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McConnell Secures Funding for Several Kentucky Universities

July 30, 2009

*Bill also contains his request of funding for local transportation projects*

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday that he secured nearly $24 million in funding in two bills containing critical support for several Kentucky projects, including $17 million for Kentucky universities. The measures were approved by a key Senate committee today and now go to the Senate floor for consideration.

“Kentucky’s universities are leading the way in research for cures, expanding opportunities for students and building facilities to help rural communities deal with health issues,” McConnell said. “I am proud to secure these funds which will aid in moving these health and educational initiatives forward.”

McConnell secured $15 million for the following projects in the FY 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill:

$5.3 million for the University of Kentucky

• $2 million for the UK “Heart Health” Community Health Management Program, and to expand UK's Centers for Rural Health at Hazard, Morehead, Madisonville, and Murray.

• $2 million for the UK Biomedical Informatics Core Project to develop a data warehouse critical to expanding research, and helping community hospitals throughout the state.

• $1.3 million for UK to expand the College of Nursing facility, allowing UK to better respond to the nursing shortage by increasing the undergraduate nursing program with renovated facilities.



$5.3 million for the University of Louisville

• $2.5 million for UofL to purchase medical equipment for the In-Vivo Molecular Imaging Project. This will enable researchers to gather information non-invasively in humans, which will help solve biological and medical problems and improve our knowledge of diseases.

• $1 million to assist the UofL Center for Liver Cancer in developing a liver cancer research center, investigating new surgical approaches, drug therapies and diagnostic and prevention strategies for liver cancer.

• $1 million for the UofL Cardiovascular and Regenerative Medicine Project to purchase equipment that will help researchers conduct cutting-edge, first-in-human research studies in the use of cell-based therapies for heart disease.

• $800,000 for the UofL Improving Nursing Care Program to train and educate nursing faculty, students and registered nurses to better understand and use clinical informatics and to incorporate electronic health records in the delivery of care.

$2.4 million for Northern Kentucky University

• To purchase technology and equipment to enhance the College of Informatics. NKU is continuing its important work preparing students for in-demand information-technology related careers.

$2 million for Western Kentucky University

• To complete the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment for the Ogden College of Science and Engineering Facility. This amount will complete the three year project and will give students at WKU the tools necessary to compete in high-demand science and engineering industries.

In the FY 2010 Transportation Appropriations bill, Senator McConnell secured $8.925 million for the following Kentucky infrastructure projects:

• $3 million for the Hopkinsville-Christian County Industrial Mega Site

This will provide economic development funds to enhance the site with a natural gas line to attract industry and jobs. The money is needed for improvements at the 2,100 acre Hopkinsville-Christian County Industrial Mega Site, which is expected to help attract future manufacturing plants and industry.

• $1.6 million for the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky

The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) will use this funding to replace their oldest buses with new, energy efficient transit buses to ensure that TANK can continue to provide reliable service to the community.

• $1.5 million for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport seeks funds to rehabilitate apron areas around Concourse B, including surface patching and concrete replacement. According to local officials, these improvements will help the airport better serve air travelers in and out of northern Kentucky.

• $750,000 for the Louisville International Airport

The Louisville International Airport seeks funds to construct a necessary taxiway in order to accommodate larger Group VI aircraft. According to local officials, by expanding the airport taxiway, the airport will be able to accommodate current growth and take advantage of any new opportunities that will retain and attract aviation-related companies and jobs to the Louisville community.

• $1.075 million for Western Kentucky University

Western Kentucky University seeks funds to replace outdated shuttle buses with new, fuel efficient buses and vehicles to support the expansion of existing routes throughout campus and the Bowling Green community.

• $1 million for the University of Kentucky

Kentucky, and the rest of the nation, seeks cost-effective, sustainable solutions to a variety of transportation problems. The UK will use these funds to support the Academy for Community Transportation Innovation, which will educate new transportation planners and engineers in ways to achieve safe, environmentally sound and sustainable transportation projects.

“It’s critically important that we continue to upgrade Kentucky’s infrastructure,” McConnell said. “By improving our transit system, we will not only help Kentuckians, but will also assist economic development across the Commonwealth.”

The Transportation and the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bills now go to the full Senate for consideration.

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Senate Approves McConnell’s Request of Funding for Kentucky

July 29, 2009

*McConnell includes funding for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Wolf Creek and lock and dam projects*

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday that the U.S. Senate has approved his request of $397 million in funding for several Kentucky projects. The FY 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill passed the Senate today and now goes to a House/Senate conference committee, which will finalize details of the bill.

Senator McConnell secured funding for the following projects: $166.632 million for worker health screening and cleanup at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, $123 million for repairs at the Wolf Creek Dam, $105 million for upgrades at the Olmsted Lock and Dam, $1 million for construction at the Kentucky Lock and Dam, and $2 million for an energy independence research program at the University of Louisville.

“Securing funding for the cleanup efforts and medical monitoring at the Paducah plant has been one of my top priorities,” Senator McConnell said. “This money is vital to the continued cleanup at the facility as well as providing much-needed cancer screenings and other medical tests for current and former workers.”

During the debate on the bill, McConnell also highlighted the importance of bringing home funding for Kentucky infrastructure projects.

“Wolf Creek Dam is threatened by seepage under and around the dam, increasing the risk of catastrophic failure and these funds will ensure that the repairs remain on schedule and the project will be completed as quickly as possible,” McConnell said.

“It’s also vital that the funding is available to continue construction at several of Kentucky’s locks and dams – including the Olmsted and Kentucky Lock and Dam projects,” McConnell added. “And I am pleased to bring the funding home to upgrade the outdated locks on the Ohio River in Ballard County and build a new one on the Tennessee River.”

The Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill now goes to a House/Senate Conference for consideration.

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Something’s Missing

July 29, 2009

‘Every week, it seems, the White House hosts an event aimed at showcasing some sacrifice being made by one group or another — every group, that is, except personal injury lawyers’

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the importance of getting it right on health care reform:

“Throughout the debate over health care reform, the administration has made a point of asking various stakeholders to come together and do their part: Doctors and hospitals are being asked to find significant savings; seniors are being asked to make major sacrifices, and so are the states. Every week, it seems, the White House hosts an event aimed at showcasing some sacrifice being made by one group or another — every group, that is, except personal injury lawyers.

“It’s a glaring omission, since everyone knows that the constant threat of lawsuits is one of the reasons health care premiums for families have skyrocketed more than 100 percent over the past decade and the primary reason that many doctors today spend a fortune on malpractice insurance even before they open up their doors for business. To take just one example, neurosurgeons in Miami can expect to spend more on malpractice insurance every year than many families in Miami can expect to spend on a new home.

“This is a serious problem, everyone knows it, and yet we don’t hear a word about it from any of the Democratic-led committees in Congress that are working on reform.

“It’s not because the administration hasn’t raised the issue. Last month, the President himself acknowledged the widespread use of so-called ‘Defensive Medicine,’ or the practice of prescribing drugs or tests that aren’t really needed just to protect oneself from the threat of a lawsuit. During the same speech, the President said we need to explore a whole range of ideas about how to scale back defensive medicine. Well, Democrats in Congress must not have been paying attention to that part of the speech — because I haven’t heard a word about the issue from any Democrat since.

“One exception was the recent suggestion by some in the administration that doctors are performing unnecessary surgeries just to make an extra buck. I think a better explanation is the one the President gave last month, when he said doctors often perform certain procedures just to protect themselves from frivolous lawsuits.

“The costs associated with ever-increasing malpractice insurance and defensive medicine are substantial — and both are passed along to consumers in the form of higher costs for even basic treatments and procedures. And many Americans pay an even higher price when doctors decide that the threat of lawsuits and the cost of insurance just isn’t worth it and decide to close down their practices altogether.

“Every state feels the effect of out-of-control malpractice suits. One study suggests that Kentucky alone is 2,300 doctors short of the national average, a shortage that could be reduced, in part, by getting a handle on malpractice suits. I’ve spoken before about the effects that a culture of jackpot lawsuits has on everyday Americans, on people like Rashelle Perryman of Crittenden County, Kentucky.

“According to an article in the Louisville Courier Journal, Rashelle’s first two babies were born at Crittenden County Hospital, which is about a 10-minute ride from her home. But her third child had to be delivered about 40 miles away. Why? Because rising malpractice rates had forced doctors at Crittenden Country Hospital to stop delivering babies altogether. They just couldn’t afford it.

“When the threat of lawsuits drives insurance premiums so high that many doctors are forced to go out of business; that mothers across the country can’t find a local obstetrician; and that health insurance costs for everyone continue to go up, we have a problem that needs to be addressed. And yet every single one of the so-called comprehensive health care reform proposals that Democrats are currently putting together in Congress ignores this important issue.

“The only people who benefit from the current system are the personal injury lawyers who can end up taking a third of every settlement — and protecting them isn’t what health care reform was supposed to be about. Yet it’s hard to escape the conclusion that this is precisely what’s going on here. If the administration wants to be comprehensive in its approach, it should ask personal injury lawyers to make the sacrifices that America’s seniors, doctors, governors, and small business owners have been asked to make.

“Americans don’t want a government takeover of health care. They want reforms that everyone can understand and all of us can agree on. And nothing could be simpler or more straightforward than putting an end to lawsuits that drive up costs and put doctors out of business. Americans don’t want grand schemes. They want common sense proposals. Medical liability reform would be a very good place to start.”

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