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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced today a bipartisan bill he cosponsored to make it easier for American families to adopt children was signed into law. The Accuracy for Adoptees Act requires federal agencies to defer to and recognize state court orders amending a child’s name or date of birth on government issued documents. This law ensures that when a child applies for a driver’s license, a job, Social Security card, and passport, one date of birth is recognized and used.

“As a proud co-sponsor of this bipartisan legislation, I am pleased that the Accuracy for Adoptees Act is now law. I hear from many Kentuckians who are struggling to adopt children internationally and have requested assistance from my office. This measure will help many of those families by reducing the burdensome red tape and making it easier for them to receive the clarity they need when adopting children internationally,” Senator McConnell said.

One family that contacted Senator McConnell was Chip and Karen Hutcheson of Princeton, Kentucky. Last year, they, along with their two adopted grandchildren, met with Senator McConnell in his office in the United States Capitol. During the meeting, Hutcheson advocated for further assistance pertaining to reconciling federal and state documents with conflicting birth dates for children adopted abroad.

Upon hearing the news the measure was signed into law, Mr. Hutcheson, publisher of The Times Leader and president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, said, “I will be forever grateful for Senator McConnell’s efforts in helping pass this bill. This is common sense pro-family legislation that relieves a tremendous burden on families who adopt internationally. Senator McConnell’s efforts will help make it easier to adopt a child from another country, benefitting not only American families but many orphans around the world. We have two grandchildren who were adopted from Ethiopia, and one of them has an error on his birth certificate from that country. Now all the red tape will be eliminated in rectifying that situation so that he will have an accurate record throughout his life.”

The bipartisan bill was introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO). Other co-sponsors include: Sens. Landrieu (D-LA), Durbin (D-IL), Leahy (D-VT), Barrasso (R-WY), Enzi (R-WY), Vitter (R-LA), Rubio (R-FL), Flake (R-AZ), Boozman (R-AR), Inhofe (R-OK), and Kirk (R-IL). The legislation passed the House and Senate in December, 2013.

Last year, Senator McConnell met with Mr. and Mrs. Hutcheson and their grandchildren in his office in the U.S. Capitol. Several years ago, Senator McConnell’s office assisted the Hutcheson family with the adoption of Lemlem and Kashiku from Ethiopia.
(Front, L-R: Lemlem and Kashiku Hutcheson. Back, L-R: Karen Hutcheson, Sen. McConnell, Chip Hutcheson)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the administration’s need to convince his own party to focus on free trade:

“Yesterday, I said there were a number of things the President could announce in his North Carolina speech that would draw bipartisan support and boost the economy. One of the things I’m particularly disappointed he didn’t push harder is trade.

“As I said, this is one of the brightest areas of his economic agenda. But if we as a nation don’t act quickly and decisively, then the world is going to pass us by. We’re going to miss opportunities to benefit economically – to open foreign markets to American-made goods, and to America’s political and cultural influence.

“And when you look at the rest of the developed world – from Europe to Canada to Australia – they’re practically falling over themselves to negotiate more and better opportunities while we’ve basically sat on our hands…a consequence of the President’s inability to persuade his own party to expand trade-related jobs.

“So we need to catch up, but we can’t do that without leadership from the President. The kind of leadership like we’ve seen here in the Senate from the Chairman of the Finance Committee, who is himself a Democrat. He’s been a tireless advocate for trade and American agriculture. And yet, with his retirement looming on the horizon, I’m afraid there might not be many Democrats left in the Senate willing to help lead on this issue. That’s why we need the President to get involved. We need him to step up for American workers and increased exports by bringing his party on board with the trade promotion bill that was introduced just last week.

“The authority in that legislation is key to enabling the administration to conclude critical trade negotiations that hold incredible promise for American jobs and economic growth.

“With our economy in such dire straits these days, opening new opportunities for American goods through trade should be just a no brainer. It’s an issue that used to be fairly bipartisan around here, and it can be again – if the President is willing to lead. Millions of middle-class families and small businesses are counting on him to do just that

“So I look forward to him promoting the benefits of trade and the legislation I mentioned in his State of the Union address. And when he does so, Republicans will be right there with him to move the trade promotion bill through Congress in a bipartisan fashion.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will file a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from imposing its anti-coal regulation by ensuring a vote to repeal it. The CRA provides Congress with the ability to eliminate onerous regulations imposed by the executive branch.

“Kentucky is facing a real crisis here. The Obama Administration appears to be sending signals that its latest regulation is just the beginning in a new, expanded front in its War on Coal. Already, the Administration’s regulations have played a significant role in causing coal jobs in my state to plummet. These are good jobs that pay more than $1 billion in annual wages to my constituents. And for every miner with a job, three more Kentuckians will hold a coal-dependent job too,” Senator McConnell said. “That’s why I – along with about 40 Republican cosponsors, including my friend and fellow Kentuckian Rand Paul – intend to file a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to ensure a vote to stop this devastating rule.”

The following are remarks delivered by Senator McConnell on the Senate floor:

“Last week, the Obama Administration published a regulation that would effectively ban coal-fired power plants from being built in the future.

“The head of the EPA, who will be testifying on this regulation today, basically admitted as much herself when she called it a ‘significant economic lift.’

“She knows that the technology this regulation requires is prohibitively expensive – that her own agency knows it’s nowhere near ready for adoption, that even some White House officials do not believe her plan is feasible – and that that’s the point.

“The point here is to eliminate coal jobs in America.

“That’s why I wasn’t surprised by emails that recently came to light – emails which appear to show EPA officials colluding with extremist special interests in devising impossible-to-achieve regulations.

“The emails even referred to previously shuttered power plants as ‘defeated,’ making the intent behind coal-related actions seem clear.

“And here’s the other thing: this new regulation is not even expected to reduce emissions in a meaningful way. What it will do, however, is trigger a section of law that would allow the Administration to eventually shut down coal-fired plants that already exist today.

“In other words, it could allow the Administration to achieve its true aim of eliminating coal jobs completely.

“For struggling middle-class families across Eastern Kentucky, this is just the latest punch in the gut from Washington – from an Administration whose own advisors seem to believe that a ‘war on coal is exactly what’s needed.’

“Some call this regulation outrageous. Some say it’s extremism at its worst.

“Here’s what I call it: cruel.

“Because here’s what’s lost in this Administration’s crusade for ideological purity…in its crusade for the approval of coastal editorial boards...

“Human lives. The lives of people I represent. Folks who haven’t done anything to deserve a ‘war’ being declared upon them.

“These are Kentuckians who just want to work, provide for their families, and deliver the type of low-cost energy that attracts more jobs to Kentucky.

“And coal is what allows so many of them do all that. It provides well-paying jobs and, as Jimmy Rose says, it ‘keeps the lights on.’

“I’d remind my colleagues that coal does more than just keep the lights on in Kentucky. It keeps the lights on here too, both figuratively and literally.

“From the anti-coal blogger tapping out a tweet to the EPA staffer cooking up a meal, millions and millions of Americans rely upon coal to power their homes and their offices.

“In recent years, coal has accounted for about 40 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. That compares to just about 3.5 percent for sources like wind and solar.

“So even if the Administration were to achieve its dream of eliminating every last coal job, it’s not like they could just fire up a few windmills to cover the gap.

“It’s going to take a very, very long time – decades – for alternative sources to even come close to providing the same level of jobs and energy as coal.

“In other words, the Administration’s ideological crusade – it doesn’t even seem to have a logical endgame. It’s basically just ideology.

“And here’s the thing: Republicans agree that alternative and renewable energy sources are necessary for fuel diversity. But we believe that things like wind, and geothermal, and solar should be part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy that also includes coal, and natural gas, and the oil that we can get right here in North America—with Americans providing the workforce.

“Another key difference is this: Republicans look at Kentucky coal miners and see hardworking men and women, not an obstacle to some left-wing fantasy.

“That’s why I – along with about 40 Republican cosponsors, including my friend and fellow Kentuckian Rand Paul – intend to file a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to ensure a vote to stop this devastating rule.

“We believe the EPA regulation in question clearly meets the definition for congressional review under this statute, and I am sending a letter to Comptroller General Dodaro outlining the reasons why this is so.

“And if the Majority Leader is serious about helping Kentuckians, he’d stop blocking the Senate from passing my Saving Coal Jobs Act too. It’s just common-sense legislation that would give the elected representatives of the people a greater say in how coal is regulated in this country. There’s no reason for him to keep it bottled up a moment longer.

“Look: Kentucky is facing a real crisis here. The Obama Administration appears to be sending signals that its latest regulation is just the beginning in a new, expanded front in its War on Coal. Already, the Administration’s regulations have played a significant role in causing coal jobs in my state to plummet. These are good jobs that pay more than $1 billion in annual wages to my constituents. And for every miner with a job, three more Kentuckians will hold a coal-dependent job too.

“So the Majority Leader and his Washington Democrat caucus now have a choice. Are they going to stand with the coal families under attack in places like Kentucky and West Virginia and Colorado, or are they going to continue to stand with the powerful left-wing special interests that want to see their jobs eliminated?

“That’s the choice. I know where I stand.”

Recent Press Releases

McConnell-Sponsored Bill to Aid Families Adopting Children Internationally Signed Into Law

January 16, 2014

A Year of Action Is Possible on Trade Jobs—If the President Will Lead

January 16, 2014

McConnell to File Resolution of Disapproval Against EPA War on Coal Regulation

‘Kentucky is facing a real crisis here. The Obama Administration is promising that its latest regulation is just the beginning in a new, expanded front in its War on Coal.’

January 16, 2014