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Support the Troops, Don’t Block the Defense Funding Bill, McConnell Tells Senate Democrats

June 18, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor urging Democrats to support defense funding:

“America asks a lot of the men and women of its volunteer military force: to undertake dangerous missions in far-off lands, to spend months or years away from their families, and always to sacrifice, so that we might live in freedom.

“These brave men and women do it all without reservation. They ask precious little in return, save for the resources they need to do the job and the support they need to look after their families.

“That’s the least Congress can provide. Seventy one Senators just voted to promise they would provide it.

“It would be very cruel indeed for any Senator who just made that promise to turn around now and block the rest of us from fulfilling their pledge to the troops.

“Passing the legislation before us is the way to fulfill the promise that was just made. Our friends across the aisle know it’s a good bill. That’s why nearly every Democrat voted to pass it in committee, 27-3. That’s why Democrats have hailed this bill as a ‘win-win-win’ and a ‘victory’ for their state.

“They know it gives President Obama the same level of military funding he asked for in his own budget request.

“They know it adheres to bipartisan spending levels that both parties agreed to, that President Obama signed into law, and that President Obama campaigned on in the last presidential election.

“So now our friends face a choice.

“Option 1: Allow the promise they made to our troops to be fulfilled, by voting for a bill they can’t stop praising.

“Option 2: Break the promise they just made, by killing a bill they claim to love — all in service of some unrelated and completely incomprehensible partisan plan.

“It’s the road of bipartisanship and support for our troops that brought us this far. We shouldn’t let partisan politics trip us up now. And we don’t have to, not if common-sense Democrats continue to prioritize pay raises and medical care for our troops over some unrelated gambit to funnel more cash to bureaucracies like the IRS.

“I would just leave my colleagues with something one of our Democratic friends said of men and women in the military: ‘Just as we have called on them to protect us, they are calling on us to provide them with the resources they need...’

“They are. Senators just promised they would. Senators shouldn’t vote now to block us from fulfilling that promise.”

 

McConnell on Charleston Tragedy

‘Our hearts go out to the families who have been affected by this awful tragedy.’

June 18, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the tragic shootings in Charleston, South Carolina:

“At this time I would like to take a moment to discuss the terrible news out of Charleston.

“This is a true tragedy. It's always awful when a tragedy like this occurs, but to happen at a house of worship makes it even worse. Churches should be a place of refuge, a place where people feel safe and secure, a place of mercy, a place of compassion.

“The depth of loss these families must be feeling is simply awful. So I want the American people to know the Senate is thinking of them today and the victims that they love. We're also thinking of the entire congregation at this historic church. We'll continue to do so as more about this about this tragedy is learned in the hours and days to come.

“Our hearts go out to the families who have been affected by this awful tragedy.”

McConnell Secures Pro-Coal Measure in Senate Interior Appropriations Bill

McConnell joined subcommittee this year to fight back against EPA’s War on Coal

June 18, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced today that he secured language in the Senate Interior Appropriations bill that would protect states from any consequences from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should they forego submitting a state plan for complying with the agency’s recently finalized power plant rule.  This prohibition of the use of funds was included in the Senate version of the bill that was approved by the Appropriations Committee earlier today.

Click the image below to view the Senator's remarks.

In March, Senator McConnell sent a letter to all 50 governors calling on them to “carefully review the consequences before signing up for this deeply misguided plan.” In the letter, Senator McConnell wrote, “I believe you will find, as I have, that the EPA’s proposal goes far beyond its legal authority and that the courts are likely to strike it down. All of which raises the very important question of why the EPA is asking states at this time to propose their own compliance plans in the first place.”

The measure that Senator McConnell inserted in the Interior funding bill solidifies in legislative text that states have the option to refuse to comply with the EPA’s power plant rule.

“If enacted, the measure I secured today will guarantee that governors who heeded my warning will be protected, while also prohibiting funding for the EPA to force states to submit an implementation plan,” Senator McConnell said. “This administration’s EPA continues its war against Kentucky coal jobs, miners and their families, and I have vowed to do all I can to stop them. I joined the Interior Subcommittee this year specifically to be in a position to oversee the EPA’s budget and to protect Kentucky jobs. The provision I secured today is very important to my constituents back home. If enacted, it will protect jobs, keep electricity prices low, and fight back against the bureaucratic overreach committed by this administration’s EPA.”

Senator McConnell also secured a number of other provisions in the bill that seek to prevent the EPA from implementing onerous regulations that will have a negative impact on Kentucky’s economy. He secured language that would prohibit implementation and funding of the so-called Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule that would classify nearly all wetlands, including small ponds and ditches, as “navigable” waters and thus subject to interference by Washington.  Senator McConnell also inserted language to prohibit the EPA from regulating a standard for ozone or “smog” levels until at least 85 percent of counties nationwide that are not in compliance are able to do so.

“Once again, Senator McConnell is standing up for coal miners as well as the increasing number of states that have serious concerns about the Obama Administration’s policies regarding electricity production,” said Bill Bissett, President of the Kentucky Coal Association (KCA). “Protecting states that choose not to comply with the EPA’s proposed Greenhouse Gas regulations makes sense and should be seen by the White House as a growing voice of concern against their policies that will create more economic destruction in coal mining and coal using states like Kentucky. KCA thanks Senator McConnell for his efforts, and we hope Senator McConnell’s colleagues in the United States Senate support this effort.”

The Interior Appropriations bill must now be approved by the full Senate.

 

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