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Recent Press Releases

McConnell: ‘What happens to Medicare?’

October 7, 2009

‘Americans want their questions answered — particularly when it comes to Medicare. They don’t want the status quo. But they don’t want what Democrats are pushing either: a trillion dollar experiment that cuts Medicare, raises taxes, limits choices, and makes health care more expensive’

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the importance of getting it right on health care reform:

“The latest trillion-dollar, 1,000-page Democrat plan raises some questions — questions like, ‘What happens to Medicare?’

“Tens of millions of American seniors want to know.

“Here’s what we can say for sure.

“The Democrat plan is a trillion dollar experiment that cuts Medicare, raises taxes, and threatens the health care choices that millions of Americans now enjoy.

“We know the Democrat plan will make massive cuts to Medicare — $500 billion worth — to fund more government spending.

“We know Medicare Advantage benefits will be slashed almost in half, causing many of the 11 million seniors enrolled in it to lose benefits, such as hearing aid coverage and dental care.

“We know it contains nearly $120 billion in cuts to hospitals that care for seniors, more than $40 billion from home health agencies, and nearly $8 billion from hospices.

“And we know this — that Medicare is already on the path to bankruptcy. Yet instead of trying to fix it, the Democrat plan is to use it as a piggy bank to pay for new government-run health care programs.

“Republicans have tried to protect Medicare throughout this debate. Our amendments to do so were rejected in committee. We proposed an amendment to prevent cuts to skilled nursing facilities, long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation, hospice care and home health care. They rejected it. We offered an amendment to strike cuts that wouldn’t improve Medicare. They rejected it. We offered an amendment to eliminate an unaccountable commission that would have the power to decide payments to Medicare providers. They rejected it. This isn’t reform, and America’s seniors know it.

“Americans are demanding that their voices are heard in this debate. They want their questions answered — particularly when it comes to Medicare. They don’t want the status quo. But they don’t want what Democrats are pushing either: a trillion dollar experiment that cuts Medicare, raises taxes, limits choices, and makes health care more expensive. Americans have questions. They’re not getting the answers they deserve.”

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McConnell: ‘Americans aren’t happy with the status quo’

October 6, 2009

‘Americans want common-sense reform. Reshaping the entire economy, limiting their choices, expanding government control over health care, cutting Medicare, and raising taxes in the middle of the worst economy in memory, and then pushing it through with as little public scrutiny as possible is not what they would call reform’

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday regarding the importance of getting it right on health care reform:

“The American people have made their voices heard in the health care debate. Their message is clear. They want reforms that bring down the staggering cost of health care and increase access, and they don’t want insurers turning people away. “In short, Americans aren’t happy with the status quo. But they’re just as concerned, if not more so, with the alternatives that the White House and a handful of Democrats on Capitol Hill are pushing through Congress.

“Soon, the last of the five committees involved in this debate will finish its work. After that, a handful of Democratic senators will get together in a closed conference room somewhere in the Capitol to hash out a final product. Their proceedings may be private, but based on their stated preferences we’ve got a good sense of the basics.

“We know that the bill they send to the Senate floor will cut seniors’ Medicare by half a trillion dollars; we know that it will raise taxes on virtually everyone; we know it will limit the health care choices Americans now enjoy. And we know it will be a big government bonanza: a trillion dollar price tag and 1,000 pages of indecipherable text.

“For the past two weeks, Americans have been focused on the Senate Finance Committee. The real focus should be on the conference room where the final bill will be decided. That’s because it’s in that room that the Democratic Leadership from the White House and Congress will attempt to decide the fate of health care for everyone. Their deliberations will be secret. And there’s only one direction these senators plan to take this legislation, and that’s to the left.

“We’ve seen what happens in these kinds of closed deliberations before. Over the summer, members of the HELP Committee discovered after a month-long markup that a wellness measure they had agreed to unanimously in front of the cameras in July was mysteriously taken out away from the cameras sometime after a final vote was taken on the bill.

“And we all remember how executives at AIG ended up with multi-million dollar bonuses after nearly driving the company off a cliff. Those bonuses were blessed in a closed-door meeting somewhere in the Capitol after a final vote on the Stimulus bill had already taken place.

“This bill already starts out with a flawed foundation of Medicare cuts, more taxes, more debt, and fewer health care choices. That’s reason enough for Americans to oppose it. Now the finishing touches will be added on in secret before a rush to the finish.

“Proponents of the administration’s health care plan have been working hard over the past two weeks to convince the American people their concerns are being heard. We’ll see if that’s just been window dressing. The fact is, the final bill will be worked out, out of sight, by a mere few whose decisions will affect everyone in America. Away from the cameras, they’ll make decisions that affect every single American and one sixth of our entire economy.

“Americans want common-sense reform. Reshaping the entire economy, limiting their choices, expanding government control over health care, cutting Medicare, and raising taxes in the middle of the worst economy in memory, and then pushing it through with as little public scrutiny as possible is not what they would call reform.”

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Americans, Congress Should Hear From Gen. McChrystal

October 1, 2009

‘It’s crucial that we have an opportunity to hear General’s McChrystal’s personal assessment of the mission that we confirmed him for, and that we give him an opportunity to explain why he’s concluded that more troops are needed to avoid failure in Afghanistan’

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Thursday regarding the McChrystal Counterinsurgency Plan and the McCain amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill:

“As the Senate fulfills its constitutional duty this week of providing for the common defense, it will also have an opportunity to fulfill its oversight responsibilities in the Global War on Terror and, more specifically, in the crucial theater of Afghanistan. Later today, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator McCain, will offer an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill that calls on our top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, and the Centcom Commander, General David Petraeus, to come to Washington to explain to Congress and the American people why they believe the situation in Afghanistan is so perilous, what they believe is necessary for our success, and why.

“There’s recent precedent for this. Many Americans will recall that two years ago, in accordance with a requirement contained in another Defense Appropriations bill, General David Petraeus came to Washington to explain what had gone wrong in Iraq and what he and the rest of our forces were doing to turn things around. By providing a sober assessment of the situation that cut through the political cross-currents of the moment, General Petraeus’s testimony, along with that of Ambassador Ryan Crocker, focused the national debate. It left us newly confident in their ability to lead us in Iraq. And it set us on a path of progress that continues today.

“No one is arguing that the two situations are identical. They’re clearly not. But it’s hard to deny the urgency of the assessment that General McChrystal sent to the White House in late August, parts of which have been made public. And it’s impossible to ignore his depiction of a grave and deteriorating situation on the very soil where Al Qaeda terrorists plotted the 9/11 attacks. General McChrystal’s assessment of the worsening situation in Afghanistan should be of concern to all of us, particularly its account of a resurgent Taliban and a resilient Al Qaeda. As the President told a Turkish audience in April, ‘The world has come too far to let this region backslide, and to let al Qaeda terrorists plot further attacks.’

“But there’s also reason to be confident. At a time of worsening violence in Iraq, America was fortunate to be able to turn to General Petraeus, the man who literally wrote the book on counterinsurgency. And now, at a time of worsening violence in Afghanistan, we’re just as fortunate to be able to turn to General McChrystal, who in reported previous combat experience supervised, planned, and executed counterterrorism operations.

“No one is better equipped to assess the situation on the ground — and whether it calls for a new counterinsurgency strategy, or for a continuation of the same kind of counterterrorism strategy which the previous Administration pursued, and which the current Vice President is reportedly urging the current administration to embrace.

“Earlier this year, President Obama expressed his confidence in General McChrystal by appointing him to his current mission. Following the President’s lead, the Senate expressed its confidence in General McChrystal by confirming him for his current mission without dissent. Now it’s time for Congress and the President to work together on a plan for success.

“Since no strategy will succeed without the support of the public, the President will doubtlessly want to explain to the American people why he plans to accept or reject the McChrystal Plan. This is especially true of a counterinsurgency strategy, which, by definition, requires a large commitment of troops and resources and great endurance on the part of the armed forces and the public alike.

“Congress, for its part, has a responsibility to fund and to oversee our armed forces. Part of that is ensuring that we have the best information possible, and that we make that information available to the American people. And that’s why it’s crucial that we have an opportunity to hear General McChrystal’s personal assessment of the mission that we confirmed him for, and that we give him an opportunity to explain why he’s concluded that more troops are needed to avoid failure in Afghanistan.

“General Petraeus’s testimony served a necessary purpose during an earlier debate over strategy. General McChrystal’s will do the same in this one.

“We know he’d be a willing witness. General McChrystal has spoken freely about his assessment on network television. And he recently told a visitor to Afghanistan that, if asked, he would welcome the opportunity to come to Washington to make the case for additional troops. He also said that it’s his sacred duty to provide the unvarnished truth. With today’s vote — which I urge our friends on the other side of the aisle to support — the Senate will give him a chance to do both.”

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