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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement after Senate Republicans succeeded in protecting workers’ right to conduct secret ballot elections:

"The principle of a secret ballot is deeply rooted in the American tradition, and workers here have enjoyed this freedom at the workplace by law for 60 years. While it is unfortunate that Democrats would seek to reverse this right, Senate Republicans today stood firm in defending it. By preserving the secret ballot in union organizing drives, Republicans made sure America's 140 million workers are not intimidated or coerced into siding with either labor or management -- and that anyone who would consider launching a future assault on the right to a secret ballot thinks twice before doing so."

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced today that his requests of over $373 million in funding for several important Kentucky projects, including environmental cleanup and worker health monitoring at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, have been included in the FY’08 Energy & Water Appropriations bill. Once approved by the full committee, the bill moves to the Senate for consideration.

McConnell used his seniority on the Appropriations Committee to direct funding to the following Kentucky projects:

PADUCAH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT ($133.4 MILLION)

• $116 million for cleanup activities at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. This money will be used to fund continued environmental cleanup efforts at the plant.

• $17.4 million for the continued construction of the DUF6 facility in Paducah. McConnell authored two federal statutes requiring DOE to build a facility in Paducah to convert 39,000 canisters of hazardous depleted uranium hexaflouride into a more stable compound. Construction of the facility is scheduled to be completed this year and operations are slated to begin next year.

• Full funding for Worker Health Monitoring. This funding will be used for continued operation of a mobile health unit that screens current and former workers at the plant for the early signs of lung cancer. The mobile health unit travels between the three gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah, Portsmouth, Ohio and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

“I remain committed to ensuring that the Paducah plant has the funding it needs to continue cleanup activities, finish construction of the DUF6 facility, and provide worker health screenings,” said McConnell. “While this is just the beginning of the process, I will work to make sure this important funding remains in the final bill.”

WOLF CREEK DAM ($55.1 MILLION)

• $54.1 million for the Wolf Creek Dam Rehabilitation Project. The Corps of Engineers recently determined that the stability of Wolf Creek Dam is threatened by seepage under and around the dam, increasing the risk of catastrophic failure. The requested funds will ensure that the repairs remain on schedule to complete the project as quickly as possible.

• $1 million for the Corps of Engineers to mitigate the impact of the lower water level at Lake Cumberland due to the Wolf Creek Dam Rehabilitation Project.

“The Army Corps of Engineers lowered the water level of Lake Cumberland to protect the health and safety of citizens living downstream,” said McConnell. “This critical funding will help with the repairs to Wolf Creek Dam and I will continue to work with the Corps to ensure that the repairs remain on schedule.”

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE ($3.4 MILLION)

• $400,000 for the UofL Sustainable Buildings Project. This funding is for a collaborative effort between UofL, Jefferson County Public Schools and the Metro government to prepare plans to incorporate energy, water and waste efficiency technologies into public infrastructure being built or renovated. UofL hopes its research will help school districts and other public agencies across Kentucky and the nation implement strategies to conserve energy and reduce operating costs. Senator McConnell has delivered $800,000 for this project in previous years.

• $2 million for the UofL/Kentucky Rural Energy Consortium. The funds will be used to conduct research into using renewable biomass resources to produce heat, electricity, biofuels, natural products and industrial chemicals. Senator McConnell has previously delivered $2 million for this project.

• $1 million for the UofL Regional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Facility. The funds will support ongoing research in fundamental processes of electron transport systems and the structural biology of proteins.

“The University of Louisville is attracting top-notch students and scientists to its classrooms and laboratories with exciting research opportunities,” said McConnell. “I am pleased to have secured this funding because it will enable research to be conducted that will benefit Kentucky.”

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ($2 MILLION of which UK will receive a portion)

• $2 million for the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research (CPBR), of which UK is a member. The CPBR supports university-industry research and technology transfer projects that accelerate commercialization.

“This funding will allow UK’s scientists to receive funding through the CPBR, and the technology-related research they will be conducting will help strengthen the university,” said McConnell.

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS ($182 MILLION)

• $47 million for the Kentucky Lock Project. This funding will be used to double the lock’s size to handle the increased tonnage of today’s larger barge traffic.

• $94 million for the Olmsted Locks and Dam Project. This funding will be used for the continued construction of a new facility that will replace locks 52 and 53 on the Ohio River. Once complete, this facility will be the largest locking facility in Kentucky in terms of tonnage.

• $41 million for the McAlpine Locks and Dam Project, located on the Ohio River. The funding will be used to maintain the construction schedule of an auxiliary lock chamber that will give the McAlpine project twin 1,200 foot locks to allow the facility to handle projected traffic increases.

“Ensuring that there is adequate funding for the Kentucky, Olmsted and McAlpine Locks and Dams has long been a priority of mine,” said McConnell. “This funding will enable the Corps to make continued improvements to our waterways which will assist in the movement of commerce.”

The FY’08 Energy & Water Appropriations bill must now be approved by the full Appropriations Committee.

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Washington, DC – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the Senate floor Monday regarding the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Wisconsin Right to Life vs. FEC. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery.

“Mr. President, six years ago I took to this floor to express the view that any campaign finance law must be written within the boundaries of the First Amendment. It states:

‘Congress shall make no law, respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.’

“This very amendment adorns the facade of the yet-to- open Newseum a few blocks from here on Pennsylvania Avenue — a building constructed, both philosophically and physically upon the cornerstone of our First Amendment rights.

“Mr. President, today the United States Supreme Court decided that the United States Congress went too far five years ago in legislating restrictions on First Amendment rights. In its ruling this morning in Wisconsin Right to Life vs. FEC, the Court righted that wrong.

“It took an important first step toward restoring the rights of organizations to petition the government and members of Congress.

“The court rejected an intent-and-effect test for advertisements and instead went with a susceptible of no other reasonable interpretation than an appeal to vote for or against a candidate.

“However, and most importantly, in a debatable case the tie is resolved in favor of protecting speech.

“As the Chief Justice noted in his decision for the majority: ‘Where the First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker, not the censor.’

“It is fitting that this opinion should come down as we approach the Forth of July recess, when we return home to celebrate those freedoms for which our forefathers fought and died.

“What better tribute to their efforts than the affirmation of our right — not just ability — but right of freedom to speech and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances?

“And this afternoon, we will witness our new colleague from Wyoming be sworn, reminding us of the oath we all took upon election to this body to, ‘Preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.’

“Mr. President, Chief Justice Roberts summed up this case and, in fact, the entire campaign finance debate so well that I would like to close with his words. He wrote:

‘These cases are about political speech. The importance of the cases to speech and debate on public policy issues is reflected in the number of diverse organizations that have joined in supporting WRTL before this Court: the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Rifle Association, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, Focus on the Family, the Coalition of Public Charities, the Cato Institute, and many others …’

‘And in his closing paragraph, the Chief Justice reminded us what lies at the heart of this issue. After quoting the language of the First Amendment, he wrote:

‘The Framers’ actual words put these cases in proper perspective. Our jurisprudence over the past 216 years has rejected an absolutist interpretation of those words, but when it comes to drawing difficult lines in the area of pure political speech — between what is protected and what the Government can ban — it is worth recalling the language we are applying … when it comes to defining what speech qualifies as the functional equivalent of express advocacy subject to such a ban-the issue we do have to decide-we give the benefit of the doubt to speech, not censorship. The First Amendment’s command that ‘Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech’ demands at least that.’

“Mr. President: It is a good day for the First Amendment. “

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Recent Press Releases

Senate Republicans Succeed in Protecting Employees’ Right to Secret Ballots

June 26, 2007

McConnell Secures Over $373 Million in Funding for Kentucky in FY’08 Energy & Water Appropriations Bill

June 26, 2007

‘A Good Day for the First Amendment’

June 25, 2007