“So tonight I make the following commitment in support of the policy I have proposed: if at any time the intelligence community presents the Congress with an assessment that Iran has begun to enrich uranium to weapons grade levels, or has taken a decision to develop a nuclear weapon — consistent with protecting classified sources and methods — I will consult with the President and joint congressional leadership and introduce before the Senate an authorization for the use of military force.”
Recent Press Releases
Washington, DC -- U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced Monday that the United States Senate passed legislation that would save jobs in Kentucky and across the country by allowing the Department of Commerce to continue to assess duties on imports from designated market economies, including China and Vietnam.
“Today’s action is a victory for Kentucky workers. I appreciate my colleagues supporting this legislation, which will save Kentucky jobs and level the playing field for Kentucky businesses,” Senator McConnell said.
In late 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in GPX International Tire Corp. v. United States ruled that the Department of Commerce does not have authority to assess countervailing duties on imports from what it considers non-market economies. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Sen. McConnell and a number of other members from both parties, would clarify the intent of Congress regarding this provision.
The House of Representatives is expected to act shortly on companion legislation.
Washington, D.C. – On the Senate floor this afternoon, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell spoke about the deadly storm that hit Kentucky on Friday. Sen. McConnell also talked about his Sunday visit to West Liberty to survey the damage.
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“Last Friday evening tornadoes hit several counties across Kentucky, including Magoffin, Menifee, Morgan, Laurel, Martin, Johnson and Trimble. Might say, Mr. President, these weren't just tornadoes. These were very severe tornadoes, all over the southern and Midwestern part of our country, leaving an incredible trail of devastation across many of our states.
“In my state, the storm caused at least 20 fatalities and more than 300 people in Kentucky were injured. 48 Kentucky counties suffered damages from the storms and tornadoes Friday evening. I’m told that about 19,000 people were without power yesterday.
“This morning my colleague, Senator Paul, and I sent a letter to the President urging him to approve Governor Steve Beshear’s request for federal assistance.
“Yesterday, Mr. President, I had the chance to visit arguably the hardest-hit of our communities, West Liberty, Kentucky. It was a scene of total devastation. The whole community has either been evacuated or is in the process of being evacuated. The county judge – in our state, the county judge is like a county executive in a number of states - Tim Conley, and Mayor Rupe and I toured frankly what little is left of the community. I ran into the county attorney there. Not only had her home been wiped out, her office had been wiped out.
“And the most poignant story of the day was one of the local residents came up to one of my assistants and said, here, I found $70. It doesn't belong to me. I want you to take it and see to it that it's used for the community. And my assistant said, well, no one knows where the $70 came from or who it belongs to. And you're wiped out. Why don't you keep it? And this citizen of West Liberty, Kentucky, said, I just wouldn't feel right about it. I just wouldn't feel right about it. Those are the kind of people, Mr. President, who are in West Liberty, Kentucky.
“Those are the kind of people today who are homeless, who have lost friends and relatives.
“And of course in a town that's devastated, there are no jobs. Where do you go to work? -- when your place of business have been wiped out? So FEMA is on the ground there, and we'll do everything we can to try to help these good folks rebuild their lives. And similar stories are the case in a number of other Kentucky counties, but West Liberty I single out is because it was probably the most devastated of any of our communities.
“I want to applaud the work of the first responders. There were people from all over my state who just immediately came to the site. Some with some official responsibility they were with the Red Cross or they were with the National Guard. There are 400 National Guard troops mobilized across the state in these severely hit areas.
“But many of the people I ran into in West Liberty, Kentucky, yesterday were simply people who got in their cars, loaded it up with bottled water and whatever food they could come up with and went there to be helpful. There was one restaurant in another town who sent in a very large number of barbecue sandwiches just to try to feed the people who were there trying to help get started.
“I went to the command center and of course one of the biggest things in a situation like that is, what do you do first? Well, obviously the first thing is to get the power back on. AEP, the power company was there, trying to get the power up and running. Then they had a priority chart: What do you do second? What do you do third?
“And I just wanted to express to them and say again on the Senate floor here today that we're going to be there for these good folks not only of West Liberty but in the other counties that were hit in our state. That's why FEMA exists. They do a good job. Hopefully it will not require any additional funding for us to have to appropriate. Hopefully they'll have enough funds in their budgets to take care of this. But if there is a shortfall, we'll be there to be helpful. I just wanted to share with my colleagues here today the devastation to which we were subjected last weekend.
“It’s reminiscent of a tornado that hit Kentucky in the 1970's. I remember it went into my mother's and father's neighborhood. The house next door to them was obliterated. The houses across the street were obliterated, and amazingly enough my mother and father’s house seemed largely untouched. There were very few homes or businesses in West Liberty, Kentucky, Friday that were untouched. It came through there with a stunning force.
“I heard one story I would also relay, the county judge was in a building on the floor and literally grabbed somebody by the leg and pulled him inside the building as the storm was attempting to suck them out into the street. He was able to save that person himself. So the incredible force of these massive tornadoes are truly, truly destructive, and we will help the local residents get their lives back together as soon as we possibly can.
“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”