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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) praised Senate passage today of his measure to overturn the “stream buffer rule,” an anti-coal regulation that President Obama filed just before leaving office.

Senator McConnell and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) filed the resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The House of Representatives passed it earlier today and the resolution now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.

“The Obama Administration’s Stream Buffer rule was an attack against coal miners and their families. In my home state of Kentucky, the Stream Buffer Rule would have caused major damage to communities and threaten coal jobs,” Senator McConnell said. “The legislation we passed today will help stop this disastrous rule and bring relief to coal miners and their families. I am heartened to know so many of my colleagues recognized the problems that face coal country, and I am glad that they joined with me to address them. Now with a friend of coal in the White House, the legislation will soon be signed into law. I am grateful for President Trump’s support and I look forward to working with him in the future to protect coal families and communities.”

Providing relief from this regulation — and the many others that have targeted coal communities — is just one priority Senator McConnell laid out in letter to President Trump earlier this year.

Today on the Senate floor, Senator McConnell delivered the following remarks regarding the CRA resolution:

“This Republican-led Congress is committed to fulfilling our promises to the American people. That work continues now as we consider legislation to push back against harmful regulations from the Obama Administration.

“On its way out the door, the Obama Administration forced nearly 40 major — and very costly — regulations on the American people. Fortunately, we now have the opportunity to work with the new president to begin bringing relief from these burdensome regulations.

“Last night, the House sent us two resolutions under the Congressional Review Act — one of the best tools at our disposal to undo these heavy-handed regulations.

“This afternoon the Senate will have the opportunity to pass the first of these resolutions — a measure to overturn the Stream Buffer Rule.

“The resolution before us now is identical to the one I introduced earlier this week, and it aims to put a stop to the former administration’s blatant attack on coal miners.

“In my home state of Kentucky and others across the nation, the Stream Buffer Rule will cause major damage to communities and threaten coal jobs.

“One study actually estimated that this regulation would put as many as one-third of coal-related jobs at risk.

“That’s why the Kentucky Coal Association called it 'a regulation in search of a problem.'

“They joined with the United Mine Workers of American and Attorneys General of 14 states on both sides of the aisle urging Congress to act.

“We should heed their call now and begin bringing relief to coal country.

“Today’s vote on this resolution represents a good step in that direction.

“Once our work is complete on this legislation, we’ll turn to another House-passed resolution that will protect American companies from being at a disadvantage when doing business overseas.

“Although the Securities and Exchange Commission may have had good intentions, the Resource Extraction Rule costs American public companies up to nearly $600 million annually and gives foreign owned business in Russia and China an advantage over American workers.

“We all want to increase transparency, but we should not raise costs on American businesses only to benefit their international competition.

“Let’s send the SEC back to the drawing board to promote transparency without the high costs or negative impacts on American businesses.

“These CRA resolutions keep the interests of American families and workers at heart. Today, we’ll continue to chip away at the regulation legacy of the Obama Administration with more CRA resolutions in the coming days as well.

“Let’s pass these two resolutions without delay so we can send them to the President’s desk and continue giving the power back to the people.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the support Judge Neil Gorsuch has received from both Republicans and Democrats:

“I was surprised by a statement my friend the Democratic leader made here yesterday. I’m glad he came back to the floor to correct himself though. I think we all appreciated the Democratic Leader making clear that Republicans did not — let me repeat, did not — insist on 60-vote thresholds for either of President Obama’s two first-term Supreme Court nominees. We thank the Democratic leader for clearing that up.

“His statement also reminds us all that both of the Supreme Court justices President Clinton nominated got a straight up-or-down vote too. There’s no reason someone like Judge Gorsuch — who’s received widespread acclaim from both sides of the aisle — should be treated differently now.

“When he was nominated to his current seat on the Court of Appeals, Judge Gorsuch received the American Bar Association’s highest possible rating, ‘unanimously well-qualified.’ At his confirmation hearing, no one had a single negative word to say about him. At his confirmation vote, no one cast a negative vote against him: not then-Senator Obama, not then-Senators Clinton, Biden, or Kennedy, not my good friend Senator Schumer either. Judge Gorsuch was confirmed in exceptionally fast time for a Court of Appeals nominee too, just two months.

“So you have to wonder, if this nominee was so non-controversial in 2006 that a roll-call vote wasn’t even required, what could possibly have changed since to justify threats of extraordinary treatment now? If the Democratic leader or anyone else in his Conference didn’t raise a concern in committee or cast a single negative vote then, let alone even ask for a roll-call vote, what could possibly justify these so-called ‘grave concerns’ he claims to have now?

“Professor Laurence Tribe, President Obama’s law school mentor, called Judge Gorsuch a ‘brilliant, terrific guy who would do the Court's work with distinction.’ This is Laurence Tribe, the president’s Constitutional law professor, one of the best known liberal professors in the country.

“Neil Katyal, President Obama’s top Supreme Court lawyer, lauded Judge Gorsuch as ‘one of the most thoughtful and brilliant judges to have served our nation over the last century.’ That’s President Obama’s Supreme Court lawyer.

“The left-leaning Denver Post recently highlighted Judge Gorsuch’s reputation as ‘a brilliant legal mind’ who applies the law ‘fairly and consistently.’ And, I’m happy to report, we’ve even been assured by liberal talk show host, Rachel Maddow, that Gorsuch is ‘a relatively mainstream choice.’

“Turns out, in the years since Judge Gorsuch’s unopposed Senate confirmation, he’s shown himself to be the very kind of judge everyone hoped he’d be — one who demonstrates the ‘sense of fairness and impartiality’ that Democratic then-Senator Salazar lauded him for in 2006, which Salazar called ‘keystone for being a judge.’

“That was Judge Neil Gorsuch’s reputation back then, and it is his richly-deserved reputation still, as those in both parties who’ve known and worked with him continue to tell us. As one Democrat and Denver Attorney put it, Judge Gorsuch: is ‘smart [and] he's independent.’

“The things we’ve heard from so many about Judge Gorsuch — smart and independent…fair and impartial…thoughtful and brilliant — are just the qualities we should expect in our next Supreme Court justice. They are the same qualities I’m confident Judge Gorsuch would bring to the Court.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions that would overturn job-killing Obama Administration regulations:

“For the last eight years, the Obama Administration has pushed through a number of harmful regulations that circumvent Congress, slow growth, shift power away from state and local governments toward Washington, and kill jobs.

“Even on the way out the door, the former administration’s regulatory onslaught continued as they rushed through more midnight regulations. These nearly 40 major regulations — which were pushed through by the Obama Administration since Election Day — would cost Americans a projected $157 billion according to one report.

“Fortunately, with a new president we now have the opportunity to give the American people relief and our economy a boost. One of the most important tools we have is the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to provide relief from heavy-handed regulations that hold our country back.

“The House just took an important step by sending us two pieces of legislation that will reassert congressional authority and make a real impact for the American people. One of those resolutions will address a regulation that puts U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage to private and foreign companies. Passing this resolution will allow the SEC to go back to the drawing board so that we can promote transparency — which is something we all want — but to do so without giving giant foreign conglomerates a leg up over American workers. We’ll take it up soon.

“The other resolution, which we’ll take up first, will address an 11th hour parting salvo in the Obama Administration’s war on coal families that could threaten one-third of America’s coal mining jobs. It’s identical to the legislation I introduced this week, and it’s a continuation of my efforts to push back against the former administration’s attacks on coal communities.

“Appalachian coal miners, like those in my home state of Kentucky, need relief now. That’s why groups like the Kentucky Coal Association, the United Mine Workers Association, and 14 state Attorneys General, among others, have all joined together in a call to overturn this regulation. The Senate should approve this resolution without delay and send it to the president’s desk. The sooner we do, the sooner we can begin undoing the job-killing policies associated with the Stream Buffer Rule.

“This is not a partisan issue. This is about bringing relief to those who need it and protecting jobs across the country. I hope our friends across the aisle will support our nation’s coal miners and join me in advancing this resolution. After we address these regulations, both the House and Senate will continue working to advance several other CRA resolutions that can bring the American people relief.”

Recent Press Releases

McConnell Measure to Overturn Obama’s Anti-Coal Rule Passes Congress; Now Goes to President for Signature

‘The legislation we passed today will help stop this disastrous rule and bring relief to coal miners and their families’

February 2, 2017

Gorsuch Has Received Widespread Acclaim from Both Sides of the Aisle

February 2, 2017

Helping Coal Families By Overturning Job-Killing Regulations

February 1, 2017