get the new senators sworn into office, move in with specifically with regard to Loretta Lynch and I’ve met with her. We had a very cordial meeting. The issue there is the President's illegal action on executive amnesty.

“Well that's going to come up in the questioning what she views with the President's actions on amnesty. Is it legal, is it not legal? Is she going to be the people's attorney? Is she going to be a presidential protector? And that's going to be a big part of this—these hearings are going to be very consequential.

“That's certainly a part of it because of the President's actions, which I believe have been illegal.

On Keystone XL Pipeline:

“The President is going to see the Keystone XL pipeline on his desk and it is going to be a bell weather decision by the President whether to go with jobs and the economy, his own State Department said its 42,000 new jobs. This is a good infrastructure project, supported widely across the United States. He’s going to have to decide between jobs and the extreme supporters of not having the pipeline.

On Obamacare:

“The priority is to repeal this healthcare law. It's bad for patients, bad for the providers, the nurses and doctors who take care of them and terrible for taxpayers. We are going to put on the President's desk at a minimum stripping away the most damaging parts of the healthcare law. We’re going to resume, get back to the 40 hour workweek, which is hurting people right now in losing some of their pay. We’re going to get rid of the employer mandate.

“There will be a vote on repeal. The President, in the White House, will veto that. We will get on his desk for signature bipartisan support, eliminating the tax on medical devices, the employer mandate, the 40-hour workweek. We have bipartisan support for that. There have been votes on those bills in the House, many Democrats have supported those efforts. This healthcare law continues—the costs are crippling the middle class, the Vice President in his message yesterday said, things are great. They’re not.

On the Outlook for New Congress:

“I’m optimistic. I think we have a great opportunity as well as an obligation to the American people to listen to what the voters said. They want us to work together. What we're ready to deliver is effective, efficient and accountable government.”

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