McConnell Outlines Busy Senate Schedule
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding this week in the Senate:
“This week promises to be a busy one.
“Just across the street, an important Obamacare case will be argued before the Supreme Court.
“And tomorrow, here in the Capitol, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress. It’s an important speech that comes at an important time. Iran’s long-standing determination to develop nuclear capabilities poses a threat to Israel, America, and the world — it’s a threat Netanyahu is singularly capable of explaining at such a critical moment in U.S.-Israeli relations.
“Meanwhile, the new Senate will continue to pursue good ideas for the middle class.
“On the floor and in committee, both this week and in the weeks to come, we expect to see more bipartisan action on behalf of the American people on a range of issues.
“For instance, we’ll offer Senators a chance to stand tall for basic fairness in the workplace by overturning the Administration’s ‘Ambush’ rule that seeks to weaken workers’ rights.
“And we’ll keep up the fight for sensible, bipartisan ideas like the Keystone jobs bill.
“This positive approach stands in stark contrast to the partisan posture we’ve seen from our friends across the aisle.
“The President’s veto of the bipartisan Keystone bill represents a victory for partisanship and for powerful special interests.
“The President’s veto of the bipartisan Keystone bill represents a defeat for jobs, infrastructure, and the Middle Class.
“That’s why Congress needs to try and overturn it.
“We had hoped to have that vote tomorrow.
“But for some reason, Democrats are actually filibustering that vote. It takes 67 votes to overcome a veto, more than the 60 required to overcome a filibuster, so there’s no reason for a filibuster other than to delay and cause gridlock for its own sake.
“It’s disappointing. But the new Congress won’t be deterred from fighting for jobs and the Middle Class. We’ll keep fighting for this good idea, and we’ll keep fighting for other good ideas.
“We’ll also keep up our fight to fund the Department of Homeland Security
“The American people watched Democrats filibuster Homeland Security funding for weeks.
“On Friday, they watched Democrats — including many who implied they’d actually do something about the President’s overreach — filibuster a common-sense bill from Senator Collins.
“And now, Americans are learning that Democrats might even try and prevent the Senate and House of Representatives from reconciling their bills to get the Department funded.
“It just doesn’t make any sense.
“Especially when you consider the words of the Minority Leader himself. He said that going to conference ‘has been the custom in the Senate and House of Representatives for more than 200 years.’
“At 5:30, we’ll have a vote to do just that. We invite the Minority Leader and his party to join us in supporting it.
“It’s interesting to see the distance between rhetoric and reality with some of our Democrat friends.
“Not just on conferencing bills, not just on addressing the President’s overreach, but also with the use of the filibuster itself.
“Some of the folks who are now filibustering simply for the sake of delaying and causing gridlock are the same folks who used to denounce the filibuster.
“It’s interesting to see that they weren’t serious.
“The truth is, a better way is possible for our colleagues.
“I’d invite our Democrat friends to drop all this negativity and gridlock.
“Join Republicans in advancing a positive agenda for the American people instead.”
Related Issues: Jobs, Keystone XL Pipeline, Labor, Back to Work, Middle Class, Restoring the Senate, Obamacare, Israel
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