Remarks
Congressional Ceremony Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Leaders of the U.S. House and Senate held a Congressional Commemoration in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The following are Leader McConnell's remarks delivered during the ceremony, which took place in Emancipation Hall, in the U.S. Capitol: "Each morning, dawn breaks over the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort. "Bars of light stream across the dome. "A hall of democracy brightens with renewed purpose. "And overlooking it, light pours onto 200 tons of granite… Continue Reading
07.08.15
McConnell Urges Support for Bipartisan Every Child Achieves Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor today regarding bipartisan education reform: "Republicans and Democrats have long agreed that the No Child Left Behind law is broken and needs to be fixed. "But the Senate didn't do anything about it for seven long years, missing its deadlines repeatedly. "The new majority in Congress thought it was time to change that dynamic. We thought it was time for bipartisan action instead. "T… Continue Reading
07.07.15
Bipartisan Education Bill Debate Further Confirmation That Senate Is Back to Work
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor today regarding the functioning Senate and the Every Child Achieves Act: "I'd like to share a few lines from an opinion piece Speaker Boehner wrote last week. "Here's how it began: In November, the American people decided to entrust Republicans with control of the U.S. Senate, where common-sense jobs bills too often went to die in recent years. Now, since the start of this year, the R… Continue Reading
06.26.15
PTSD Awareness Day
'So I hope Americans will take action this PTSD Awareness Day to shed some light on an often misunderstood condition, and hopefully to reach out to someone in need.' WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks recognizing Saturday,June 27 as PTSD Awareness Day (click HERE to view his remarks) "Saturday, June 27th is PTSD Awareness Day. Sadly, post-traumatic stress disorder is an affliction that touches too many of our veterans. "Raising awareness … Continue Reading
06.25.15
McConnell on the Supreme Court’s King v. Burwell Ruling
'Today's ruling won't change Obamacare's multitude of broken promises, including the one that resulted in millions of Americans losing the coverage they had and wanted to keep.' WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor today regarding the Supreme Court's ruling on King v. Burwell: "That we're even discussing another of Obamacare's self-inflicted brushes with the brink - again - is the latest indictment of a law that's bee… Continue Reading
06.25.15
Passage of Trade Promotion Bill Underscores Congress Is Back to Work for the American People
'Passing trade wasn't the first bipartisan achievement of the new Congress. I know it won't be the last. But it's significant. It opens the door to more wins for the Middle Class as trade negotiations move forward under this President and the next one.' WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the passage of bipartisan trade legislation: "The road to yesterday's win for the Middle Class on TPA was never go… Continue Reading
06.25.15
McConnell Recognizes Warrior Games 2015, PTSD Awareness Day
'So I hope Americans will take action this PTSD Awareness Day to shed some light on an often misunderstood condition, and hopefully to reach out to someone in need.' WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the Warrior Games and PTSD Awareness Day: "Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting with some of our nation's heroes. "These men and women are taking part in Warrior Games 2015, an annual DoD-organized sp… Continue Reading
06.24.15
Senate Will Pass, Send President Trade Promotion Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding bipartisan trade legislation: "Yesterday's TPA vote was a long-overdue victory for the American worker and the American Middle Class. "It wasn't easy. Many thought it would never happen. We even saw corks pop in the facts-optional lobby a few weeks ago. "But that proved to be premature. "Because here's what we've always known about the legislation we'll vote to send to the … Continue Reading
06.24.15
McConnell Calls for Stronger OPM Response after ‘One of the worst breaches in U.S. History’
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the OPM cyber attack: "Here's a headline from an Associated Press article that ran yesterday: 'Federal Agencies Are Wide Open To Hackers, Cyberspies' "That headline is scary enough. But read just a little further, and it gets even worse. Passwords written down on desks. Outdated anti-virus software. 'Perceived ineptitude' in information technology departments. The federal go… Continue Reading
06.23.15
McConnell Lauds the Advancement of Trade Promotion Authority
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the vote to advance bipartisan trade legislation: "I want to say to our colleagues this is a very important day for our country. We have demonstrated we can work together on a bipartisan basis to achieve something that is extremely important for America. Not only when we confirm this Trade Promotion Authority we will have the mechanism in place for the President to finalize an… Continue Reading
06.23.15
McConnell Urges Senate Support on Trade Bill Vote Today
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding bipartisan trade legislation: "Yesterday, the Senate's top Democrat on trade announced his support for the bipartisan trade legislation we'll vote on today. "It adds to the renewed momentum we're seeing for America's workers. "It's showing that Democrats can join with Republicans to knock down unfair international barriers that discriminate against America's Middle Class - b… Continue Reading
06.22.15
McConnell Optimistic Trade Bills Will Reach President’s Desk This Week
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor urging continued bipartisan cooperation on trade: "When it comes to keeping the American people safe, there are many things Congress can do. "Encouraging reform at the TSA is one important step. But so is leading on trade. "President Obama's own Secretary of Defense recently said that the trade legislation before us was as important to him 'as another aircraft carrier.' But, he cautio… Continue Reading
06.22.15
After Long White House Delay, Senate Ready to Confirm New TSA Administrator
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the nomination of Vice Admiral Neffenger: "We'll vote tonight to bring long-overdue permanent leadership to an agency in urgent need of reform and culture change: the TSA. "I wish the White House hadn't waited six months to send us a nominee to lead this troubled agency; but now that the Administration finally has, we're glad to see it's a highly qualified candidate like Pete… Continue Reading
06.18.15
McConnell Outlines Path Forward on Trade
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the way forward on trade: "Following today's encouraging vote in the House, I'd like to update the Senate on where we stand with trade. "First, a brief look back to how we got where we are today. "Back in April, the Finance Committee came together to advance four trade bills on a big bipartisan vote "It was everyone's goal then to consider all of those bills and to begin th… Continue Reading
06.18.15
Support the Troops, Don’t Block the Defense Funding Bill, McConnell Tells Senate Democrats
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor urging Democrats to support defense funding: "America asks a lot of the men and women of its volunteer military force: to undertake dangerous missions in far-off lands, to spend months or years away from their families, and always to sacrifice, so that we might live in freedom. "These brave men and women do it all without reservation. They ask precious little in return, save for the re… Continue Reading
06.18.15
McConnell on Charleston Tragedy
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the tragic shootings in Charleston, South Carolina: "At this time I would like to take a moment to discuss the terrible news out of Charleston. "This is a true tragedy. It's always awful when a tragedy like this occurs, but to happen at a house of worship makes it even worse. Churches should be a place of refuge, a place where people feel safe and secure, a place of mer… Continue Reading
06.17.15
McConnell Urges Senate Democrats to Allow Debate and Vote on Defense Spending Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor urging bipartisan support for the defense authorization and appropriations bills: "It was heartening to see so many Democrats join us yesterday in advancing a good defense authorization bill by a big bipartisan margin. It now puts the Senate on a path to bring the bill to final passage tomorrow. "Once that happens, the Senate will have taken a significant step toward doing right by the … Continue Reading
06.16.15
McConnell Urges Senate Democrats to Support Nation’s Military, Not Washington Bureaucrats
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor urging Senate Democrats not to filibuster defense authorization legislation: "Later this afternoon, the Senate will decide whether to advance or filibuster the defense authorization legislation before us. "Senators will take a vote and make a choice. "One option is for Senators to follow the bipartisan example of the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee, bo… Continue Reading
06.15.15
McConnell to Senate Democrats: Don’t Hold Defense Bill Hostage to Partisan Politics
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding defense authorization legislation: "The National Defense Authorization Act is one of the most important pieces of legislation Congress considers each year. That's why the new majority has made it one of our top priorities. It's why we've reversed the worrying trend of recent years when we'd see such an important bill crammed in at the very last minute, with little time for deb… Continue Reading
06.11.15
McConnell Urges Passage Of Bipartisan Cybersecurity Legislation To Deter Future Attacks
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the bipartisan cybersecurity amendment: "In just a moment, the Senate will consider an important cybersecurity measure. "I urge every one of my colleagues to support it. "USA Today recently cited a cybersecurity expert who noted that this 'Senate legislation has the potential to greatly reduce the number of victims targeted' by the kind of hackers we've seen in recent attack… Continue Reading
