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Support for $4 Gas Not a ‘Common View,’ McConnell Says

June 18, 2008



‘I haven’t heard a single one of them say so yet, but I can’t imagine they agree with their nominee, that what Americans really needed was a gradual adjustment to $4 a gallon gasoline’



Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the rising price at the pump and the pending agreement on compromise FISA legislation:



“High gas prices continue to frustrate the American people, and so I think it’s important that Congress show we’re fully engaged on this issue and ready to help in any way we can.



“Unfortunately, that means the parties will have to come together on a solution — something our friends on the other side seem stubbornly unwilling to do.



“The common-sense solution to this problem, we all know, is a combination of energy exploration here in the U.S. to bring down prices in the short-term married to a long-term strategy of energy independence through the development of clean energy technologies.



“If we’re going to help Americans in the short term, we need more American energy now.



“But our friends on the other side don’t want to hear it. They think Americans should just get used to $4 a gallon gasoline. Asked last week about the sudden spike in gas prices, the Democrat nominee for President said he would have preferred a ‘gradual adjustment.’



“Well, as I have said several times, I don’t think that’s the common view. And I want to give my colleagues on the other side one more opportunity to say that, in their view, Americans shouldn’t have to get used to $4 a gallon gasoline.



“I haven’t heard a single one of them say so yet, but I can’t imagine they agree with their nominee, that what Americans really needed was a gradual adjustment to $4 a gallon gasoline.”





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“Sen. Bond reports that FISA discussions have yielded a rough compromise that may be acceptable to the DNI, the White House and the chairs and ranking members of the intelligence committees.



“Because the House leadership has denied a majority of House members a vote on the acceptable Senate-passed bill, the burden remains on the House leaders to prove that they are capable of passing FISA legislation that the President will sign.”



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McConnell: We Need More American Energy Now

June 17, 2008

“Our Democrat colleagues had a week to demonstrate that they don’t embrace the ‘gradual adjustment’ philosophy of their nominee. We haven’t heard a word on it from any of them. Maybe they don’t have a problem with $4 a gallon gasoline either”

Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday regarding the need for both a short-term and long-term solution to lowering the price of gas:

“It’s been more than a week since the Democrat nominee for President, the Junior Senator from Illinois, responded to high gas prices by saying it wasn’t the high gas prices he minded, but the fact that people didn’t have time to get used to them. In his words, he would have preferred a ‘gradual adjustment’ to a sudden jolt.

“Well, as I said last week, I can’t imagine this is a view that many other people share. Certainly not the people of Kentucky, who I assure you, are not at all interested in getting used to $4 a gallon gas — however gradual the adjustment.

“Our Democrat colleagues on the other side of the aisle have had a week to demonstrate that they don’t embrace the ‘gradual adjustment’ philosophy of their nominee. We haven’t heard a word on it from any of them.

“Maybe they don’t have a problem with $4 a gallon gasoline either. Maybe the Junior Senator from North Dakota was speaking for all of them when he said over the weekend that $4 a gallon gasoline was finally forcing people to conserve.

“Telling people whose livelihoods depend on getting to and from work that they should get used to high gas prices is not an energy policy. Supporting a ‘gradual adjustment’ to $4 a gallon gasoline is not an energy policy.

“Americans need an energy policy befitting America, and that means using the natural resources we have here at home to bring down prices in the short-term while pursuing a long-term strategy for energy independence through clean technologies. We can do both, and we should do both.

“We need more American energy now. That’s the short-term solution to the current crisis. And so once again I call on our friends to consider this reasonable two-part solution and to drop their absolutist opposition to energy exploration here at home.”

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Senator McConnell Honors the American Printing House for the Blind for its 150th Anniversary

June 17, 2008

“The Commonwealth of Kentucky and the city of Louisville are proud to be the home of the American Printing House for the Blind”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell honored the American Printing House for the Blind on Tuesday for 150 years of service to the millions of blind and visually impaired people across the United States. During a ceremony on Capitol Hill, Senator McConnell paid tribute to the Louisville facility with the following remarks:

“Hello and thank you for that introduction, Jim.

“I want to thank APH Chairman Jim Lintner and President Tuck Tinsley for their superb leadership of an institution that is very important to the city of Louisville, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and nationwide. Thank you, Jim, Tuck.

“I’m also grateful Gary Mudd and Nancy Lacewell, both of APH, could be here as well. Thank you for all your hard work putting together this event.

“This year marks the American Printing House for the Blind’s 150th in operation, to the benefit of millions of blind and visually impaired people across the country. For these Americans, APH provides more than just a way to get an education. They provide full access to a life without limits, and the American Dream.

“Before this institution’s founding, different schools for the blind across the country each prepared their own learning materials, but soon educators realized the need for a national printing house to fill this role.

“Louisville was chosen for its central location in the country, and its position along the Ohio River. So the Kentucky General Assembly passed an act to charter APH in 1858.

“The federal government designated APH as the nation’s official source of learning materials for blind students in 1879, and Congress has continued to support APH’s mission ever since.

“Over the last 150 years, the American Printing House for the Blind has created many remarkable products that have changed the lives of blind and visually impaired Americans. APH began printing books in Braille in the 19th Century.

“Today they create products to help the blind access the Internet. You’ll get a chance to see some of that history in the traveling museum exhibit APH has created in the Russell Rotunda, and learn the incredible role this institution has played in education in America.

“The Commonwealth of Kentucky and the city of Louisville are proud to be the home of APH, and you have added a lot to our community. You’ve empowered millions of Americans to learn all they can, engage the world around them, and reach their full potential.

“I’ve always been a supporter of APH, and I’m glad I could join you to celebrate 150 years of service to this important mission. And we look forward to supporting you as you fulfill your vital role for so many in the years ahead.”

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