McConnell: House Democrats Playing With “Perpetual Impeachment” While the Senate Fights the Pandemic
‘The House Democrats would rather spend a fourth consecutive year trying to cram their politics into the legal system than actually govern the country in a pandemic. Fortunately, as I laid out, the Senate is up to the job.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding House Democrats’ perpetual impeachment and the CARES Act:
“Week after week, this Capitol has been a study in contrasts. Call it a tale of two chambers.
“Over here in the United States Senate, the lights are on, the doors are open, and we are working for the American people.
“All month, we’ve been in session — passing national-security legislation, confirming key nominees, and holding hearings on the coronavirus crisis and the effectiveness of the historic rescue package the Senate wrote and passed.
“We’re heeding medical guidance and taking new precautions, but we are showing up and getting things done.
“And across the rotunda, in the House? Crickets.
“Their lights are off. Their doors are locked. “The People’s House” has shown up for a grand total of two legislative session days since late March.
“Two days in eight weeks. A blistering pace.
“Last week, they flew into town to pass Speaker Pelosi’s latest 1,800-page liberal wish list. Diversity and inclusion in the marijuana industry wasn’t going to study itself. That had to be an A-1 priority during this crisis.
“The Speaker’s proposal was so unserious and so far left it could not even unite her own conference. Even after a two month sabbatical, House Democrats could not contribute anything serious.
“But they did find the time to keep fishing for another impeachment.
“More than a year after the Mueller Report thoroughly debunked the collusion conspiracy theory, Democrats are still pursuing the administration in court over that document.
“In a new Supreme Court brief the day before yesterday, House Democrats said they have the right to continue because — wait for it — the President’s impeachment did not actually end with his acquittal.
“Let me say that again. House Democrats are now claiming the impeachment that ended in February is not really over.
“Their brief says they are weighing, quote, “whether to recommend new articles of impeachment.” And referring to Chairman Nadler’s Judiciary Committee, quote, “the Committee’s investigation did not cease with the conclusion of the impeachment trial.” End quote.
“Perpetual investigation and perpetual impeachment.
“If only someone could have predicted this! If only someone, anyone, had warned that House Democrats opening the Pandora’s box of weak impeachments would affect our country into the future.
“Of course, Senate and House Republicans warned precisely that. And here we are.
“It’s a suitable complement to the other ongoing incident where a federal judge is taking it upon himself to prolong a case that the actual prosecutors want to drop.
“These are fascinating legal standards. Investigations no longer end when a jury acquits someone and prosecutions no longer end when charges are dropped!
“The House Democrats would rather spend a fourth consecutive year trying to cram their politics into the legal system than actually govern the country in a pandemic.
“Fortunately, as I laid out, the Senate is up to the job.
“Every single day, the historic CARES Act that we wrote and passed to fight this pandemic continues to come online.
“Direct payments hit families’ accounts. Support for major industries helps prevent mass layoffs. Resources for doctors, nurses, hospitals, and healthcare providers help stabilize the system from coast to coast.
“And the Paycheck Protection Program has saved tens of millions of jobs for American workers. From big cities to small towns to industrial suburbs to farm country, Senate Republicans’ bold program is turning potential pink-slips into paychecks every single day.
“To be sure, the program is imperfect. That was guaranteed when banks had to cram multiple years’ worth of lending into a few weeks.
“Yesterday we saw a glaring example of that imperfection.
“The legislation we passed contained specific eligibility requirements. One rule said that affiliates of national nonprofits could not pose as small nonprofits and ask for money.
“But, because time was and is of the essence, the legislation set up a process of initial self-certification with review to follow, rather than lengthy vetting upfront that would have slowed the emergency money for rightful recipients.
“And we learned yesterday that the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, abused this emergency process and grabbed tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money for which they were completely ineligible.
“This is the organization that fired its new president last year because she was too focused on broader health issues and not sufficiently fixated on abortion above all else.
“Disrespecting human life is their central mission. And they just took advantage of a national crisis and helped themselves to tens of millions of taxpayer dollars they were clearly forbidden from taking.
“It goes without saying the money must be sent back immediately.
“As we shine a light on Planned Parenthood’s misrepresentations, we cannot let their actions jeopardize this important program for the tens of millions of Americans who are benefiting from it rightly.
“Remember, the PPP has pushed $500 billion dollars into the economy across more than four million loans. The average loan size is just $118,000. Paychecks instead of pink slips for tens of millions of Americans.
“My hometown of Louisville, Kentucky is home to the baseball bat factory that makes the world-famous Louisville Slugger.
“For a few months, the bat factory was a temporary casualty of COVID-19. But this month, the manufacturer secured a PPP loan. 171 employees were pulled off furlough and put right back on the payroll.
“171 family stories went from pain and chaos back to stability because of this program. And that is just one business in one city in one state. There’s also an automotive parts supplier and a hoagie shop in Michigan. A fresh flower shop in Arizona. A burger joint and a community nonprofit in North Carolina. And on, and on, and on. Four million loans across all 50 states. And new loans are still being issued as we speak.
“This is what serious legislation looks like. This is what serious solutions can accomplish. Every day, the Senate’s work is paying dividends to working families across the country.
“Now, the pandemic is not all we are working on.
“The Senate is also staying on top of foreign relations, national security, and the personnel business. Yesterday, the Intelligence Committee reported out the nomination of the next Director of National Intelligence.
“And the Armed Services Committee reported out nominations for Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
“I hope our Democratic colleagues will not block the Senate from filling these key national security vacancies before we adjourn this week.”
Related Issues: Back to Work, National Security, COVID-19, Economy, Health Care
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