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

“Next week, the Senate will turn to broad, bipartisan energy legislation.

“The Energy Policy Modernization Act will help bring our energy policies in line with the demands of today and the opportunities of tomorrow.

“It will help Americans produce more energy.

“It will help Americans pay less for energy.

“It will help Americans save energy.

“That’s what the Energy Policy Modernization Act will do.

“Here’s what the Energy Policy Modernization Act won’t do.

“It won’t raise taxes.

“It won’t add a dime to the deficit.

“This broad energy bill is the result of a truly bipartisan process and it shows, which is why it was supported in committee by a vote of 18 to 4.

“I look forward to debating that bipartisan energy bill next week.

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“But we won’t have to wait until then to consider bipartisan legislation.

“We’ll consider a different bipartisan measure today.

“S.J.Res.22 passed in November with the support of several Democratic colleagues, and it would have overturned the Obama Administration’s WOTUS, or ‘Waters of the U.S.,’ regulation.

“Here’s what our Democratic colleagues have had to say about WOTUS.

“A Democratic Senator from West Virginia has used phrases like ‘completely unreasonable’ and ‘dangerously overreaching’ when discussing the issue.

“A Democratic Senator from North Dakota said that ‘there is not one single regulation in the entire country that has caused more concern’ in her state.

“A Democratic Senator from Indiana said it was ‘incredibly important’ that the rule be rewritten.

“That’s just what Democrats are saying.

“The Administration has tried to spin WOTUS as some ‘clean-water measure,’ but a bipartisan majority of Congress understands it’s really a federal power grab clumsily masquerading as one.

“WOTUS would grant federal bureaucrats dominion over nearly every piece of land that touches a pothole, ditch, or puddle. It could force the Americans who live there to ask federal bureaucrats for permission to do just about anything with their own property.

“That’s why Congress sent bipartisan legislation to the President to overturn it.

“His decision to veto that bipartisan measure made a few things clear.

“One: He apparently stands with Washington bureaucrats on this issue, not the American people.

“Two: He apparently thinks America’s clean-water rules should be based on Washington politics, not a scientific and truly collaborative process.

“It was good to see Democratic colleagues stand with the American people when we first passed this bill. I ask the rest of the Democratic caucus to join with us now to do the right thing.

“Vote with us to override a veto that’s about federal power grabs and Washington politics, not clean water and the American people.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), announced today the introduction of the bipartisan Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2016.

Currently, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has significant budget authority over taxpayer dollars without their appointment having been subject to confirmation by the United States Senate. Unlike most Department of Justice (DOJ) administrators and directors, the Director of BOP is appointed by the U.S. Attorney General without Senate approval. The Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2016 would require the Director to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The legislation would also designate that any newly confirmed Director will have one, 10-year term at the helm of the BOP.

The BOP Director supervises workers at federal prisons across the country who protect the public under hazardous conditions at correctional facilities on a daily basis. This legislation would support subjecting the Director to the same congressional review as other top law enforcement agency chiefs within DOJ. By doing this, it would ensure greater responsiveness by the agency to the safety needs of its nearly 40,000 dedicated federal corrections employees.

“Kentucky corrections officers have repeatedly called for the BOP to take additional steps to mitigate risks to officer safety from violent inmates,” Senator McConnell said. “The legislation I introduced today with Senators Paul, Lee, and Booker will bring some much needed accountability and transparency to the BOP, which is important for all agencies within the Department of Justice, and will help protect federal corrections officers in Kentucky and across the nation.”

“No agency as large as the Bureau of Prisons should have so little accountability. Our bill will ensure the concerns of those who work in the prisons are heard and acted upon. It will also ensure the small businesses affected by competition from the bureau have their voices heard,” Senator Paul said.

“There is no good reason that the director of the Bureau of Prisons, nearly alone among all Department of Justice administrators and directors, is not subject to Senate confirmation,” Senator Lee said. “The number of inmates under the Bureau’s jurisdiction increased nearly eight-fold between 1980 and 2014, and its budget increased from 330 million dollars to 6.859 billion dollars over the same period. Rigorous congressional oversight and scrutiny is necessary, and this bill is a step in the right direction.”

“The Bureau of Prisons oversees one quarter of the Department of Justice’s annual budget,” Senator Booker said. “Requiring presidential appointment and Senate confirmation for the BOP Director will increase transparency and accountability at a large federal agency that impacts the lives, futures, and rehabilitation of thousands of people.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the President’s reported ‘Enemies List’ regulation:

“News outlets reported something today that should worry all of us.

“Apparently, President Obama is again considering imposing his ‘Enemies List’ regulation by executive order — just weeks after Congress voted overwhelmingly to pass, and the President signed into law, legislation prohibiting him from doing that very thing.

“The ‘Enemies List’ regulation would inject partisan politics into the government contracting process by allowing an organization’s political leanings and donations to be considered. Here’s the practical effect: Administrations of either party could draw up friends lists and enemies lists and then award contracts based on whether an organization backed the right horse in the last election.

“That’s the kind of thing you’d expect in some banana republic, not the United States of America.

“So why would the President even attempt to impose such a bad idea?

“Let me remind my colleagues of something the President’s own chief of staff recently said. He implied that the central question President Obama would now ask himself before imposing a policy is Why Not.

“Think about that.

“Not whether it’s good for the country. Not whether it’s constitutional. Just, Why Not.

“If future Republican Presidents lived by this Why Not standard, Democrats would be outraged.

“If future Republican Presidents ignored prohibitions passed by Democrat-controlled Congresses, Democrats would be outraged.

“When the legislature passes a prohibition and the President signs that prohibition into law, it’s the law.

“I hope every one of my colleagues, even those who support the idea of an ‘Enemies List’, will join me in that sentiment at least.

“We’re always mindful that precedents set today could be wielded by very different Presidents tomorrow.

“The intent of the prohibition Congress passed here is clear, regardless of creative legal arguments the Administration might construct to justify skirting the law.

“If President Obama’s standard these days is really Why Not, then here are a few reasons Why Not.

“Here’s the first.

“He can’t.

“That should really be the end of the discussion. For the sake of argument, here’s another reason.

“It’s terrible policy.

“Just listen to what members of the President’s own party have said about it.

“Here’s one of our Democratic colleagues in the Senate:

‘Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the award of contract must be based on the evaluation of quality, price, past performance, compliance with solicitation requirements, technical excellence and other considerations related to the merits of an offer. The requirement that businesses disclose political expenditures as part of the offer process creates the appearance that this type of information could become a factor in the award of federal contracts.’

“‘Requiring businesses to disclose their political activity when making an offer,’ she explained, ‘risks injecting politics into the contracting process.’

“Here’s the second-ranking Democrat in the House:

‘The issue of contracting ought to be on the merits of the contractor's application and bid and capabilities…There are some serious questions as to what implications there are if somehow we consider political contributions in the context of awarding contracts.’

“He said he was ‘not in agreement with the administration’ on this issue.

“So look.

“No one should have to worry about whether supporting a certain party or candidate will determine their ability to get a federal contract or keep a job.

“I hope what we read in the papers isn’t accurate.

“The President’s ‘Enemies List’ proposal fails even the Why Not test, and on multiple levels.

“He can’t.

“It’s bad policy, as Democrats have reminded us.

“And if you need another reason, here’s a third.

“Congress has rejected these types of polices already.

“These are plenty of reasons why the President should not attempt to impose this regulation, and the President should heed them.”

Recent Press Releases

McConnell Outlines Broad Bipartisan Energy Legislation, WOTUS Veto Override

‘WOTUS would grant federal bureaucrats dominion over nearly every piece of land that touches a pothole, ditch, or puddle. It could force the Americans who live there to ask federal bureaucrats for permission to do just about anything with their own property.’

January 21, 2016

McConnell, Paul, Lee, & Booker Sponsor Bill to Bring Accountability to Federal Prisons

January 21, 2016

McConnell: No Political Test for Federal Contracts

January 20, 2016