Press Releases
Senate Passes Bipartisan Bill to Address Opioid Epidemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released today a video message following the Senate passage of the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). Click the image below to view his comments: The following is a transcript of the Majority Leader's message: "Today the Senate took decisive, bipartisan action to address our nation's growing prescription opioid and heroin epidemic. "I don't have to tell you how this crisis is affecting communities across … Continue Reading
03.09.16
McConnell Urges Secretary of Education Nominee to Commit to Implementing K-12 Education Law as Intended by Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell met today with Dr. John King, the nominee for Secretary of the Department of Education, in his office in the United States Capitol. During the meeting, Senator McConnell called on Dr. King to commit to implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as intended by Congress. ESSA, the most significant K-12 education reform in well over a decade, replaced a broken law with conservative reforms that will help students succeed inste… Continue Reading
03.06.16
Nancy Davis Reagan
Today, Nancy and Ron are together once more, and we offer our most sincere condolences to the friends and family left behind.' Washington, D.C.-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement regarding the passing of Nancy Davis Reagan: "Elaine and I join the nation in mourning the loss of Nancy Reagan. In many ways the Reagan love story was classic Hollywood, but it was unmistakably human too. Hands intertwined, Nancy and Ron rose to the pinnacle of political power, w… Continue Reading
02.29.16
Senator McConnell Co-sponsors Legislation to Repeal Net Neutrality Rules
'I remain deeply concerned that the Obama Administration's plan to regulate the Internet will limit effective network management, jeopardize new broadband deployment, and strike a serious blow to the future of innovation in our country.' WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is signing on today as a co-sponsor of Senator Mike Lee's (R-UT) bill, the Restoring Internet Freedom Act. The legislation would repeal the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) net neutrality ru… Continue Reading
02.25.16
McConnell, Grassley Statement on Meeting with President Next Week
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Chuck Grassley, released the following statement today regarding their upcoming meeting with the President: "On Tuesday we will meet with the President at the White House. We look forward to reiterating to him directly that the American people will be heard and the next Supreme Court justice will be determined once the elections are complete and the next President has been sworn i… Continue Reading
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
