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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved a federal competitive grant for $350,000 to Frontier Nursing University (FNU), a non-profit school in Leslie County, Kentucky. The Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship grant, will help increase nursing education opportunities and extend scholarships for FNU students.

In addition, this funding would be used to develop academic-practice partnership models for clinical training in an effort to better prepare nurses to navigate the ever-evolving healthcare system.

Earlier this year, Senator McConnell contacted HHS on behalf of FNU in support of this federal competitive grant. “This funding will allow Frontier Nursing University to provide important educational training resources to its students who in turn, upon graduation, will help Kentuckians in need,” Senator McConnell said. “I was proud to work with FNU to help secure this critical funding. This is a positive development for a university which graduates a large number of nurses who now practice in medically underserved and rural areas and with this funding, will continue to do so.”

Julie Marfell, Dean of Nursing and Program Director said, “We truly appreciate Senator McConnell's support as this funding will help our students while they are completing their clinical practicum. Our students really appreciate the financial support and so does the entire FNU community, which spans beyond Leslie County to the areas where our accredited distance-education programs exist statewide.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the need for the President to lay out a credible plan to defeat ISIL:

“Yesterday the Justice Department released a transcript of the Orlando terrorist’s 9/11 call, in which he claimed responsibility for the attack and declared his loyalty to ISIL. ‘What’s your name?’ the operator asked. ‘My name,’ he said, ‘is I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State.’ It was 2:35 a.m., a half-hour into his terrorist attack. The terrorist would soon meet his end at the hands of law enforcement, and first responders would make their way through the aftermath of his ISIL-inspired hatred — the deafening hum of unanswered cell phones crescendoing around them.

“CIA Director Brennan called this terrorist attack ‘an assault on the values of openness and tolerance that define us as a nation.’ He’s right. And the report he delivered to Congress last week was sobering.

“Here’s what seems clear to me. It seems clear that this vile, hateful terrorist organization is going to keep bringing tragedies to our doorsteps until we defeat ISIL where it actually trains, operates, and prepares for attacks — places like Iraq and Syria.

“It also seems clear that the President’s current ‘containment’ strategy has not been sufficient to defeat ISIL abroad or to prevent more ISIL-inspired attacks here at home. The President needs to finally lead a campaign to accomplish this objective.

“Senators in both parties should work to fight terror beyond our borders and prevent attacks within them. This is an area where Republicans have long been focused. Now is the time for Democrats to join us too.

“Work with us to connect the dots on terrorist communications. Work with us to address the threat of ‘lone-wolf’ attacks. Work with us to prevent more Americans from being inspired by ISIL, like the terrorist in Orlando.

“Yesterday Democrats had the chance to support serious, constitutional proposals from Senators Cornyn and Grassley that would have helped keep guns and explosives out of the hands of terrorists and improved the national background check system. And while a majority of the Senate voted to support these proposals, most Democrats voted against both.

“Let me say that again, Senator Cornyn put forward a serious proposal designed to prevent known or suspected terrorists from being able to buy guns, and Democrats voted against it. Now does that mean Democrats have decided to sell weapons to ISIL? Of course not.

“Democrats surely don’t believe their leadership’s claim that ANY Senator voted to sell guns to terrorists last night, just as Democrats surely don’t believe that every Democrat who voted against the Cornyn proposal to block such sales and take terrorists off the streets is guilty of voting to sell guns to terrorists.

“We all agree that the Obama Administration must prevent the sale of guns to terrorists. Disagreeing on how best to do that doesn’t require amateur claims that we all know to be false. It’s time to get serious. ISIL is not the JV Team, it’s not ‘contained,’ and we need to defeat it overseas if we want to prevent more terrorist tragedies at home.

“By working together in the Senate, we can give this President and the next one more tools to achieve that objective — and we can advance common-sense, counter-terror solutions to keep Americans safer at home too.

“This week we’ll have the opportunity to strengthen our ability to combat lone wolf terrorists and connect the dots so we are better able to prevent terrorist attacks in the United States. It’s an example of serious, thoughtful policy where we can work together to make progress for the American people.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today prior to votes regarding Republican-led efforts to fight terrorism:

“The terrorist attack that claimed 49 innocent victims in Orlando left families broken and our country shaken. It was a deliberately targeted attack inspired by the hateful ideology of ISIL, and it tragically reminded us of the continuing threat of ISIL-directed and inspired attacks here in our country.

“We know that the way to prevent more of these terrorist attacks is to actually defeat ISIL where it trains, operates, and prepares for attacks — like Iraq and Syria.

“The President at least appeared to recognize that this weekend when he said that ‘we are and we will keep doing everything in our power to stop these kinds of attacks, and to ultimately destroy ISIL.’ But, as the nation just learned from CIA Director John Brennan, ISIL remains ‘a formidable, resilient, and largely cohesive enemy.’ Our efforts thus far ‘have not reduced the group’s terrorism capability and global reach,’ he said, and ISIL is ‘training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks’ in the West.

“It’s evident that the president’s campaign to ‘contain’ ISIL has not been sufficient to defeat this group abroad or prevent more ISIL-inspired attacks here at home. He needs to finally lead a campaign to accomplish this objective, or at least prepare the military and intelligence community to help the next president do so if he won’t.

“Here in the Senate, we should continue our efforts to fight terror beyond our borders and prevent attacks within them. These have been priorities of Republican Senators for a long time — they continue to be at the forefront of our efforts now. We’ve offered proposals to help connect the dots with respect to terrorist communications. We’ve offered proposals to help address the threat of ‘lone-wolf’ attacks like the one we saw in Orlando. And we’ve offered proposals to help ensure terrorists are not able to purchase weapons. We’ll consider two of them today, along with two Democrat alternatives.

“The first proposal from Senator Cornyn would immediately block the sale of a firearm or explosive to a suspected terrorist and, once probable cause is shown, not only permanently block that sale but also allow the suspected terrorist to be arrested and detained; this would apply to anyone currently investigated as a terrorism suspect as well as anyone who was investigated within the last five years.

“Unlike Senator Cornyn’s proposal, the Democrat alternative would not prevent a terrorist from buying explosives as the alternative pertains only to firearms. Unlike Senator Cornyn’s proposal, the Democrat alternative would not notify state and local law enforcement when a terrorist tries to buy a weapon, nor would the alternative even give authority for that terrorist to be arrested or detained. And, unlike Senator Cornyn’s proposal, the Democrat alternative would not ensure due process, protect our constitutional rights, or require the government to periodically review its procedures to ensure it’s investigating the right people.

“The second proposal from Senator Grassley would improve the background check database by helping ensure all levels of government are actually submitting the necessary records, including mental health records; it would also allow for additional resources to update and improve the system further. Unlike Senator Grassley’s proposal, the Democrat alternative would not study the causes of mass shootings. Unlike Senator Grassley’s proposal, the Democrat alternative would not help prevent failed gun-walking operations like Fast and Furious. And, unlike Senator Grassley’s proposal, the Democrat alternative would not require the Department of Justice to explain why it has not been using the gun laws already on the books to prosecute gun cases — and we know that weapons-related convictions under the Obama Administration are down more than 30 percent compared to a decade ago.

“No one wants terrorists to be able to buy guns or explosives.

“Instead of using this as an opportunity to push a partisan agenda or craft the next 30-second campaign ad, colleagues like Senator Cornyn and Senator Grassley are pursuing real solutions that can help keep Americans safer from the threat of terrorism. They’re approaching this serious topic in a serious, and constitutional, way. They also understand that ultimately the most important way to prevent more terrorist tragedies at home is by defeating terrorism overseas.

“Serious solutions. That’s what the American people need now, more than ever. That’s where we should keep our focus.”

Recent Press Releases

McConnell Helps Secure Funding to Advance Nursing Education in Kentucky

June 21, 2016

Senators in Both Parties Should Work to Fight ISIL

'We all agree that the Obama Administration must prevent the sale of guns to terrorists. Disagreeing on how best to do that doesn’t require amateur claims that we all know to be false. It’s time to get serious.'

June 21, 2016

America Needs Serious Solutions From the President to Defeat ISIL

‘It’s evident that the president’s campaign to “contain” ISIL has not been sufficient to defeat this group abroad or prevent more ISIL-inspired attacks here at home…Here in the Senate, we should continue our efforts to fight terror beyond our borders and prevent attacks within them.’

June 20, 2016