Press Releases

02.23.16

Grassley, McConnell Bill Would Help Foster Children Affected by Opioids, Methamphetamine, Other Substance Abuse

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky today introduced legislation to re-authorize a program to help children who are in foster care or at risk of such placement because of parental abuse of methamphetamine or another substance. The new bill ensures that opioid abuse is also a key focus of the grants given to child welfare agencies to promote services to children and families under the measure. The Grassley-McConnell bill, the Protec… Continue Reading


02.23.16

Senate to Vote on Confirmation of FDA Nominee

'At a time when the prescription-opioid epidemic is tearing families and communities apart in our country, it's clear we need strong leadership at the FDA…Today we will consider the nomination of someone who I think can help lead the agency in a new direction…The FDA should expect continued rigorous oversight in the way the agency addresses this epidemic in the future.' WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement today regarding the … Continue Reading


02.23.16

34 Senators, 171 Representatives File Amicus Brief, Urge Circuit Court to Block EPA Attempt to Transform the Nation’s Electricity Sector

Amicus Brief Asks the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to Vacate EPA's So-Called "Clean Power Plan" WASHINGTON - Led by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and House Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), 34 Senators and 171 House Members filed an amicus brief today in the case of State of West Virginia, et al. v. Env… Continue Reading


02.22.16

McConnell Says Confirming FDA Nominee First Step to Ensure Agency Takes Greater Action to Address Opioid Epidemic

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement today regarding the Senate vote to proceed to confirmation of Robert Califf to be the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): "Drug overdose deaths, driven largely by prescription painkillers, continue to outpace the number of fatalities from traffic accidents in Kentucky. While I recognize the need to protect legitimate patient access to prescription painkillers, the FDA must do more to … Continue Reading


02.13.16

Justice Antonin Scalia

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement Saturday on the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: "Today our country lost an unwavering champion of a timeless document that unites each of us as Americans. Justice Scalia's fidelity to the Constitution was rivaled only by the love of his family: his wife Maureen his nine children, and his many grandchildren. Through the sheer force of his intellect and his legendary wit, this giant o… Continue Reading


02.09.16

McConnell Applauds SCOTUS Halt of President Obama’s Anti-Coal Regs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement today on the U.S. Supreme Court order regarding President Obama's so-called "Clean" Power Plan: "Last year I called on governors to hold off submitting plans mandated under the President's regressive federal energy regulations until courts could determine whether the regulations were even legal. Today's Supreme Court order to halt those regulations-regulations that attack the middle class and won't even … Continue Reading


02.05.16

Senator McConnell Recognized as a Teach for America Congressional Champion

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will be recognized as a Teach For America Congressional Champion for his continued efforts to expand educational opportunities for students in Kentucky and across the nation. McConnell is one of 12 bipartisan members of Congress to be honored in this way by CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard. "Our Congressional champions have played an instrumental role in growing Teach For America's impact in our first 25 years. Their s… Continue Reading


02.05.16

U.S. Senate Honors Marlow Cook

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution yesterday honoring former United States Senator for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Marlow Cook. The resolution was sponsored by Senators McConnell and Rand Paul. The text of S.Res.364 from the Congressional Record follows: SENATE RESOLUTION 364 Relative to the death of Marlow Cook, former United States Senator for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Whereas Marlow Cook was born… Continue Reading


02.04.16

McConnell Urges FDA Nominee to Address Prescription Opioid Epidemic

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell met today with Dr. Robert Califf, the nominee for Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to discuss the agency's proposal to address the prescription opioid epidemic in Kentucky and our nation. The FDA plays a leading role in addressing the prescription opioid epidemic through their drug approval process, where they are required by federal law to ensure that drugs are safe and effective. However, FDA has been criti… Continue Reading


01.21.16

Senator McConnell Applauds Governor Bevin’s Decision to Seek Extension on EPA Regulation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell commented today regarding Governor Matt Bevin's request for a 2-year extension to the Environmental Protection Agency's regulation that requires states to dramatically restructure their electricity systems based on how the agency thinks electricity should be produced and used in each state. "I applaud Governor Bevin for filing an extension and refusing to submit a plan until the legal challenges are addressed," Senator McConnell sai… Continue Reading


01.21.16

March For Life

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following comment regarding the March for Life, which will be held on Friday, January 22, 2016, in our Nation's Capital: "Tens of thousands of Americans will gather in Washington to give voice to the voiceless by rallying for the rights of the unborn. Participants in the March for Life remind us that a compassionate nation is one that fights to defend the most innocent. Like them, I believe that the lives of the unborn are … Continue Reading


01.21.16

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

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… Continue Reading


01.20.16

McConnell Comments on President’s VETO of Bipartisan Measure to Overturn WOTUS Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following comments regarding the President's veto of the bipartisan measure to overturn the "Waters of the United States" rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): "WOTUS isn't really a clean-water measure, it's an unprecedented federal power grab clumsily masquerading as one. In passing a bipartisan measure to overturn it, Congress stood up for the Middle Class and said that America's clean-water rules should be… Continue Reading


01.15.16

McConnell Statement on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

LOUISVILLE, KY - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued the following statement honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Senator McConnell, while serving as a Congressional intern, witnessed Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C., in 1963. "Today we honor one of our nation's heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who dreamt of an America that fulfills the principles of her founding with opportunity for all regardless of race. More than 50 years after his most famous speech… Continue Reading


01.15.16

McConnell Statement on President Obama's Latest Attack on Coal

LOUISVILLE, KY - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued the following statement today regarding the Department of the Interior's (DOI) announcement on federal coal leasing: "At a time when Americans are calling on the Obama Administration to protect our nation and strengthen the Middle Class, the Administration is again making clear that its priorities are elsewhere. Today's announcement to halt federal coal leasing represents just the latest front in an ideological War on Coal … Continue Reading


01.12.16

McConnell Comments on President’s Final State of The Union Address

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell commented following President Obama's State of the Union Address and spoke to the importance of hosting a Kentucky coal miner as his guest tonight: SOTU RESPONSE: "Well he did the best job he could to try to convince Americans that somehow things are getting better in the United States and around the world. With regard to his foreign policy, Jimmy Carter summed it up pretty well earlier this summer when he said that he couldn't th… Continue Reading


01.11.16

Former Kentucky Coal Miner to Attend State of the Union as Guest of Senator McConnell

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced today that a 4th-generation coal miner, Howard Abshire of Pike County, Kentucky, will be his guest at the President's State of the Union address on Tuesday. Mr. Abshire, who lost his job at Fortress Resources, McCoy Elkhorn Division, after the mine shut down, is temporarily employed in eastern Kentucky working to remove mining equipment from closed mines. "I am honored that Howard accepted my invitation to attend the Presi… Continue Reading


01.05.16

McConnell Statement on President Obama’s Political Gun Control Announcement

Fort Knox, Ky. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement on President Obama's gun control remarks and his recent call to 'politicize' the issue: "In the wake of the President's vow to 'politicize' shootings, it's hard to see today's announcement as being about more than politics. The President has overseen a dramatic drop in prosecutions related to the enforcement of gun laws already on the books, and his party recently voted once again to defeat a Senate measur… Continue Reading


12.14.15

McConnell Statement on the U.N. Climate Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement regarding the President's support for the United Nations climate proposal: "The climate proposal announced today represents nothing more than a long-term planning document. The President is making promises he can't keep, writing checks he can't cash, and stepping over the middle class to take credit for an 'agreement' that is subject to being shredded in 13 months. His commitments to help leaders abroad … Continue Reading


12.06.15

McConnell Previews President’s Speech

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement in advance of the President's speech to the nation: "As we approach the last year of President Obama's term, Americans understand that the terrorist threat has evolved but not vanished-and it has certainly not been 'contained.' Whether ISIL terrorists are training in camps in Syria or using online magazines to instruct and inspire lone wolves, they represent a serious threat to this country and now is th… Continue Reading

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