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Veterans Day

November 10, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday honoring Veterans Day:

“Tomorrow is Veterans Day, the day we set aside to honor the service and sacrifice of the heroic men and women who have served in the United States armed forces.

“America remains a beacon of freedom throughout the world today because of the commitments and sacrifices they have made. Over the years, many brave Americans donned their country’s uniform to ensure that we would remain safe and free here at home.

“That effort continues today, as our fighting forces courageously defend freedom from threats in Afghanistan and Iraq, and elsewhere around the world.

“My own home State of Kentucky has a proud military history, and today is home to both Fort Knox and Fort Campbell, which together house thousands of soldiers. Many have gone from vital training at these two posts on to protecting their nation in the heart of the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“So tomorrow, as America takes a moment to thank these brave men and women who have fought to preserve our way of life, and to remember the heroes who did not return home, we will also give special thanks for the men and women in uniform who are currently in harm’s way.

“So we honor every American who has fought for this country. And we recognize that this country was built on what they have sacrificed.”

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House Bill ‘Strongly Opposed by Most Americans’

November 9, 2009

‘This bill was strongly opposed by most Americans, which is why one out of seven Democrats voted against it’

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

“Late Saturday evening, Democrat leaders in the House passed by the narrowest of margins a massive bill with a simple goal: to vastly expand the federal government’s role in the health care decisions of every American. This bill was strongly opposed by most Americans, which is why one out of seven Democrats voted against it. These Democrats have gotten the message that Americans are fed up with all the spending and debt, and that they don’t support a so-called health care reform that raises premiums, raises taxes, and slashes Medicare.

“Americans don’t want a 2,000-page, trillion-dollar government experiment in health care — they want commonsense reforms that increase access and lower costs.

“Soon, Senate Democrats will propose their own version of a health care bill. We don’t yet know all the details. But we do know that at its core this bill would also lead to higher premiums, higher taxes, and massive cuts to Medicare to fund new government programs. This is not the reform the American people were looking for. This is not the reform they were told they could expect. Americans feel as though they’ve been taken for a ride in this debate. I don’t blame them. It’s time we listen to the American people. At a time of double-digit unemployment, record deficits and debt, the views of ordinary Americans should not be cast aside.”

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Freedom Demanded the Fall of the Berlin Wall

November 9, 2009

‘But for most of us the most memorable moment from those days was the moment that we saw one of the most potent symbols of the communist era, the Berlin Wall, come down, piece by piece’

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Monday regarding the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall:

“Today marks a very important day in the cause of freedom. On this day 20 years ago, the Berlin Wall, which for decades had divided the free people of West Berlin from the captive Germans in Soviet-controlled East Berlin, finally came down.

“In anticipation of this anniversary we had the rare honor last Tuesday of hearing the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, address a joint session of Congress. She was the first German chancellor to do so in more than 50 years. Chancellor Merkel spoke about the experience of growing up with millions of others behind the Iron Curtain. She spoke of how it was impossible for herself or anyone else she knew to travel to America.

“And yet even as a child, she knew that tyranny was wrong — and that the answer to tyranny could be found across the ocean in America.

“Now, decades later, Chancellor Merkel’s country has gained that freedom, and a little girl who grew up under a repressive regime is the freely elected leader of a united Germany. Here is what Chancellor Merkel had to say about what made that extraordinary journey possible:

‘Twenty years have passed since we were given this incredible gift of freedom. But there is still nothing that inspires me more, nothing that spurs me on more, nothing that fills me more with positive feelings than the power of freedom.’

“Chancellor Merkel also spoke very graciously of her gratitude, of Germany’s gratitude, to America. ‘I know, we Germans know,’ she said, ‘how much we owe to you our American friends.’ She recalled President Kennedy’s trip to Berlin shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall, when he declared his solidarity with the people of Germany with the famous words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner.’ And she recalled President Reagan’s 1987 trip to Berlin, when he made a clear and direct appeal to the Soviet premier for openness, with the equally famous words, ‘Tear down this wall.’

“Freedom has its own imperatives. It demanded that the Berlin Wall come down. And 20 years ago it did. It was a remarkable time. After decades of oppression, which the United States met with a sustained strategy of containment, the world witnessed the relatively peaceful liberation of a continent.

“But for most of us the most memorable moment from those days was the moment that we saw one of the most potent symbols of the communist era, the Berlin Wall, come down, piece by piece. We celebrate this great anniversary with all the free peoples of the world, mindful of those who still yearn for the same freedom that Chancellor Merkel dreamed of as a young girl. May they all one day know the freedom that is the birthright of every man and woman.”

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