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McConnell: Appalachian Artisan Center in Hindman Receives Federal Funding

May 15, 2008



Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday that the Appalachian Artisan Center in Hindman, Ky. has received a $200,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Rural Development funds will be used by the Appalachian Artisan Center to expand its current program of assisting eastern Kentucky artist entrepreneurs to create and grow successful small businesses. Senator McConnell wrote a letter of support for the grant and urged the USDA to approve the application.

“These funds will enable the Appalachian Artisan Center to renovate and expand its current facility,” McConnell said. “It also will help the center provide equipment to artists who want to grow their own businesses, which is vital to the economic development of the region.”

According to the USDA Rural Development office, the grant will save 19 jobs and create 60 – 80 additional ones.

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American Families and Job Creators Can’t Afford This Budget

May 15, 2008



‘This budget is the Democrats’ way of saying ‘yes’ to the failed tax and spend politics of the past’



Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Thursday regarding the record tax and spending hikes contained in the Democrats’ budget:



“Two years ago, Democrats campaigned on tax relief for middle class families. They called for fiscal restraint and lowering the national debt.



“But, as we’ve seen over the last year, our friends are more concerned with increasing taxation, increasing regulation, and increasing litigation. And the budget they unveiled this year is just the latest example.



“If we were to follow this budget, it would go a long way into turning us into a country like France at a time when even the French are shying away from more government regulation and higher taxes.



“This budget lifts the curtain on what they have in store for America’s already overburdened taxpayers. Instead of lowering taxes on America’s working families and small businesses, this budget contains the largest tax hike in U.S. history.



“It’s not just the rich who would see their tax bills increase by an average of $2,300; It’s taxpayers making as little as $31,850 and couples earning $63,700. These are the families the Democrats are calling rich, and who they want to raise taxes on.



“Under this budget, every American would see his or her share of the national debt rise by $6,440 as a result of dramatically higher spending requests.



“At a time when American families are tightening their belts and checking their own spending habits, Washington should be doing the same. Yet they are proposing just the opposite: At a time of serious economic concern, they want to grow the federal budget to over $1 trillion in non-emergency spending.



“We’ve heard a lot of talk over the last few months from the other side about how middle class families are struggling to make ends meet.



“We even worked together to pass a stimulus package that puts money back in the wallets of middle class families. But now the Democrats want to take that money back — and then some — to fund their irresponsible spending hikes.



“Let’s be clear about what this budget is: it’s the Democrats’ way of saying ‘yes’ to the failed tax and spend politics of the past.



“American families can’t afford this budget. American job creators can’t afford this budget. And neither can our economy.”



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Senate Passes Farm Bill; Helps Kentucky Farmers

May 15, 2008

“Kentucky farmers will benefit greatly from the many important programs that are promoted and preserved in this bill”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday the Senate passed the Farm Bill conference report, which contains several important provisions to benefit the hard-working farm families of Kentucky.



“Kentucky farmers will benefit greatly from the many important programs that are promoted and preserved in this bill,” McConnell said. “I was pleased to support it on behalf of Kentucky’s farmers and their families who do so much for our commonwealth and the nation.”



Agriculture generates $4 billion for Kentucky’s economy every year. The commonwealth is the largest beef-cattle producing state east of the Mississippi, produces a diverse array of crops, and ranks fourth in the nation in the number of farms per state. In fact, 54 percent of Kentucky’s acreage is farmland.



The conference report contains a wide array of conservation efforts which will lead to improved air quality, cleaner drinking water, and less soil erosion, among other environmental benefits to our commonwealth.



It also includes a provision authored by Senator McConnell calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to survey what schools are serving to our children. This information will help USDA provide guidance to schools to serve healthier meals. This provision is sorely needed because USDA’s most recent data on this question is over a decade old.



“Educating our kids about the food they eat has been a top priority for me,” McConnell said. “In the last 30 years, the childhood obesity rate has more than tripled. Today over 4.5 million American children are facing a lifetime of all the increased health risks that obesity causes. This nutrition provision can be the first step towards reversing that unfortunate trend.”



The conference report also contains a provision authored by Senator McConnell to support Kentucky’s largest agricultural product, the horse industry. It would ensure that all race horses are depreciated over 3 years for tax purposes - regardless of when the horses start training. The current tax code does not accurately reflect the length of a horse's racing life.



“The horse industry employs 50,000 Kentuckians and contributes $3.5 billion to our economy year-round,” McConnell said. “By adding this provision to the bill, we have ensured that this important part of our farm economy is treated fairly.”



The Farm Bill conference report is supported by the Kentucky Farm Bureau.





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