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Democrats object to moving forward on Sen. Hutchison’s FAA compromise legislation that omits extraneous, non-aviation provisions

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday regarding the FAA bill:

“Republicans do not oppose moving forward with an FAA Modernization bill.

“In fact, we would be more than happy to move forward on the aviation-related provisions of the Commerce Committee and Finance Committee titles of the bill on the floor.

“The Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee, Senator Hutchison, has been down on the floor for a week flagging the extraneous, non-aviation related provisions in the Finance Committee package as a problem.

“She has called repeatedly on the Majority bill manager to join her in seeking to remove those extraneous, controversial provisions and move forward with a clean FAA bill.

“Unfortunately, the Majority has not accepted her offer to date, and so we find ourselves in a stalemate.

“I think that is unfortunate, and unnecessary. But there is a way to pass this bill in a bipartisan way if our colleagues will only take ‘yes’ for an answer.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell joined his Republican colleagues Thursday in introducing the American Energy Production Act of 2008, which would increase domestic energy production and help lower gas prices.

Included in the legislation is a measure authored by Senator Jim Bunning which would establish a program to help support and promote clean, coal-to-liquid fuels. “I appreciate Senator Bunning’s leadership on the issue of promoting greater use of technology to convert coal into liquid fuel,” Senator McConnell said. “The more fuel derived from coal we can use, the less oil we will need, thus reducing prices at the pump.”

Coal is a vital part of America’s energy production, and an important part of Kentucky’s economy and history. The coal industry creates over 60,000 jobs in Kentucky, including approximately 15,000 coal miners. Over half of the country’s electricity is generated by coal, and coal constitutes over 90 percent of America’s fossil-fuel resources.

“The coal we can mine in this country alone would be enough to supply our nation for more than 250 years,” Senator McConnell said. “What Saudi Arabia is to oil, America is to coal.”

The bill would also expand domestic energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), in Alaska and through the development of oil shale in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. It would accelerate the development of advanced batteries to power plug-in hybrid vehicles, and encourage the construction of new refineries to bolster domestic supplies. And it would suspend filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for six months.

McConnell said, “the American Energy Production Act is not only good for our economy but for our national security as well. I urge my colleagues to support it.”

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‘I was happy to read that the majority has tasked their chairmen to come up with ideas to work on this issue. But I fear that the answer that comes back will be the same two-word prescription that they’ve offered in the past: Higher taxes’

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday regarding Americans’ greatest concern, the skyrocketing cost of gasoline:

“The Senate voted unanimously last night to proceed to the FAA bill, despite the fact that at the time we voted, we hadn’t yet received the Senate substitute.

“We did receive it overnight, and will now review it before proceeding.

“It is my expectation that when we do get on the bill, the Majority Leader will allow the Senate to proceed to amendments, and I know that many on our side would like to offer amendments, and there will be debate on this bill.

“I would also like to point out that while the FAA is an important agency, the number-one issue for Americans right now, their greatest concern, is the price of gas at the pump.

“The price of gas has jumped by more than $1.25 a gallon since the beginning of the current Congress. The cost of oil nearly tripled in that time—from about $45 a barrel last January to about $120 a barrel now.

“According to the AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas in Kentucky is $3.58 - the highest ever.

“I was happy to read that the majority has tasked their chairmen to come up with ideas to work on this issue. But I fear that the answer that comes back will be the same two-word prescription that they’ve offered in the past: Higher taxes.

“But higher taxes will only raise the price at the pump, not lower it.

“So while we will move forward on the FAA bill, the Senate should not forget what Americans are most concerned about: the dramatic increase in pain at the pump over the last year.

“And we should be able to stipulate at the outset that raising taxes as a way of addressing that problem isn't even worth our consideration.”

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