McConnell to Appear on FOX News Sunday
February 9, 2007
Washington, DC -- U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will appear on Fox News Sunday on February, 11, 2007.
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Recent Press Releases
McConnell and Lott: We Renew Our Commitment to Debate
February 8, 2007
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republican Whip Trent Lott sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday expressing the sense of the Republican Conference that the Senate should move forward on both the Levin Resolution and the need to fund the troops in the field.
“We renew our commitment to you and the Senate to proceed immediately to a debate on General Petraeus’ plan for securing Baghdad, and whether or not it makes sense to cut off funding for this mission.”
McConnell and Lott have requested a vote on the Gregg Funding Resolution in addition to the Levin Resolution.
The full text of the letter follows:
Dear Leader Reid:
Today we received a letter from several members of our conference in support of S. Con. Res. 7. They are seeking to renew debate on the Warner resolution concerning Iraq and the alternative resolutions brought forward by other Senators. We agree with them that we should renew this debate, and agree that such a debate should include the alternatives that we discussed extensively on the floor. We stand ready to work with you to forge a consent agreement within the context of the Senate rules that meets the desires of the letter’s authors.
The war in Iraq remains the single most important issue confronting the nation and we believe that the President’s new strategy and our national security interests in the Persian Gulf deserve a full debate in the United States Senate.
In the belief that the President’s new strategy announced on January 10, 2007 merited an immediate expression of the Senate’s displeasure, Chairman Biden brought forth a resolution from the Foreign Relations Committee that stated as much. In response to the Biden resolution, Republican Senators worked to craft alternative resolutions that in various forms: established benchmarks to measure the progress of the President’s plan; stated that the elimination or reduction of funds for troops would endanger the troops; and, supported the idea of executing a new counterinsurgency doctrine intended to protect the Iraqi population. The authors of these various resolutions sought a fair Senate debate. Our efforts to secure an agreement to conduct a fair, thoughtful debate did not cease once the Biden resolution was set aside to consider a bill filed by the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee.
We renew our commitment to you and the Senate to proceed immediately to a debate on General Petraeus’ plan for securing Baghdad, and whether or not it makes sense to cut off funding for this mission.
Sincerely,
MITCH McCONNELL
Republican Leader
United States Senate
TRENT LOTT
Republican Whip
United States Senate
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“We renew our commitment to you and the Senate to proceed immediately to a debate on General Petraeus’ plan for securing Baghdad, and whether or not it makes sense to cut off funding for this mission.”
McConnell and Lott have requested a vote on the Gregg Funding Resolution in addition to the Levin Resolution.
The full text of the letter follows:
Dear Leader Reid:
Today we received a letter from several members of our conference in support of S. Con. Res. 7. They are seeking to renew debate on the Warner resolution concerning Iraq and the alternative resolutions brought forward by other Senators. We agree with them that we should renew this debate, and agree that such a debate should include the alternatives that we discussed extensively on the floor. We stand ready to work with you to forge a consent agreement within the context of the Senate rules that meets the desires of the letter’s authors.
The war in Iraq remains the single most important issue confronting the nation and we believe that the President’s new strategy and our national security interests in the Persian Gulf deserve a full debate in the United States Senate.
In the belief that the President’s new strategy announced on January 10, 2007 merited an immediate expression of the Senate’s displeasure, Chairman Biden brought forth a resolution from the Foreign Relations Committee that stated as much. In response to the Biden resolution, Republican Senators worked to craft alternative resolutions that in various forms: established benchmarks to measure the progress of the President’s plan; stated that the elimination or reduction of funds for troops would endanger the troops; and, supported the idea of executing a new counterinsurgency doctrine intended to protect the Iraqi population. The authors of these various resolutions sought a fair Senate debate. Our efforts to secure an agreement to conduct a fair, thoughtful debate did not cease once the Biden resolution was set aside to consider a bill filed by the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee.
We renew our commitment to you and the Senate to proceed immediately to a debate on General Petraeus’ plan for securing Baghdad, and whether or not it makes sense to cut off funding for this mission.
Sincerely,
MITCH McCONNELL
Republican Leader
United States Senate
TRENT LOTT
Republican Whip
United States Senate
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McConnell: Should We Fund the War or Not?
February 6, 2007
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement on the Senate floor today regarding the need to have a vote on the Gregg funding resolution:
“At this time, there’s no more important issue facing our country than the mission and the fate of the American servicemen and women in Iraq. And this means, of course, that the men and women of this body have no higher duty than to express ourselves openly and honestly on this issue - to take a stand on where we stand.
“The only meaningful tool the framers gave us to do this was our ability to fund or to not fund the war. That’s it. And this is what Republicans are insisting upon: that the members of this body express themselves on the question of whether to fund or not fund the war in Iraq.
“By blocking a vote on the Gregg funding resolution, our good friends on the other side are blocking a vote on this most essential question. The only questions that really, ultimately matters: Do we oppose this war to the point of action, or do we simply want to make a point?
“Our colleagues say they want progress in Iraq, but by blocking a vote on the McCain benchmarks resolution, they are blocking a vote that would actually set concrete goals.
“So Mr. President, let’s be very clear about what happened last night. Our colleagues on the other side do not want to vote on whether troops should be funded. Period. There is no more critical question at this moment. We have the duty to take it up, and we’ll continue to fight for that right.”
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