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McConnell, Boxer Announce Agreement on Multi-Year Highway Bill

‘After months of discussion and a lot of cooperation from chairmen and ranking members, and staffs and members from both sides of the aisle, I’m happy to announce that Sen. Boxer and I have an agreement for a multi-year, bipartisan highway bill.’

July 21, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the bipartisan Drive Act:

“After months of discussion and a lot of cooperation from chairmen and ranking members, and staffs and members from both sides of the aisle, I’m happy to announce that Sen. Boxer and I have an agreement for a multi-year, bipartisan highway bill. We will now discuss that with our conferences at the lunches.

“This is a six-year highway authorization that will allow planning for important long-term projects around the country, and the bill provides three years of guaranteed funding for the highway trust fund.

“Senators from both parties know that a long-term highway bill is in the best interest of our country. So we’ll continue working together to get a good one passed. Thanks to the dedication of both Republican and Democratic Senators and their staffs, I’m hopeful we will.   “I thank the many members on both sides of the aisle who helped get us as far as we’ve already gotten today. In particular I’d like to thank Chairmen Inhofe, Hatch, Thune and Shelby for their efforts to reach a bipartisan accomplishment.”

 

Senator McConnell Comments on President Obama’s Latest Anti-Coal Proposal

July 16, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following comments today regarding the Obama Administration’s latest anti-coal regulation:

“This costly proposed regulation is aimed squarely at the lifeblood of the commonwealth’s economy and the livelihoods of Coal Country workers and their families. Taken together with other Washington regulations that are already having a devastating impact, it’s impossible not to conclude that the Obama Administration is engaging in all-out economic warfare on these communities. I will continue to do all I can to fight back against the Obama Administration’s repeated and gratuitous attacks on Kentuckians whose only crime is working hard to maintain a reliable source of energy and provide for their families.”

McConnell Secures Hemp Provision in Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill

Measure would allow the processing of legally grown industrial hemp

July 16, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell secured a provision in the Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill today to allow the processing of legally grown industrial hemp. The McConnell language would help farmers transport legal industrial hemp between states so the crop can be developed for commercial purposes. The full Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill today.

“Kentucky’s industrial hemp pilot programs continue to prosper and I want to make sure our legal hemp producers can safely transport their crops between states, including to States that maintain processing facilities, so they can fully capitalize on the commercial potential for this commodity,” said Senator McConnell.

“This latest language reemphasizes that industrial hemp from a farm bill research program is an agricultural commodity. The ability of Kentucky to research the full potential of industrial hemp through processing, marketing, and sales is vital to understanding the future possibilities for industrial hemp. Kentucky’s agriculture community continues to be indebted to Senator McConnell for his continued leadership on industrial hemp,” said Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture, James Comer.

Last month, Senator McConnell worked with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Jon Tester (D-MT) to secure language in the Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill to ensure that legal industrial hemp pilot programs, like those in Kentucky, can continue without federal disruption.

These latest hemp provisions build upon Senator McConnell’s work in last year’s Farm Bill, which gave state agricultural commissioners and universities the federal authority to cultivate industrial hemp for pilot programs.

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