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McConnell Statement on Sen. Thad Cochran

November 14, 2007





WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement Wednesday regarding the announcement by Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) that he will seek re-election at the end of the 110th Congress:



“Thad Cochran has served the people of the Magnolia State with distinction and grace in the U.S. Congress for 35 years. Mississippians will continue to have two strong advocates in the Senate who have dedicated their careers to serving the people of their home state with pride. I thank Thad for his years of service and friendship, and look forward to many more.”



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McConnell, Bunning and Chandler Urge Immediate Action to Ensure the Safety of People Living Near Blue Grass Army Depot

November 13, 2007





Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Jim Bunning and Congressman Ben Chandler sent a letter Tuesday to the Acting Director of the Chemical Materials Agency urging him to take “immediate and decisive action” to ensure that employees at the Blue Grass Army Depot are “properly trained to prevent release of chemical warfare agents” to ensure the safety of the people living near the facility.



The lawmakers are responding to a report recently released by the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection on the status of the storage of chemical weapons at the BGAD.



“We need to ensure that the people involved in the storage of the chemical weapons stockpile at the Depot are properly trained so that the people living in Central Kentucky are safe and secure,” Senator McConnell said. “I appreciate the support of my friends Jim Bunning and Ben Chandler on this issue and I will continue to work with them until the community is rid of these lethal agents.”



“I am pleased to join Senator McConnell and Congressman Chandler in the effort to ensure that this important matter is addressed,” Senator Bunning said. “We have an obligation to do everything we can to make sure that workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot have the tools and training necessary to deal with these dangerous weapons and keep the residents of Central Kentucky safe from potential contamination.”



“My first priority has always been to ensure the safety of Central Kentuckians and employees of the Depot. I know I share this priority with Senator McConnell and Senator Bunning, and I appreciate their ongoing leadership in this area,” Congressman Chandler said.



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End the Middle Class Tax Hike

November 13, 2007



‘The consequences of mismanaging this stealth tax are very real’



Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday regarding the consequences of Democrats’ mismanagement for American taxpayers:



“Right outside of this chamber stands a statue of Benjamin Franklin.



“According to the Office of the Senate Curator, sculptor Hiram Powers received a contract from President James Buchanan himself to sculpt Franklin in 1859. The statue arrived at the Capitol in 1862, and has been in that spot ever since.



“Franklin wrote many famous aphorisms that live on to this day, and I want to talk about one of my favorites.



“Two hundred and eighteen years ago today, Franklin wrote to a friend words that will long outlive most things we say here: ‘Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’



“Proving the aphorism, Franklin died less than a year later.



“Mr. President, while we know the certainty of death and taxes, we can do something to ease the burden for the 23 million Americans who will be in for a rather unpleasant surprise on April 15 if Congress doesn’t act now to stop the middle-class tax hike, which goes by the rather innocuous name of ‘AMT’—a law that was originally intended in 1969 to impose taxes on a handful of high-income individuals who used loopholes in the code to avoided paying any regular income tax.



“Congress has known about the need to fix this problem all year, but the majority hasn’t brought a bill to the floor. And now they say it will be December before they do.



“The consequences of mismanaging this stealth tax are very real.



“This tax will grab $65 billion out of the pockets of middle-class taxpayers—an average of $2,000 per family. Millions will be hit for the first time.



“The IRS sent a letter warning Democrats that unless they act before December, the tax returns of 50 million people—and $75 billion in tax refunds—will be delayed.



“Just last week Democrats in the House of Representatives passed a bill that purports to delay the burden of the AMT for one year—by socking a massive, $80-billion tax increase to the American people. That’s the last thing they need right now, and it would be a disastrous jolt to the economy.



“Maybe a massive tax hike wrapped in an AMT fix sounds like a good idea to some people. But I’ve got a message for anybody who thinks that: such a proposal is dead on arrival in the Senate.



“The AMT, a middle-class tax hike, was never meant to be collected from the millions of Americans that it will hit this year if we don’t act. And I say this Congress ought to cut taxes by cutting taxes, not raising taxes.”



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