The Leader Board
More Support From Health Care Professionals For Tobacco-Free Youth Act
Dozens Of Health Care Organizations Express Support For Leader McConnell's Tobacco-Free Youth Act, 'Legislation That Would Help Curb The Rise Of Youth Tobacco Use' SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "The youth vaping crisis is putting the health of our children at risk. To address this rampant and dangerous new trend, I've introduced the 'Tobacco-Free Youth Act,' a bipartisan federal bill with my fellow tobacco state colleague, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. Once enacted, our leg… Continue Reading
06.11.19
Border Crisis: ‘We Are Running Out Of Money’
HHS Secretary Azar: '[B]y Early July, We May Be Out Of Funding … 'Congress Must Act And Give Us The Funding We Need. This Is Not About Politics. It Is Purely A Humanitarian Issue Of Caring For These Kids.' SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "The agencies are overwhelmed. The facilities are overwhelmed. It is a true humanitarian crisis, totally unsustainable for these individuals whom our national security and rule of law dictate that we need to detain…. The professi… Continue Reading
06.10.19
‘We Are In A Full-Blown Emergency’
Staggering Numbers Of Migrants And Families Are Flooding The Southern Border, Straining Law Enforcement And Humanitarian Resources To The Breaking Point THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD: "Last week … United States Customs and Border Protection released its monthly migration statistics. They tell an alarming story. In May, 144,278 migrants were taken into custody. It was the third consecutive month in which apprehensions topped 100,000 and the highest one-month total in 13 years. Une… Continue Reading
06.05.19
‘An Ongoing Security And Humanitarian Crisis’ At The Border
'I Don't Think We've Ever Seen Anything Near This': More Funding Is Critical For Agencies 'Overwhelmed' By Record Numbers Of Migrants, Families, And Children Crossing The Southern Border SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "[T]he headlines remain filled with the unacceptable, unsustainable security crisis and humanitarian crisis on our southern border. By now I'm confident that every member of Congress has heard the breathtaking numbers. We've all heard the chaos analyzed a thousa… Continue Reading
05.23.19
Twice As Many Confirmations In Half The Time
A Clear Necessity: Since The Rules Change Last Month, The Senate Has Confirmed 45 Nominees In 21 Days, While Before It Took 48 Days To Confirm 23 Nominees SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "After two years of systematic heel-dragging from our friends across the aisle, even on the least controversial nominations, the modest reform the Senate adopted last month is helping us get back on track…. [Previously, these nominees] would've tied up the floor for days before being co… Continue Reading
05.21.19
Tobacco 21: ‘An Important Step Forward’
Health Organizations Applaud Leader McConnell And Sen. Kaine For Their Bill That Would Raise The Sales Age Of Tobacco Products To 21, Saying It 'Will Help Remove Tobacco From High Schools,' 'Be Instrumental In Stemming The Epidemic Of Vaping,' And Could 'Save Hundreds Of Thousands Of Lives' National Health Organizations: 'Raising The Minimum Age Of Sale Will Reduce The Number Of Young People Who Use And Become Addicted To Tobacco Products' AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY CANCER ACTION NETWORK (AC… Continue Reading
05.20.19
Bipartisan Action To Prevent ‘A New Generation At Risk’
Public Health Experts Warn Of 'The Skyrocketing Growth Of Young People's E-Cigarette Use' And Call For Raising The Minimum Age Of Sale To 21 To Prevent Harm To Young Americans SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "We've heard from countless parents who have seen the youth vaping crisis firsthand…. Together, Senator Kaine and I are addressing this public health crisis head-on. By making it more difficult for tobacco products to end up in the hands of middle school and high sc… Continue Reading
05.16.19
40
'Setting Our Court System In The Right Direction With Good, Solid Nominations' "The Senate confirmed its 40th circuit court judge on Wednesday, filling nearly a quarter of the circuit court system with conservative appointments under President Trump." (The New York Times, 5/15/2019) "[Kenneth] Lee is the latest in a series of young conservative jurists and administration appointees who have sailed through the Senate …" (The New York Times, 5/15/2019) "Many of the president's c… Continue Reading
05.14.19
‘Give Us Some Of That Socialism’
Democrats Embrace The Socialism Of The Green New Deal SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA), Green New Deal Senate sponsor: "They call the Green New Deal pie in the sky. They call it socialism! … So here's what I say for wind and solar and all electric vehicles and clean energy: give us some of that socialism …" (Justice Democrats, @justicedems, Twitter, 5/14/2019) SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), Green New Deal cosponsor: "There is no 'middle ground' when it comes to climate policy." (Sen. Sanders… Continue Reading
05.09.19
‘Spectacular’
'Workers Are Really Confident That There Are Jobs Out There That Are Available For Them' As 'The Strong Labor Market Is Pulling People In Off The Sidelines' And 'The Recovery Is Benefiting The People Most In Need Of Help' SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "For the better part of the last two years, the Labor Department's monthly jobs report has regularly pointed to an economy that's opening new doors for millions of Americans. It's reinforced what we knew to be the case: the pro… Continue Reading
05.03.19
Lowest Unemployment In 50 Years
'No Denying This Is A Strong Jobs Report': 'U.S. Labor Market Is Still Red-Hot,' 'The Unemployment Rate Fell To A Fresh Half-Century Low,' There Are 'Real Gains In The Paychecks Of Average Workers' SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL: (R-KY): "The last two years have been a case study in how much American families benefit when Republican policies get the government out of the way. Helped along by tax reform, regulatory reform, and other efforts, the country is seeing historically low unem… Continue Reading
04.30.19
‘They Don’t Get To Keep It’
Democrats' Radical Single-Payer Medicare For None Schemes Would Outlaw Private Insurance And Kick Tens Of Millions Of Americans Off Their Employer Insurance Plans In Cosponsors' States Alone No, You Can't Keep Your Plan: 'Medicare for All Would Abolish Private Insurance,' 'Let's Eliminate All Of That' THE NEW YORK TIMES: "Medicare for All Would Abolish Private Insurance. 'There's No Precedent in American History.'" ("Medicare for All Would Abolish Private Insurance. 'There's No Precedent in… Continue Reading
04.29.19
‘A Dose Of Reality’
While Democrats Clamor To Expand Medicare Into A Massive Government Single-Payer System, Medicare's Trustees Warn The Program Will Soon Be Unable To Meet Its Existing Obligations House Democrats Are Holding Their First Hearing On Single-Payer 'Medicare For All': 'This Is A Pervasive Policy View' SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "If you're one of the 180 million Americans who get their insurance through work, and like it, it's illegal under Medicare for All…. Of course… Continue Reading
04.15.19
‘The Hottest Job Market In Half A Century’
Americans Are Benefitting From Lower Taxes, More Job Opportunities, Competition For Workers, And Higher Wages, All Encouraged By 'Republicans' Pro-Growth, Pro-Opportunity Policies' SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "Here's how Republicans' pro-growth, pro-opportunity policies helped get us where we are. By encouraging job creators to invest here at home, instead of penalizing success. By recognizing that working families know best how to spend their paychecks, not Washington. By… Continue Reading
04.10.19
‘The Internet Is Still Working’
Democrats Declared Rolling Back Heavy-Handed FCC 'Net Neutrality' Regulations Would Be 'The End Of The Internet As We Know It' But Over A Year Later, 'That's Proved Flatly False' FCC CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI: "We were told for many months that this decision would be, quote, 'the end of the Internet as we know it,' and if this decision passed, you would get the Internet one word at a time. That's proved flatly false…. The Internet is still working. It is open and free." (U.S. Senate Commerce,… Continue Reading
04.10.19
Medicare-For-None: Outlawed Health Care Plans And ‘Tax Hikes On Middle-Class Families’
Senate Democrats Unveil A Government Takeover Of Health Care That 'Would Abolish Private Insurance' And 'Require Tax Hikes On Middle-Class Families' "Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders plans to introduce his new 'Medicare for All' bill Wednesday morning … The new legislation's big-name co-sponsors include four of Sanders' fellow 2020 Democratic contenders -- Sens. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand -- all of whom also signed onto an earlier version Sanders pu… Continue Reading
04.03.19
Meet Jeffrey Kessler
Though He Is Eminently Qualified And Uncontroversial, Democrats Have Delayed Jeffrey Kessler's Confirmation And Still Forced A Cloture Vote SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "Just look at the nomination currently before us. A textbook case study on the shameful state of the current process. Jeffrey Kessler of Virginia was first nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce in November of 2017…. Nobody opposed him on the Finance Committee…. And yet, here on the… Continue Reading
04.03.19
42
Under This Administration, Senate Democrats Have Forced Cloture Votes For The First Time Ever On 42 Different Executive Branch Positions SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): "[This] is comprehensive, across-the-board heel-dragging like nothing this body has seen before…. In other words, systematic obstruction. Not targeted, thoughtful opposition to a few marquee nominations or rare circumstances. But a grinding, across-the-board effort to delay and obstruct the people this … Continue Reading
04.01.19
Dems Threatening To Vote Down Disaster Recovery Funding
'Democrats Are Threatening To Block' 'Much-Needed Recovery Funds' "Senate Democrats … may block legislation proposed by their Republican counterparts that would allocate billions of dollars for disaster recovery across the country …" ("Disaster Relief Bill at an Impasse Over Puerto Rico Aid," The New York Times, 3/28/2019) "Democrats are threatening to block the GOP bill in a showdown Senate vote on Monday afternoon." ("Senate Barrels Toward Showdown Vote On Disaster Relief,… Continue Reading
03.27.19
‘Present’
In Spite Of Democrats' Rhetoric On The 'Existential Threat' Of Climate Change, Not A Single Democrat Senator Voted In Favor Of The Green New Deal The Senate voted on the Green New Deal today: 0 Yeas, 57 Nays, and 43 Senators voted PRESENT pic.twitter.com/nvcnXA7zPe - Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) March 26, 2019 "The Senate on Tuesday failed to advance the Green New Deal, the ambitious plan to combat climate change proposed by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez &helli… Continue Reading
