News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued the following statement regarding the Confederate Battle Flag:

“The Confederate Battle Flag means different things to different people, but the fact that it continues to be a painful reminder of racial oppression to many suggests to me at least that it’s time to move beyond it, and that the time for a state to fly it has long since passed. There should be no confusion in anyone’s mind that as a people we’re united in our determination to put that part of our history behind us.”

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 Peter Neffenger.

“It’s never easy to ensure a Senate review process that’s appropriately thorough yet necessarily expeditious in the face of so many months of White House delay, but that’s just what Chairman Thune and Chairman Johnson achieved with the nominee before us.

“I thank them both for their good work.

“If confirmed this evening, Vice Admiral Neffenger will certainly have a tough job ahead of him. We’re all aware of the recent inspector-general report that questioned the TSA’s ability to meet its security mission without change.

“The American people will be counting on Mr. Neffenger to validate the trust their elected representatives place in him tonight by pursuing every necessary reform in the wake of such troubling findings.

“The Senate appears to have confidence he can. There’s no doubt the Senate — and the American people — will be expecting he will.”

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 cautioned, ‘Time’s running out … [to] cement our influence and leadership in the fastest-growing region in the world.’

“We also know how critical this legislation is to lifting up American workers, American wages, and the American economy too.

“We shouldn’t let this opportunity for a significant bipartisan achievement slip past us. If we can continue working together in a spirit of trust, and if we simply vote the same way we just did a couple weeks ago, we won’t.

“Now I know how important it is, particularly for my friends on the other side of the aisle, to get both TPA and TAA done. That linkage has been acknowledged from the beginning of this process. It’s why I set in motion a process last week — filing cloture on the vehicles for both TPA and TAA so that we get one done followed immediately by the other — that will put both pieces of legislation on the President’s desk before the July 4th state work period.

“I didn’t want anyone to think that we were getting TPA done this week, with a promise to get TAA done at some later undefined point. The process this week is clear. We will vote on TPA, and then we will vote on TAA.

“So here’s how that will look.

“Tomorrow, we’ll begin the process of approving TPA.

“The next day, we’ll begin the process of approving TAA along with the AGOA and Preferences measure.

“And before the week is out, I intend to go to conference on the Customs bill. This is a bill with broad bipartisan support. Members on both sides want to get it done. And we are going to formally begin the process to complete our work on the Customs bill. I am committed to concluding work on that conference as quickly as possible. I’m sure members on both sides will hold us to that commitment.

“So what does this all mean?

“It means that, with continued bipartisan cooperation, we can ensure TPA, TAA, and AGOA reach the President’s desk this week — and it means we can ensure the Customs bill is placed on a path to swift approval too.

“It was always the goal to ensure these bills passed Congress in the end. It remains the bipartisan goal today.

“We’re now on the verge of achieving it.

“With just a little more trust, a little more cooperation, and simply voting consistently, we’ll get there.”

Recent Press Releases

McConnell on the Confederate Battle Flag

June 22, 2015

After Long White House Delay, Senate Ready to Confirm New TSA Administrator

‘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 Peter Neffenger.’

June 22, 2015

McConnell Optimistic Trade Bills Will Reach President’s Desk This Week

‘It means that, with continued bipartisan cooperation, we can ensure TPA, TAA, and AGOA reach the President’s desk this week — and it means we can ensure the Customs bill is placed on a path to swift approval too.’

June 22, 2015