{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where state = \"KY\" and year = 2020 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=B71E096B-03CB-4A08-BA59-8732EF16266E", "McConnell Supports NDAA, Opposes Pelosi Plan for Socialism for Rich People", "2020-12-31", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding NDAA and COVID-19 relief:\r\nYesterday, the Senate was finally able to proceed to this year's National Defense Authorization Act.\nA few of our Democratic colleagues have pulled out all the stops to hold back this crucial bill. But last night, a big, bipartisan majority of 80 Senators voted to proceed.\nThere should be nothing controversial about giving our brave men and women in uniform the tools and training they need to stay safe. \nThere should be nothing controversial about continuing the work of rebuilding and modernizing our capabilities. It should be a nonpartisan proposition that America should keep pace with Russia and China rather than slip behind.\nWe have enacted an annual NDAA for 59 straight years and counting. In the next few days, the easy way or the hard way, we're going to do our job once again. This body will fulfill our responsibility to the men and women who protect our country. \nThe Senate will be here until we finish this bipartisan legislation.\n***\nNow, for several days, we've heard some Senators say Congress must send more cash to high-earning households who haven't seen any income disruption during COVID-19.\nOur colleagues who purport to be the champions of vulnerable Americans now say that what struggling people really need is for Congress to stop focusing on targeted relief for them specifically, and to instead send thousands of dollars to people who don't need the help.\nExperts from across the political spectrum agree that our colleague from Vermont is dead wrong on this.\nSocialism for rich people is a terrible way to help the American families that are actually struggling.\nLet me say that again. Borrowing from our grandkids to do socialism for rich people is a terrible way to get help to families who actually need it.\nWashington Democrats took President Trump's suggestion and skewed it so the checks would benefit even more high-earning households.\nImagine a family of five where the parents earn $250,000 per year and have not seen any income loss this past year. Speaker Pelosi and Senator Sanders want to send them $5,000 from Uncle Sam. \nThey make a quarter of a million dollars; nobody's out of work; but our so-called progressive friends say that household needs, quote, survival checks.'\nIn fact, they believe a family of five should have to earn $350,000 before the spigot of government money would stop entirely.\nSocialism for rich people. That's what Speaker Pelosi and Senator Sanders have sketched out.\nA terrible way to help those who need it.\nAnd experts across the political spectrum agree.\nThe liberal editors of the Washington Post have blasted so-called progressives demanding a non-targeted giveaway that would huge amounts' to perfectly comfortable families.'\nLarry Summers, who ran the Treasury Department for President Clinton and the National Economic Council for President Obama, says there is no good economic argument' for more non-targeted checks with no linkage to need.\nThe liberal New York Times reported this morning that a majority' of the households that get non-targeted checks do not end up spending them on urgent needs, but rather, just add to their savings. We know where the pockets of need are,' said one economist, and putting [money] there would be a much more efficient use.'\nFortunately, though some of our colleagues seem to have forgotten, that is exactly what we did less than a week ago.\nIt has been less than five days since President Trump signed into law another historic, bipartisan rescue package targeted to Americans who actually need help.\nWe passed an entire second round of PPP loans to save small business jobs, targeted to the hardest-hit.\nWe renewed multiple kinds of additional federal benefits for unemployed workers, including an extra $300 supplement every week.\nThere are billions for targeted food assistance. Billions for targeted rental assistance. And many billions of dollars for vaccine distribution, so we can finally beat this virus and reopen the economy in full.\r\nThese are the kinds of targeted emergency programs that directly help the most vulnerable. And we just poured almost another trillion dollars into them, less than five days ago. Along with more direct checks that are already arriving in households' accounts.\nThat's what we did less than five days ago.\n***\nThis crisis has not affected everyone equally.\nThe data show that many upper-middle-class Americans have kept their jobs, worked remotely, and remained totally financially comfortable.\nOn the other hand, some of our fellow citizens have had their entire existences turned upside down and continue to suffer terribly.\nWe do not need to let the Speaker of the House do socialism for rich people in order to help those who need help.\nOur duty, both to struggling Americans and to taxpayers, is to focus on targeted relief that will have the maximum impact and help people who need help the most.\nThat's what the experts say we should do. That's where there is broad, bipartisan support.\nAnd that's exactly what we did less than one week ago when nearly $900 billion in more targeted relief was signed into law for our people.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=5AE9ABDD-1AEB-4DD0-9D61-9EDF34F20AB0", "Were Going to Continue Delivering on the Needs of Our Nation", "2020-12-30", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding NDAA and COVID-19 relief:\r\nToday, the Senate was supposed to finish legislation securing critical tools, training, and support for America's armed forces.\nBut the junior Senator for Vermont had other ideas.\nRemember, Senator Sanders spent this past summer literally trying to defund our military. Not my words, but the title of a piece he published: Defund the Pentagon: The liberal case.\nOur colleague authored an amendment to strip 10% of funding from our servicemembers and decimate our defense budget.\nThe Russians aren't cutting military funding. China isn't cutting funding. But last summer, Senator Sanders and fellow Democrats, including the Democratic Leader, voted to make America unilaterally disarm and cut ours.\nThe left took a break from trying to defund the police to try to defund our Armed Forces.\nTheir amendment went down in a landslide. But now our colleague from Vermont is again putting political stunts before the needs of our men and women in uniform.\nOur colleague says he will slow down this vital bill unless he gets to muscle through another standalone proposal from Speaker Pelosi that would add roughly half a trillion dollars to the national debt.\nWhich does not align with what President Trump has suggested.\r\nAnd which has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.\nWell, as I've said, the Senate will not let our national security be shoved off course. Certainly not by Senators who have spent years trying to gut America's capabilities while our adversaries continue ramping up.\nThe Senate will stay on this important bill until we complete it, one way or another.\n***\r\nNow let's talk about COVID-19 relief.\nFour days ago, President Trump signed the second-largest rescue package in American history.\nThe largest one was the CARES Act in March.\nDue to this pandemic and our massive response, we now have a national debt far larger than our entire economy for the first time since World War II.\nBut we knew our people needed more help. So Congress just passed another nearly $900 billion in emergency relief, targeted to those who need help most.\nA second round of payroll support to save small-business jobs.\r\nMore unemployment aid. Vaccine distribution money.\nFunding for safe schools. And much more.\nIn addition to historic amounts of targeted help, at the request of President Trump and his team, the package also included another round of direct relief checks to households -- whether or not each household needs the help, whether or not their finances have changed dramatically this past year.\nYesterday, Secretary Mnuchin announced households should begin receiving those payments as early as today and this week. That is more good news for a lot of people.\n***\nAfter Congress and the Administration finalized the bipartisan bill, the President expressed interest in further expanding the non-targeted direct payments.\r\nSo, to ensure the President was comfortable signing the bill into law, the Senate committed to beginning one process that would combine three of the President's priorities: Larger direct checks; a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act; and further efforts to review the integrity of our democracy.\nThree of the President's priorities in one Senate process. That was the commitment, and that's what happened yesterday when I introduced text reflecting just what the President had requested.\r\nNow, House and Senate Democrats want something very different.\r\nAs they have tried to do countless times in the past four years, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer are trying to pull a fast one on the President and the American people.\nFirst of all, they are hoping everyone just forgets about election integrity and Big Tech. They are desperate to ignore those two parts of President Trump's request. Draw your own conclusions.\nAnd even on the question of larger checks, the Democrats have tried to warp what President Trump laid out.\r\nLook, it's no secret that Republicans have a diversity of views about the wisdom of borrowing hundreds of billions more to send out more non-targeted money, including to many households that have suffered no loss of income during this crisis.\nCOVID-19 has not affected all households equally. Not even close.\r\nIt is hardly clear that the federal government's top priority should be sending thousands of dollars to, for example, a childless couple making well into six figures who have been comfortably teleworking all year.\nOur duty is to get help to the people who need help. Like we did to an historic degree just four days ago.  ***\nBut above and beyond that discussion, the Democratic leaders have broken from what President Trump proposed. They quietly changed his proposal in an attempt to let wealthy households suck up even more money.\nSpeaker Pelosi structured her bill so that a family of four would have to earn more than $300,000 in order not to qualify for more cash.\nA family of three could pull in $250,000 per year  a quarter of a million dollars  and still qualify for some money.\nAnd Democratic leaders want to call this scheme, quote, survival checks.\nOnly my friends Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic Leader could look at households in New York and California who make $300,000 in households where nobody has been laid off where earnings did not even drop this past year and conclude these rich constituents of theirs need survival checks financed by taxpayer dollars and borrowed money.\nEveryone sees the game here.\nThese are the same Democrats who proudly block the entire aid package for months because they tried to hold out for special tax cuts for rich people in blue states.\nNow they say it's a matter of survival to send another boatload of cash to people making $300,000, regardless of whether they have experienced any disruption at all this past year.  ***\nEven the liberal Washington Post editorial board is laughing at the political left for demanding more huge giveaways with no relationship to need.\nHere's what they wrote: Especially wrongheaded is the progressive left, spearheaded by Sen. Bernie Sanders, who depicts the $2,000 as aid to desperate' Americans despite the huge amounts destined for perfectly comfortable families.'\nThat's from the editors of the Washington Post.\nThe Wall Street Journal, usually their opposite number, agrees. These non-targeted checks are unnecessary,' and struggling households can access targeted support like expanded jobless benefits, food stamps, child-care subsidies and much more.'\nThe liberal economist Larry Summers, President Clinton's Treasury Secretary and President Obama's NEC director, says, quote, there is no good economic argument' for universal $2,000 checks at this moment. He points out the CARES Act and the brand-new law will already have boosted overall household income, relative to the economy, back to its pre-pandemic levels, if not higher. \nIf specific struggling households need still more help after the huge, historic package that was just signed into law four days ago has taken effect, then what they will need is smart, targeted aid.\r\nNot another firehose of borrowed money that encompasses other people who are doing just fine.\nIn my view, colleagues like Senator Cornyn from Texas and Senator Toomey from Pennsylvania have pointed this out persuasively. \n***  But, more broadly, here's the deal:\nThe Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them.\nThe Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of the Democrats' rich friends who don't need the help.\nWe just approved almost a trillion dollars in aid a few days ago. It struck a balance between broad support for all kinds of households and a lot more targeted relief for those who need help most.\nWe are going to stay smart, we're going to stay focused, and we're going to continue delivering on the needs of our nation.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=D8C20728-AB93-4D18-9A39-9A9391888F92", "McConnell on NDAA: I Urge My Colleagues to Support This Legislation", "2020-12-29", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding NDAA and COVID-19 relief:\r\nCongress has returned to work this week to enact the 60th annual National Defense Authorization Act into law.\nYesterday, a bipartisan supermajority in the House voted to reapprove the conference report of this must-pass legislation. Today, the Senate will set up a final vote for tomorrow  Wednesday  for this chamber to follow suit. Soon this important legislation will be passed into law.\nPresident Trump has rightly noted this year's defense bill doesn't contain every provision that we Republicans would have wanted. I'm confident our Democratic colleagues feel the same way.\nBut that is the case every year. \nAnd yet, for 59 consecutive years and counting, Washington has put our differences aside, found common ground, and passed the annual defense bill. \nNot once in six decades has a Congress let its differences prevent it from completing this work for our national security and our men and women who wear the uniform.\nThis year's NDAA will continue our momentum in rebuilding and modernizing our armed forces.\nIt will authorize the personnel, equipment, tools, and training we need to reinforce the National Defense Strategy and deter great-power rivals like China and Russia.\nIt will cement our advantage on the seas, on land, in the air, in cyberspace, and in space.\nAnd the bill will help us continue to recruit, retain, and support the men and women who keep us safe. It provides a pay raise for the troops, improvements for military housing, childcare, and more.\nFor the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces, failure is not an option. \nSo when it is our turn in Congress to have their backs, failure is not an option here either.\nI urge my colleagues to support this legislation one more time when we vote tomorrow.\n***  On Sunday, President Trump signed into law another historic, bipartisan rescue package. It will provide major support to American families through what we hope will be the home stretch of our fight with the coronavirus.\nCongressional Republicans, congressional Democrats, and President Trump's senior team had all worked together to push hundreds of billions more dollars in urgent assistance to the people who need help most.\nThis new law will set up a targeted second round of the Paycheck Protection Program to save jobs. It will renew and continue federal programs that have helped laid-off workers endure this crisis. It will send more cash to households. It will invest billions in vaccine distribution so the success of Operation Warp Speed kills this pandemic as fast as possible. And much more.\nThis bipartisan compromise was our shot at getting help to working families on the urgent timeline that they need. Once again, I want to applaud President Trump for signing the bill and getting this much-needed assistance into the pipeline.\n***\nDuring this process, the President highlighted three additional issues of national significance he would like to see Congress tackle together. First, as he's explained, the President would like further direct financial support for American households.\nSecond is the growing willingness on both sides of the aisle to at least reexamine the special legal protections afforded to technology companies under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, including the ways it benefits some of the most prosperous, most powerful Big Tech firms.\nAnd the third subject  since every American, regardless of their politics, should feel the integrity of our democracy is beyond reproach  is exploring further ways to protect the sanctity of Americans' ballots, while continuing to respect the federal government's limited role in standing behind the state and local elections authorities who run elections.\nThose are the three important subjects the President has linked together.\nThis week, the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=262CBFC7-9779-498F-B9FB-0A9CA56D9657", "Congressman Barr Secures Major Investments for Rural Broadband Expansion", "2020-12-29", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Lexington, KY \u2013 U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) secured major federal investments for the expansion of rural broadband connectivity. Over $7 billion for rural broadband initiatives were included as part of the COVID-19 relief bill signed by President Donald Trump on Sunday evening. This includes $300 million for the construction of rural broadband connectivity and $250 million for expanding telehealth services.\n\n\u201cI have worked diligently to enhance internet connectivity for rural communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when many Kentuckians are working or learning remotely,\u201d said Congressman Barr. \u201cAdditionally, by expanding telehealth services we embrace technology as a powerful weapon in limiting the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Together, these investments will provide a huge boost to Central and Eastern Kentucky as we fight to defeat the COVID-19 virus and deliver widespread and reliable broadband access for all.\u201d\n\nIn April, Congressman Barr led the effort to persuade the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services to expand coverage of telehealth services to include same-location services. This helped conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) and cut down on exposure for frontline doctors, nurses and healthcare workers to possible COVID-19 positive patients.\n\nFurthermore, Congressman Barr introduced H.R. 8368, the Rural Broadband Expansion Act of 2020. The proposal provides local governments the flexibility to use funding from the Coronavirus, Aid, Recovery and Economic Security (CARES) Act to develop rural broadband infrastructure in their communities.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=36F48083-1BD7-48E0-A3CD-B2E22AC69D4E", "McConnell Statement on Billy Goodman", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "LOUISVILLE, KY  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement today regarding the passing of Billy Goodman of Hart County: \r\nBilly Goodman was a trusted and loyal friend anyone would be lucky to know. Our shared values brought us together more than three decades ago. I have cherished our friendship every day since.\r\nBilly was an invaluable presence in Horse Cave. He comforted families during their most trying moments and was often the force behind the community's many successes. At every step, he brought a kindness and good humor that may be missed most of all.\r\nAlthough he was passionate about his business and his hometown, Debra and Nick were always at the center of his life. Elaine and I send our sincere condolences to them and everyone who loved Billy.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=28D7AC03-DD9B-4EA2-96B0-163FF42AABE7", "Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Championed by Congressman Barr, Senator McConnell Signed into Law", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) championed by U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) in Congress for over a half decade, was signed into law by President Donald Trump. Congressman Barr partnered with U.S. Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) to gather over 200 cosponsors and lead HISA through the U.S. House of Representatives. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) led the bill to passage in the U.S. Senate.\n\n\u201cAfter six long years of engaging with industry stakeholders, equine advocates and lawmakers, historic reform to strengthen the thoroughbred horseracing industry is finally here,\u201d said Congressman Barr. \u201cThis legislation is the most significant reform to Kentucky\u2019s signature industry in over four decades, providing a uniform standard of competition as well as protection for equine athletes to ensure the industry thrives for generations to come. I want to thank Leader McConnell and Congressman Tonko for their partnership on this bill.\u201d\n\n\u201cKentucky\u2019s cherished horseracing traditions deserve to be protected. I\u2019m proud our legislation to preserve our signature racing industry and the 24,000 workers who support it is now law,\u201d said Senator McConnell. \u201cWith the leadership of Congressman Andy Barr and the partnership of sport leaders, horse advocates, and fans, we\u2019re one step closer to promoting fairness and safety across Thoroughbred racing. As Majority Leader, I made this Kentucky-focused legislation a top priority in the Senate.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a long journey, but Thoroughbred racing will finally have national uniformity in its rules and regulations, and the sport will be safer for its athletes, both equine and human, thanks to the efforts of Congressmen Andy Barr (R-KY) and Paul Tonko (D-NY),\u201d said Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of The Jockey Club. \u201cI\u2019d also like to thank Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martha McSally (R-AZ), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for their support of this bipartisan legislation.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is the law of the land, the Coalition for Horse Racing Integrity (CHRI) wants to once again sincerely congratulate Congressman Andy Barr for his leadership on this critical issue for horse racing,\u201d said Shawn Smealie, Executive Director of CHRI. \u201cCongressman Barr showed great courage in sponsoring this legislation at a time when the industry was divided on its medication policy. Poll after poll of racing fans and non-fans alike showed that medication policy and track safety were their biggest concerns, and HISA addresses both issues head on. Congressman Barr never wavered in his support for uniform medication reform and independent handling of the sports anti-doping program. For this, CHRI, which includes most of the industry\u2019s top organizations and the leading animal welfare groups, will be forever grateful.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a great day for the future of Kentucky\u2019s signature industry. Congressman Andy Barr\u2019s constituents should be proud of his leadership and hard work over the last six years promoting the reforms so desperately needed in our great sport of horse racing,\u201d said Staci Hancock, Managing Member of the Water Hay Oats Alliance. \u201cSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell\u2019s support was essential in getting the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act across the finish line. The members of the Water Hay Oats Alliance are honored to have worked alongside Congressman Barr, Congressman Paul Tonko and Senator McConnell to reach this wonderful milestone. These three leaders were the champions for our cause.\u201d\n\nCongressman Barr has advocated for the development of uniform standards of competition in horseracing since entering Congress in 2013. On August 31, Congressman Barr and Leader McConnell announced a consensus among prominent equine industry stakeholders that builds on the prior version of the Horseracing Integrity Act and was essential in progressing this legislation.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=B6B38401-176E-4AFC-803F-12A98D0B8FE1", "Statement from Congressman Andy Barr on National Defense Authorization Act Vote", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) submitted the following statement for the record following the U.S. House of Representatives vote to override President Donald Trump\u2019s veto of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act:\n\n\u201cOn December 8, I voted in support of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to bolster funding, equipment and resources to our military to ensure the military continues to be a lethal and effective fighting force defending our freedoms. The NDAA also provides military servicemembers a much deserved 3% raise as well as continued hazardous pay for servicemembers serving in combat zones.\n\n\u201cThe NDAA also includes significant COVID-19 relief for National Guard units, including the Kentucky National Guard\u2014who answered the call of duty during the COVID-19 pandemic to serve their fellow Kentuckians and their country.\n\n\u201cAdditionally, Congress phases out the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s (CCP) ability to finance through the World Bank and launches a historic $2.2 billion Pacific Deterrence Initiative designed to facilitate investments in the Indo-Pacific region and directly combat the rise of the CCP. This policy prescription strengthens America\u2019s position against the threat posed by the CCP, which represents America\u2019s greatest foreign policy challenge since the Cold War.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlthough I was unable to vote tonight on the NDAA, for these reasons and many more, I would have voted again in support of the NDAA passing the U.S. House of Representatives.\u201d\n\nThe COVID-19 relief included in the NDAA package for the National Guard includes more diagnostic equipment, testing capabilities and personal protective equipment needed to combat the pandemic within military ranks. Furthermore, the NDAA provides that servicemembers in the National Guard who were activated to fight the COVID-19 pandemic will also receive federal health insurance benefits if they got sick during their service.\n\nFor the Sixth District, the bill allows the United States to fulfill international treaty obligations by destroying chemical weapons and authorizes continued chemical agent and munitions destruction activity that occurs at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County. This NDAA continues to support the partnership between the National Guard and local authorities, authorizing funding for drug interdiction and counter-drug activities in Eastern Kentucky.\n\nEarlier this month, Congressman Barr successfully led the effort for the Kentucky National Guard to be selected to receive eight C-130J aircraft. The new of aircraft are scheduled to replace the fleet of C-130H aircraft sometime next year.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases?ID=CCAB3A64-E964-47BF-AA1F-9DED90B6D266", "Congressman Rogers Stands with President Trump on COVID Relief Bill", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Harold Rogers", "R000395", "halrogers.house.gov", "halrogers", "https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. Harold \"Hal\" Rogers applauds President Trump for signing the bipartisan COVID relief and federal funding bill to avoid a government shutdown, ensuring Americans receive critical resources as we enter a new year.\n\nPresident Trump signed the COVID relief package into law on Sunday evening, while also requesting an amendment to increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 per person. Congressman Rogers voted in support of President Trump's amendment and released the following statement:\n\n\"Americans will be provided with much more than a second stimulus check as a result of this comprehensive bipartisan legislation. It is the first step to reopening our schools and businesses, reuniting families and protecting the health of our nation. It provides $900 billion in COVID relief funding for Americans, including $20 billion dedicated to vaccine distribution, an extension of the Payroll Protection Program, additional support for our veterans, and much more to protect the American people and bring an end to this pandemic,\" said Congressman Rogers. \"We need to get America back on her feet and I applaud President Trump for signing this legislation into law to ensure we begin 2021 with great strides for our families and businesses. This massive legislation is far from perfect, but it protects vital programs at home in outhern and eastern Kentucky and paves the way for a better year ahead.\"\n\nThe U.S. House of Representatives passed President Trump's amendment to the COVID relief package, increasing economic impact checks from $600 to $2,000. The measure now moves on to the Senate for consideration.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=C0B7C968-ACF1-4F69-A3F5-B3143A859A29", "McConnell Applauds President Trump for Signing Crucial Relief Legislation into Law", "2020-12-27", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "LOUISVILLE, KY  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement regarding the COVID-19 relief and government funding legislation being signed into law this evening:\r\nI applaud President Trump's decision to get hundreds of billions of dollars of crucial COVID-19 relief out the door and into the hands of American families as quickly as possible.\r\nThe bipartisan rescue package that Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration negotiated with the Democrats will extend another major lifeline to workers at struggling small businesses, renew major relief for laid-off Americans, invest billions more in vaccine distribution, send cash directly to households, and more. The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the country who need help now.\r\nI thank the President for signing this relief into law, along with full-year government funding legislation that will continue the rebuilding and modernization of our Armed Forces that his Administration has championed. His leadership has prevented a government shutdown at a time when our nation could not have afforded one.\r\nI am glad the American people will receive this much-needed assistance as our nation continues battling this pandemic.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/mcconnell-applauds-president-trump-for-signing-crucial-relief-legislation-into-law", "McConnell Applauds President Trump for Signing Crucial Relief Legislation into Law", "2020-12-27", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.republicanleader.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.27.20\n\t\t\t McConnell Applauds President Trump for Signing Crucial Relief Legislation into Law \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tLOUISVILLE, KY  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement regarding the COVID-19 relief and government funding legislation being signed into law this evening: \r\nI applaud President Trump's decision to get hundreds of billions of dollars of crucial COVID-19 relief out the door and into the hands of American families as quickly as possible.\r\nThe bipartisan rescue package that Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration negotiated with the Democrats will extend another major lifeline to workers at struggling small businesses, renew major relief for laid-off Americans, invest billions more in vaccine distribution, send cash directly to households, and more. The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the country who need help now.\r\nI thank the President for signing this relief into law, along with full-year government funding legislation that will continue the rebuilding and modernization of our Armed Forces that his Administration has championed. His leadership has prevented a government shutdown at a time when our nation could not have afforded one.\r\nI am glad the American people will receive this much-needed assistance as our nation continues battling this pandemic.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n     \n\t\n \n\t\n    \n    \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t Related Issues:\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tAmerica's Military,\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tAppropriations,\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tHealth Care,\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSmall Business,\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tEconomy,\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tCOVID-19\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\n\t\t  \n\t\t\n\t\n\t   \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-congratulates-christopher-ii-x-pardon-president-trump/", "Dr. Rand Paul Congratulates Christopher II X on Pardon from President Trump", "2020-12-23", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nDecember 23, 2020\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Tonight, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) released the below statement following the announcement of Christopher II X\u2019s pardon by President Trump:\n\n\u201cI just finished speaking with Christopher II X to congratulate him on receiving a full pardon from President Trump. This pardon is the culmination of hard work and perseverance on the part of many, including the diligent work of my staff and me for the last several years. As someone who made a choice to change his life for the better and then dedicated that life to lifting up his community, there is truly no one more deserving of this honor. We are so appreciative of all he has done for Louisville, and I\u2019m honored to call him a friend,\u201d said Dr. Paul.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m extremely grateful to be pardoned by President Trump. I\u2019ve worked hard for the past 20 years for peace and justice and to help those impacted by gun violence, especially children. I\u2019m proud to continue this work which is needed more than ever. I thank U.S. Senator Rand Paul, former U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Rob Givens, and special thanks to Spalding University President Tori Murden McClure, and University of Louisville Hospital\u2019s Chief of Surgery Dr. J. David Richardson for their support,\u201d said Christopher II X, Executive Director of Christopher 2X Game Changers.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-congratulates-christopher-ii-x-pardon-president-trump", "Dr. Rand Paul Congratulates Christopher II X on Pardon from President Trump", "2020-12-23", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE:  December 23, 2020  Contact:Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343 WASHINGTON, D.C. Tonight, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) releasedthe below statement followingthe announcement of Christopher II X's pardon by President Trump:   \"I just finished speaking with Christopher II X to congratulate him on receiving a full pardon from President Trump. This pardon is the culmination of hard work and perseverance on the part of many, including the diligent work of my staff and me for the last several years. As someone who made a choice to change his life for the better and then dedicated that life to lifting up his community, there is truly no one more deserving of this honor. We are so appreciative of all he has done for Louisville, and I'm honored to call him a friend,\"said Dr. Paul.    I'm extremely grateful to be pardoned by President Trump. I've worked hard for the past 20 years for peace and justice and to help those impacted by gun violence, especially children. I'm proud to continue this work which is needed more than ever. I thank U.S. Senator Rand Paul, former U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Rob Givens, and special thanks to Spalding University President Tori Murden McClure, and University of Louisville Hospital's Chief of Surgery Dr. J. David Richardson for their support, said Christopher II X, Executive Director of Christopher 2X Game Changers. ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=96200116-3AFE-4640-85B3-A71CEB185B2B", "McConnell Statement on Pastor Don Stayton", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement today regarding the passing of Pastor Don Stayton of Rockcastle County:\r\nDon Stayton was a beloved shepherd who preached with humble sincerity. He welcomed me into his Mount Vernon church with the same kindness and compassion he showed every person who walked through his door.\r\nWith his entire congregation, we grieve his loss. But we also take comfort in the promises of our faith. Elaine and I will keep Donna and the entire church family in our prayers.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=E4A30BB8-EA04-478A-8FF3-5706EF6B2332", "Congress Passes Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act led by Congressman Andy Barr and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), legislation U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) has authored, introduced and advocated for, in one form or another, for the last six years. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) led the Senate today in passing HISA, which also passed in the House as part of the year-end government funding bill. The legislation now goes to President Trump\u2019s desk to become law. Congressman Barr and U.S. Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20) shepherded this final version of the bill through the U.S. House of Representatives.\n\n\u201cWith today\u2019s passage of HISA in Congress we are in the final stretch of achieving the most transformational and consequential reform of the thoroughbred horseracing industry since enactment of the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978,\u201d said Congressman Barr. \u201cFor almost a decade, I have worked with industry stakeholders and my Congressional colleagues to build consensus around reforms that will protect equine athletes and strengthen confidence and international competitiveness in the sport. I am proud to champion this historic, bipartisan legislation with Congressman Paul Tonko and Leader McConnell and I look forward to President Trump signing it into law.\u201d\n\n\u201cKentucky\u2019s cherished horseracing traditions deserve to be protected. I\u2019m proud the Senate agreed to my legislation to preserve our signature racing industry and the 24,000 workers who support it,\u201d said Senator McConnell. \u201cWith the leadership of Congressman Andy Barr and the partnership of sport leaders, horse advocates, and fans, we\u2019re one step closer to promoting fairness and safety across Thoroughbred racing. As Majority Leader, I made this Kentucky-focused legislation a top priority in the Senate. I look forward to this major advancement for our beloved sport becoming law.\u201d\n\nU.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)\u2014Senators representing states with prominent racetracks\u2014were original cosponsors in the Senate.\n\nIn August, Senator McConnell and Congressman Barr joined horseracing leaders in Lexington, the Horse Capital of the World, to announce an agreement years in the making to create national standards for the sport. HISA will be an independent regulatory authority, similar to other professional sports, to enforce medication use and safety protocols.\n\nThe bipartisan legislation has earned broad support from trainers, breeders, jockeys, and other leaders of the Thoroughbred racing industry:\n\n\u201cThe passage of HISA is a landmark moment for the Thoroughbred racing community\u2019s ongoing efforts to ensure our horses are running under the safest and most transparent conditions possible and to protect the integrity of the sport for our athletes, horsemen and fans. The independent Authority established by HISA will bring a level of consistency and accountability that will improve our sport for years to come as they work to develop and implement uniform anti-doping, medication control and operational measures. Keeneland is honored to have been involved in this ground-breaking legislation,\u201d said Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason jointly with President-elect Shannon Arvin.\n\n\u201cThis marks the single most significant safety and integrity development in the history of Thoroughbred racing. This moment also demonstrates that great progress can be accomplished when the industry works together,\u201d said Drew Fleming, President and CEO of Breeders\u2019 Cup. \u201cWe recognize that there is more to be done and we look forward to working with our counterparts to build on this momentum and further improve the sport for generations to come.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is the day that the members of the Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA) have long been waiting for,\u201d said Staci Hancock, Managing Member of the Water Hay Oats Alliance. \u201cSince 2012 our grassroots movement has supported the passage of federal legislation to prohibit the use of performance-enhancing drugs in horseracing. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) brings much needed drug and medication reform, as well as national track safety standards, to our sport. It is with great pride and complete satisfaction that WHOA celebrates the bill's passage. We thank Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Sponsors, Congressmen Andy Barr and Paul Tonko, for getting it across the finish line.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://guthrie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=387312", "Guthrie Announces 2020 Congressional App Challenge Winners", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Brett Guthrie", "G000558", "guthrie.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) today announced the 2020 winners of the Congressional App Challenge from Kentucky's Second District.\r\nStudents in congressional districts across the country compete in the annual Congressional App Challenge. Congressman Guthrie encourages middle school and high school students in the Second District to participate in the app challenge to provide new coding and computer science experience. \r\nGracelyn Deweese, Cathern Goodman, Collin Graves, and Melena Hughes from Barren County High School won the 2020 Congressional App Challenge with their app, ShowLocal.\r\nCongratulations to Barren County High School students Gracelyn, Cathern, Collin, and Melena for being this year's Second District Congressional App Challenge winners, said Guthrie. Recognizing the challenges small businesses face, the students teamed up to create an app called ShowLocal to help showcase local businesses in rural communities. I applaud them for working on solutions to boost local economies dealing with hardships during these difficult times. I'm excited to see ShowLocal displayed in the U.S. Capitol. Each year I'm impressed with the STEM skills and creativity of the students from the Second District, and this year's competition submissions were no exception, even with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the dedication of teachers and our volunteer judges, this competition would not be possible. To all of the students from this year's challenge, thank you for participating and keep up the good work harnessing your coding skills.\r\nThe winners of the Congressional App Challenge are determined by a panel of computer science experts in the Second District. Winning teams from across the country will have their app showcased in the U.S. Capitol and also have the opportunity to participate in a virtual #HouseOfCode event next spring. A team of students from Barren County High School also won the 2019 Congressional App Challenge with their app, ThriveAB, to help mothers with postpartum depression. \r\nA full list of 2020 winners can be found below:\r\nOverall First Place:\r\nGracelyn Deweese, Cathern Goodman, Collin Graves, and Melena Hughes\r\nBarren County High School \r\nShowLocal\r\nOverall Second Place:\r\nNick Kang, Tucker Strow\r\nBowling Green High School\r\nMobile Phone Assistance\r\nOverall Third Place:\r\nCraig Bertke, Kash Leslie, and Ada Parris\r\nApollo High School\r\nGo To Technician \r\nMiddle School First Place:\r\nAiden Huber\r\nHebron Middle School\r\nDogs, Cats & Rats Adventure\r\nMiddle School Second Place: \r\nCrystal Zheng\r\nHebron Middle School\r\nProtector Maskey\r\nMiddle School Third Place:\r\nNoah Coomes, Luke Smith\r\nHebron Middle School\r\nJunk Food Platform\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-releases-2020-festivus-report-government-waste/", "Dr. Rand Paul Releases 2020 \u2018Festivus\u2019 Report on Government Waste", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nDecember 22, 2020\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), chairman of the Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management (FSO) Subcommittee for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), released his 2020 \u201cFestivus\u201d Report, totaling over $54 billion in government waste.\n\nThis marks Dr. Paul\u2019s sixth edition of the Festivus Report as he continues working to alert the American people to how their federal government uses their hard-earned money.\n\nThis year, each story received a \u201cPlatinum Pig Award\u201d that ranked the waste on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the most wasteful).\n\nSections are broken down into Health Care; Foreign Aid; Environment, Energy, Science; Military; and Miscellaneous, and highlights include lizards on treadmills, losing over 100 drones in Afghanistan, and combating binge-watching.\n\nYou can find Dr. Paul\u2019s 2020 Festivus Report HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-releases-2020-festivus-report-government-waste", "Dr. Rand Paul Releases 2020 \u2018Festivus\u2019 Report on Government Waste", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE:  \r\n\t\t\t\tDecember 22, 2020  Contact:Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\r\n\r\n\t\t\t  WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY),chairman of the Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management (FSO)Subcommitteefor the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), released his 2020 Festivus Report, totaling over $54 billion in government waste.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tThis marks Dr. Paul's sixth edition of the Festivus Report as he continues working to alert the American people to how their federal government uses their hard-earned money.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tThis year, each story received a Platinum Pig Award that ranked the waste on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the most wasteful).  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tSections are broken down into Health Care; Foreign Aid; Environment, Energy, Science; Military; and Miscellaneous, and highlights include lizards on treadmills, losing over 100 drones in Afghanistan, and combating binge-watching.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tYou can find Dr. Paul's 2020 Festivus Report HERE.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\t###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/newsletters?ContentRecord_id=109AE2C6-93A1-41AA-A48E-BA6F2E96E45F", "WHAT KENTUCKIANS ARE SAYING", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Another targeted COVID-19 relief package to provide more assistance to Kentuckians:\r\nSenator McConnell heard our calls for help during this crisis, and he delivered. We are so grateful for his leadership in allowing Louisville Tourism to access the PPP. This will ensure that I can keep my team employed now and in the future, said Karen Williams, President of Louisville Tourism. Our city and our Commonwealth have a powerful friend leading the Senate and looking out for us. Along with other tourism organizations across Kentucky, we look forward to a safe reopening when we can begin showing travelers all our community has to offer.\r\n\r\nSupporting those in recovery and stopping the flow of illegal drugs in Kentucky communities\r\nI appreciate Leader McConnell's continued commitment to Kentucky's law enforcement community, said Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Time and again he's stood up for the men and women in uniform, and he unequivocally supports their important work to keep communities across the Commonwealth safe. This funding will meet a critical need for law enforcement, and I'm grateful that Leader McConnell looks out for the interests of Kentuckians in Washington.\r\nSenator McConnell is an unmatched partner to Kentucky law enforcement in our mission to keep the Bluegrass safe,\"said Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue, President of the Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police.\"His leadership in the Senate has brought millions of dollars to Kentucky to protect officers in the line of duty and to promote professionalism in their service. We are grateful one of the most powerfulpeoplein Washington is looking out for Kentucky and its law enforcement.\r\nEven as Senator McConnell was delivering the critical support to help St. Elizabeth's professionals combat the coronavirus pandemic, he also kept focus on the persistent substance use disorder crisis. We are grateful for his continued leadership on behalf of those working toward long-term recovery in Kentucky,said Garren Colvin, St. Elizabeth Healthcare CEO. Since he introduced the CAREER Act, Senator McConnell has secured critical federal funding to support our efforts to save lives from addiction. St. Elizabeth's no wrong door' process is tapping into this federal program to help Kentuckians battling addiction regain their independence and productivity. The federal funding will assist over 350 individuals in recovery in Northern Kentucky each year by working with area community partners to strengthen employment opportunities.\r\n\r\nSupporting Kentucky's Critical Role in our National Defense\r\nThe $69.3 million dollars for a new Van Voorhis Elementary School on Fort Knox is just another strong indication of the nation's investment in Fort Knox and the Families of our service members, BG Jim Iacocca, USA, Retired, President and CEO, Knox Regional Development Alliance (KRDA), said. Thanks to Senator McConnell and the rest of our Kentucky Congressional delegation for their tremendous support to our Soldiers, their families and our military installations infrastructure.\r\n\r\nFulfilling Obligation to Paducah Nuclear Workers\r\nOur community is appreciative of the additional funding that Leader McConnell secured for the Paducah Department of Energy (DOE) site, said Sandra Wilson, President of the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce.The DOE site is a critical economic driver for our local area.Last year, Senator McConnell secured a necessary funding increase to advance infrastructure improvements and reduce hazards on the site. With the Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization (PACRO), we're also increasing recycling efforts. Because of Senator McConnell's consistent commitment to Paducah, we are thrilled we will be able to once again have the much needed plus up funding to continue the important cleanup work.\r\nPassing the Fiscal Year 2021 Energy and Water Appropriations bill is critical for major inland waterways construction projects. This bill ensures that Kentucky Lock will not have to shut down construction and will receive efficient funding to continue reducing the overall cost and accelerating the completion of the project. Leader McConnell continues to be a strong advocate for the inland waterways, and all that use and benefit from this critical transportation system, said Matt Ricketts, Chairman of Waterways Council Inc. and President and CEO of Crounse Corporation in Paducah, Kentucky.\r\n\r\nCombatting invasive Asian Carp in West Kentucky\r\nSenator McConnell remains committed to Western Kentucky. He understands the impact Asian Carp are having on our waterways and with his experience and effectiveness, secured critical funding to finish what he started, said Lyon County Judge-Executive Wade White. By returning this money to Western Kentucky, Senator McConnell is guaranteeing that our ability to enjoy and earn a living on our waterways will be protected for years to come. Senator McConnell refused to accept the devastating effect these fish were having and continues to champion efforts against them that will benefit us all. He's more than my friend, he's the strong leader we need who's getting the job done for Kentucky.\r\n\r\nProviding Permanent Tax Relief for Kentucky's Signature Spirit\r\nOver the past several months, Leader McConnell visited Kentucky distilleries struggling through the pandemic and learned first-hand how a permanent reduction in the federal excise tax would offer them certainty in long-range planning and a financial lifeline in these trying times. Thanks to his dedicated leadership, the historic passage of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act will create good-paying jobs, ensure capital investment for years to come and strengthen Kentucky's place as the one, true and authentic home for Bourbon, said Kentucky Distillers' Association (KDA) President Eric Gregory. The Kentucky Distillers' Association and our members are deeply grateful for Leader McConnell's tireless support and guidance in these bold reforms that will benefit all Kentuckians, especially our craft distillers, farm families and tourism partners, as our signature industry continues its global revival.\r\nSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has long been a steadfast advocate for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, and we are thrilled the bill has been made permanent in the year-end legislative package as a result of the Leader's efforts, said Chris Swonger, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States President and CEO.The Senator knows firsthand the devastating impacts the COVID-19 crisis has had on Kentucky distillers and that certainty over Federal Excise Tax (FET) rates will help distillers recover and grow well into the future.We appreciate Leader McConnell's leadership and commitment to Kentucky's economic vitality and look forward to continuing to work with him on issues of critical importance to Kentucky distillers and their communities.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=1002D267-F35B-4C88-9C8C-2160983EBC2D", "McConnell Celebrates Historic Bipartisan Agreement on Pandemic Relief and Government Funding", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding appropriations and COVID-19 relief:\r\nYesterday, leaders in the Senate, in the House, and the Secretary of the Treasury reached the major agreement that struggling Americans have needed for months.\r\nWe are going to pass another historic rescue package to help American families through this pandemic. We are going to pass full-year government funding so the Armed Forces and all federal departments have the resources and the certainty they need. And we are going to do both these things as soon as possible.\r\n***\r\nSenate Republicans have been trying since July to get more targeted, bipartisan relief into the hands of the American people.\r\nIn July, we proposed to send about $1 trillion to priorities including a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program, direct checks for households, and funding for healthcare providers, testing, and K-12 schools.\r\nDemocrats said no. They said they'd block anything short of their multi-trillion-dollar left-wing wish list.\r\nHere was one headline: $2 trillion or bust: Democrats draw red line in coronavirus spending battle.'\r\nSo in July and August, when Republican Senators tried to extend expiring federal unemployment benefits, Democrats blocked us. Laid-off workers lost their benefits.\r\nIn September and again in October, as people kept hurting, the virus kept spreading, and schools tried to find footing, every Republican voted for a multi-hundred-billion-dollar package.\r\nBoth times, Democrats blocked the relief. All-or-nothing.\r\nBut a few days ago, with a new President-elect of their own party, everything changed. Democrats suddenly came around to our position that we should find consensus, make law where we agree, and get urgent help out the door.\r\nIn a few days of hard work, we've assembled another historic, bipartisan, rescue package. Just under $900 billion of relief targeted toward our fellow Americans who need help the most.\r\n***\r\nI'll begin where this pandemic will end: vaccinations. Thanks to the genius of science and the leadership of President Trump, Operation Warp Speed has produced safe and effective vaccines. Now we need to distribute them nationwide. This rescue package provides many billions more dollars to expand vaccine purchasing and distribution.\r\nUntil we have won, we need to keep wearing masks and taking precautions. Even so, more Americans will fall ill. So this legislation continues to fund health providers and COVID testing.\r\nThe pandemic has fallen especially hard on children and parents. Our legislation includes major funding, more than $80 billion, for K-12 schools to reopen safely and get kids' educations back on track. There are billions more for childcare providers to reopen safely as well. And new investments in rural broadband will improve both education and telehealth down the road.\r\nAnd then, there are Americans' personal finances. The impossible kitchen-table questions that millions of working families have faced this year, through no fault of their own.\r\nBack in March, thanks to Chairman Rubio, Senator Collins, and Senator Cardin, we created the Paycheck Protection Program. It's saved small businesses and helped millions of American workers keep receiving paychecks rather than pink slips.\r\nIt would be insanity for us to have saved these jobs all this time only to drop the ball with the end in sight. So this bill will send more than $280 billion to re-open the PPP for a targeted second round. And we made sure churches and faith-based organizations will stay eligible.\r\nOf course, millions have already been laid off. So, months after Republicans tried to stop benefits from expiring in the first place, this package will resume a temporary federal supplement to unemployment insurance. And it extends other programs for self-employed and gig workers that would have expired.\r\nThanks to the particular leadership and direction of President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin, households will receive a second round of direct relief checks  $600 per adult and per child.\r\nThis is just some of the aid that will be heading Americans' way in a matter of hours.\r\nNo sprawling left-wing wish list. No unconstrained bailouts for state and local governments, with no connection to COVID needs. Just smart, targeted, bipartisan policies.\r\nI cited a figure of $900 billion. But listen to this: The net new cost is less than roughly $350 billion. We are recovering more than half a trillion dollars in unspent money that Congress had already set aside and channeling it to these urgent needs.\r\nAnd thanks to our colleagueSenator Toomey this legislation winds down some of the temporary emergency powers we lent the Federal Reserve to make sure our financial system survived last spring.\r\n***\r\nA lot of talented leaders helped make this happen. Leader McCarthy has been an invaluable partner. White House Chief of Staff Meadows has been central.\r\nColleagues such as Senators Collins, Murkowski, Romney, Cassidy, and Portman helped prod the Senate toward consensus with their bipartisan work. And I just mentioned Senator Toomey.\r\nI want to give particular thanks to the Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin.\r\nBefore the pandemic, Steven was already a crucial partner for the Republican majorities in Congress. We enacted the most consequential tax reform in a generation.\r\nWe helped create the conditions for explosive job growth, wage growth, and record-low unemployment. Our country had the strongest-possible starting point to weather this storm.\r\nThis year, the Secretary has been even more essential. He helped Congress develop and pass the historic CARES Act in record time. It prevented a complete economic collapse at the hands of this virus.\r\nFrom drafting CARES, to implementing it, to the intervening months, to this latest package, Secretary Mnuchin has been an extremely capable and patient partner.\r\nHe's helped guide our nation through this dark period toward the daybreak that lies ahead. On behalf of the Senate and the country, I thank the Secretary for his countless hours of work and his incredible effectiveness in extraordinary times.\r\n***\r\nWhile this rescue package will dominate headlines, we're also set to fund the entire federal government on a bipartisan basis.\r\nWe must not overlook the tireless work from Chairman Shelby, Senator Leahy, and our Appropriations Committees in both chambers.\r\nTheir hard work goes beyond just avoiding shutdowns.\r\nFull-year funding bills give our Armed Forces the certainty to make plans and budgets, so we can continue to modernize our capabilities and keep pace with competitors like Russia and China.\r\nThis year's bills also tackle important domestic priorities.\r\nEverything from agriculture research to the fight against opioid abuse to border security and law enforcement are provided for.\r\nWe aren't defunding the police or abolishing ICE around here. Not on our watch.\r\nFederal law enforcement from the U.S. Marshals to the Border Patrol will get the resources they need to protect innocent Americans and uphold the rule of law.\r\nAnd I want to especially thank Chairman Shelby and Congresswoman Granger for beating back a number of far-left poison pills.\r\nThese bills maintain pro-life guardrails on funding, secure President Trump's approach to Title X, and respect our citizens' Second Amendment rights.\r\nThe Senate is about to cast some incredibly impactful votes. None of us think any of this legislation is perfect.\r\nBut a big, bipartisan majority of us recognize the incredible amount of good it will do when we send it on to the President's desk.\r\nThe American people have waited long enough.\r\nI am glad for our country that we are now moving ahead together.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=422F5C97-3C40-4A8B-AC21-1D79DB8AF0DF", "Kentucky Benefits from Legislation Senator McConnell Led to Passage", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) led the Senate to pass the Fiscal Year 2021 government-funding bills that deliver necessary resources to provide for our national defense, continue important federal programs, and benefit Kentucky families and communities. As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator McConnell secured the Kentucky priorities in the legislation, which now goes to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.\r\nKentucky's priorities are once again at the center of the federal government funding bill. I was proud to lead the Senate to pass bipartisan legislation with vital coronavirus assistance as well as critical resources to support our farmers, address substance abuse, promote Kentucky's role in our national defense, facilitate broadband deployment, and combat invasive Asian Carp, said Senator McConnell. My roles as Majority Leader and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee mean Kentucky has a front-row seat when major decisions are made. As a result, worthy causes across the Bluegrass State will receive the investments necessary to encourage growth and lift up families.\r\nTo help get more assistance to Kentuckians, Senator McConnell negotiated another targeted COVID-19 relief package that includes:\r\n\r\nFunding for vaccine distribution, so the success of Operation Warp Speed can save as many American lives as possible as fast as possible;\r\nA second round of job-saving Paycheck Protection loans to prevent layoffs at the hardest-hit small businesses;\r\nAdditional federal unemployment benefits for laid-off Kentuckians, and extensions for several jobless programs that would otherwise have expired;\r\nMore direct impact payments for Kentucky households, at the particular emphasis and leadership of President Trump;\r\nMore resources for K-12 schools to reopen safely and get our kids' educations back on track; and\r\nIncreased funding for broadband and rural broadband to help students learn during the pandemic.\r\n\r\nTo date, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has had a more than $13 billion impact in Kentucky. Earlier this year, Senator McConnell introduced and led to passage the CARES Act, the biggest rescue package in history. This federal assistance includes more than $1.7 billion for Kentucky's state and local government response to COVID-19, more than $1.4 billion for Kentucky healthcare providers, and over $2 million to expand telehealth programs. Kentucky small businesses, farmers, and nonprofits accessed more than $5.2 billion in assistance through 50,000 PPP loans. Kentucky families have also received $4 billion in Economic Impact Payments from the U.S. Treasury.\r\nClick HERE to read what Kentuckians are saying about Senator McConnell's leadership\r\nThe FY 2021 Government Funding Agreement contains the following important Kentucky priorities secured by Senator McConnell:\r\nSupporting those in recovery and stopping the flow of illegal drugs in Kentucky communities\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$25 million for the transitional housing pilot program established under Senator McConnell's Comprehensive Addiction Recovery through Effective Employment and Reentry (CAREER) Act, which will direct approximately $1 million to Kentucky. The CAREER Act, which is a measure Senator McConnell and Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) established in the landmark opioid package signed into law in 2018, helps address the devastating impact of substance abuse on America's workforce by connecting recovering individuals with career services and stable housing opportunities. CAREER's transitional housing pilot program will support long-term recovery by providing funding for temporary housing opportunities for individuals until they can arrange a more permanent living situation.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$6 million for the competitive grant program established under the CAREER Act, which provides funding to treatment centers to help individuals in recovery transition back into the workforce.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$50 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Anti-Heroin and Anti-Methamphetamine Task Force programs. Senator McConnell supported the increased funding for the Anti-Methamphetamine program to target this major problem endangering Kentucky families. The COPS funding supports state and local law enforcement agencies, including those in Kentucky, in their efforts to investigate the unlawful distribution of heroin, prescription opioids, and methamphetamines.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$3.4 billion for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which provides communities with resources to address their unique challenges, including the devastating effects from the opioid and substance abuse epidemic, especially for those communities in rural Kentucky.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$541.5 million to help state and local law enforcement officials respond to the opioid and substance abuse epidemic. This includes $108 million for Drug Courts and Veteran's Treatment Courts.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$484 million for the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) program to support local law enforcement. Last year, Senator McConnell worked with state officials to secure millions to help Kentucky communities meet law enforcement needs, including supporting drug task forces throughout the Commonwealth.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$194 million to support the National Guard Counter-Drug Program. The Kentucky National Guard, working with Appalachia HIDTA, Kentucky State Police, and other law enforcement agencies, will use funding from this program to support marijuana eradication efforts in Eastern Kentucky.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$290 million for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program to combat meth and opioid abuse. Earlier this year, Senator McConnell announced that Boyd County, Kentucky was chosen for inclusion in the Appalachia HIDTA program. McConnell advocated for Boyd County's inclusion into the HIDTA program, which provides law enforcement agencies in designated counties with coordination, equipment, technology and additional resources to combat drug production and trafficking. Senator McConnell has also fought for the expansion of the Appalachia HIDTA to include hard-hit counties across the state, including Jefferson County in 2009, Hardin County in 2012, Nelson and Madison Counties in 2014, and Montgomery and Powell Counties in 2018. He also helped secure the inclusion of Boone, Campbell and Kenton Counties into the Ohio HIDTA in 2016. Because of Senator McConnell's consistent advocacy, nearly half of all Kentuckians currently live in a HIDTA county.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$102 million for the Drug Free Communities program. Senator McConnell is proud to support this special program, which provides funding to local communities to create educational programs and raise awareness about the dangers of substance abuse.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$4 million for Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers (CORCs), which Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) secured in 2018's landmark opioid legislation. Facilities will offer all FDA-approved treatments, counseling and wrap-around services for individuals working toward long-term recovery from substance abuse.\r\n\r\n\r\nSupporting Kentucky's Critical Role in our National Defense\r\n\r\n\r\nProvides well-deserved pay raise for servicemembers.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$84.3 million for new military construction projects in Kentucky, including $69.3 million for the new Van Voorhis Elementary School at Fort Knox and $15 million for the National Guard and Reserve Center building in Frankfort.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$20 million to continue the NSA's Workforce Transformation Cyber Initiative Pilot Program, which supports the University of Louisville's healthcare cybersecurity certificate program for first responders and military veterans.\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$936 million for the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives programincluding $160 million in supplemental fundingwhich supports chemical demilitarization efforts at the Blue Grass Army Depot.\r\n\r\n\r\nFulfilling Obligation to Paducah Nuclear Workers\r\n\r\n\r\nSenator McConnell secured $316 milliona $2 million increase over last year's funding levelto support workers performing necessary environmental cleanup operations at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PDGP). Among other initiatives, funding will also support operations and critical facility upgrades at Paducah's DUF-6 conversion facility, which Senator McConnell established.\r\n\r\n\r\nCombatting invasive Asian Carp in West Kentucky\r\n\r\n\r\n$25 million to fight the War on Asian Carp. Senator McConnell helped secure $25 million for this initiative last year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will use the funding to help remove Asian Carp, an invasive species, from waterways like Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.At Senator McConnell's request, USFWS deployed the advanced Unified Method of Fishing in 2020, which involves corralling Asian Carp into one location using electronic technology and extracting the fish from the water with specialized nets. This technique has been successful in controlling Asian Carp populations abroad, and the USGS has successfully deployed it in Missouri and Illinois.\r\n\r\n\r\nProviding Permanent Tax Relief for Kentucky's Signature Spirit \r\n\r\n\r\nPermanently authorizes tax cuts in the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which were scheduled to expire at the end of the year. This legislation was first signed into law in 2017 as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and later extended for one year through the 2019 government funding package. It includes a number of priorities for Kentucky's craft beverage industry, including:\r\n\r\nReduction in federal excise taxes and regulatory relief for Kentucky's distilleries, breweries and wineries.\r\nSenator McConnell's AGED Spirits Act, which allows distillers to deduct interest expense in the year it is paid, rather than at the end of the bourbon aging process.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nEconomic Development, Infrastructure and Preparing Students and Workers to Meet Their Bright Future \r\n\r\n\r\n$33 million for national broadband mapping to accurately identify areas that need improved service, which will help rural states, such as Kentucky. \n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$115 million for the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) pilot program, $25 million of which will go to Kentucky for the development of projects on land previously used to mine coal to support economic development in Appalachia. As Senate Majority Leader, Senator McConnell worked with U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY) to create the AML Pilot in 2015. So far, Senator McConnell and Congressman Rogers have helped secure $155 million from this federal program for Kentucky projects.\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$346 million for the Economic Development Administration (EDA), which provides federal competitive grants to communities to assist with economic development. This funding includes $33.5 million for EDA's Assistance to Coal Communities Program.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$34 million for the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville to continue its important work to create innovative products for visually impaired students and people across the country.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$10 million in U.S. Department of Education funding to support work colleges like Berea College and Alice Lloyd College in Kentucky.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$35 million through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to provide career and training services to dislocated workers in rural areas, including dislocated coal workers in Kentucky.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$2.6 billion in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' major construction account that will support the continued construction of the Kentucky Lock project for Kentucky's more than 20,000 maritime workers.\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$180 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). This is record level funding for ARC and its important work in Eastern Kentucky. In particular, Senator McConnell helped secure ARC resources for the following priorities:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$55 million for the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) grant program. Funding provided through POWER grants gives local organizations the tools they need to make a positive impact in their communities. For example, just this year a Kentucky organization received a $1.7 million POWER grant to establish new centers to help Kentuckians in recovery combat their substance abuse addictions. In the past two fiscal years, Senator McConnell has secured $105 million for the POWER grant program;\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$16 million for infrastructure and water projects in distressed counties in Central Appalachia. This program was established by Senator McConnell;\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$10 million to continue a program for high-speed broadband deployment in distressed counties in Central Appalachia that have been most negatively impacted by the downturn in the coal industry. Over the years, Senator McConnell and Congressman Rogers have worked with ARC to deliver $60 million for broadband development; and\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$10 million for a pilot project established by Senator McConnell to address the substance abuse crisis in Appalachia.\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$30 million for the Delta Regional Authority (DRA). DRA supports economic and infrastructure development in the Mississippi Delta region, including a number of counties in Western Kentucky.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$100 million in dedicated funding for the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), which will continue to fund the completion of 12 miles of road projects in Letcher and Pike Counties in Kentucky.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$165 million for the Essential Air Service Program, which benefits the Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah and the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$1 billion for the U.S. Department of Transportation's BUILD grant program, which funds critical infrastructure projects around the country. Senator McConnell is proud to support his constituents' applications for these grants, and has worked to bring over $286 million to construction projects across the Bluegrass State.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA provision directing the USFWS to continue to support the Green River National Wildlife Refuge (GRNWR) in Henderson County and its goals of conservation as well as increased hunting and fishing opportunities. In 2018, Senator McConnell secured language directing the Department of Interior to establish the GRNWR. Senator McConnell joined Trump Administration officials at a ceremony officially designating the new wildlife refuge last year.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$750 million for the Fossil Energy Research and Development Program, which includes support for research on clean coal technology as well as for research on rare earth elements. In years past, money from this program has gone to Kentucky to support clean coal technology, and the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research.\r\n\r\n\r\nHemp's Revival in Kentucky\r\n\r\n\r\nKentucky has been at the forefront of hemp production ever since the authorization of industrial hemp pilot programs established by Senator McConnell's provision in the 2014 Farm Bill. When President Trump signed into law the 2018 Farm Bill, it included Senator McConnell's initiative to legalize hemp as an agricultural commodity by removing it from the federal list of controlled substances. The end of the year funding bills included:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$4 million for the research of hemp through Agriculture Research Service (ARS) sites  like those in Lexington and Bowling Green, Kentucky.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n$5 million for ongoing medical research related to CBD.\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA provision that continues to direct the Farm Credit Administration to offer loans and other services to hemp producers and businesses. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA provision extending Senator McConnell's 2014 Hemp Pilot Program to allow states like Kentuckywho have been participating in the pilotample time to transition to the new program once it is finalized by USDA.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSupport for competitive USDA grants for hemp projects.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA provision directing the Drug Enforcement Agency to ensure state and local law enforcement have access to hemp-testing technology to enable law enforcement officials to distinguish between hemp and marijuana in the field.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA provision directing the USDA to develop regulations that would protect the transportation and processing of hemp that may temporarily exceed a THC concentration of 0.3%.\r\n\r\n\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=4917BA28-45FF-405A-835F-FD657C7E6042", "McConnell on The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined The Daily Briefing' today to discuss the COVID-19 relief agreement and the vaccine rollout. See below for highlights or click here to watch the full interview.\r\nOn the Targeted COVID-19 Relief Agreement:\r\nI said back in July, what the country needed was a package roughly of a trillion dollars focused on kids in school, small businesses, health care providers, and direct cash payments. We tried to pass -- we started advocating that in July and August and the talks were unproductive. So I essentially put that bill on the floor of the Senate in both September and October. Not a single Democrat supported it. Their view was give us everything we want or we would not give you anything, so it is noteworthy that at the end that they finally gave us what we could have agreed to back in July.\r\nI think what held it up was they did not want was to do anything before the presidential election, they felt that that would disadvantage the president, but look, we finally got it done, in exactly the same amount with the same configuration that we would have been able to do back in the summer, but for all of the intervening election shenanigans on the side of the Speaker and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.\r\nOn the Vaccine Rollout:\r\nI think it's important for the leaders in the country to step up, take the vaccine, and help reassure the American public, because polls indicate about half the public is either skeptical about taking the vaccine or does not want to take it at all. That has to change, because we can't solve this problem until large numbers of Americans are vaccinated.\r\nAs a polio victim myself, I fully understand the significance of vaccines. It took decades to develop the polio vaccine. This vaccine was developed in under a year, a modern medical miracle, and we need to take the vaccine.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=6B44C333-1ECF-42B2-AB08-10F3C2E6F292", "McConnell Delivers Senate Passage of Kentucky Water Priorities", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today the Senate passed several provisions he championed to invest in Kentucky's water infrastructure. The legislation will go to President Trump to be signed into law.\r\nKentucky's inland waterways are critical infrastructure that provide good jobs for tens of thousands of workers and cherished recreation for so many more. I was proud to deliver for communities across Kentucky in this legislation to strengthen our waterways, increase access to safe drinking water, and protect against the dangers of floods, said Senator McConnell. At the heart of our nation's inland waterways system, Kentucky communities have tapped into our waters' great potential. It's been my privilege to secure billions in federal funding for projects that continue to pay dividends in our Commonwealth.\r\nPreserving West Kentucky's Inland Waterways and Outdoor Recreation \r\n1. Kentucky Lock:Senator McConnell secured an increase in the federal funding authorization for Kentucky Lock to more than $1.1 billion. The improvement project was expected to reach its previous authorization limit as early as 2022.\r\n \r\n\r\nSenator McConnell has delivered $600 million to construct a new and larger lock since Congress first authorized the project in 1996.\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\nIn October, Senator McConnell joined Kentuckians in the Jackson Purchase to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Kentucky Lock and Dam.\r\n\r\n \r\nOn behalf of inland waterways operators in Kentucky and across the county, we are appreciative of Leader McConnell's leadership in passing the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, said Matt Ricketts, Chairman of Waterways Council Inc. and President and CEO of Crounse Corporation in Paducah, Kentucky. The bill includes a construction cost-share adjustment for inland waterways infrastructure that will allow for inland waterways projects to be completed more efficiently, and a reauthorization of Kentucky Lock that will allow for its work to continue to completion. Inland waterways projects such as Kentucky Lock return substantial cost-savings to not only Kentucky but the Nation, and facilitate shippers and manufacturers' ability to compete globally.\r\n2. 65% - 35% Cost-Sharing Agreement: Senator McConnell helped negotiate a new 65% - 35% cost-sharing agreement for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' major construction projects to invest more federal funding into projects like Kentucky Lock. This legislative cost-share change could accelerate the completion of the Kentucky Lock project by as much as three years.\r\n3. Asian Carp Prevention and Eradication Programs:Senator McConnell championed an authorization of $45 million for both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to combat the invasion of Asian Carp. His legislation creates a new Asian Carp Pilot Program to be administered by the Army Corps and ensures that up to 10 projects must be deployed in the Cumberland or Tennessee River Watersheds, which would include Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. The legislation also directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prioritize its work in these watersheds, which would include both Kentucky lakes.\r\nSenator McConnell remains committed to Western Kentucky. He understands the impact Asian Carp are having on our waterways and with his experience and effectiveness, secured critical funding to finish what he started, said Lyon County Judge-Executive Wade White. By returning this money to Western Kentucky, Senator McConnell is guaranteeing that our ability to enjoy and earn a living on our waterways will be protected for years to come. Senator McConnell refused to accept the devastating effect these fish were having and continues to champion efforts against them that will benefit us all. He's more than my friend, he's the strong leader we need who's getting the job done for Kentucky.\r\n4. Flood Control Pump Stations:Senator McConnell supported a provision to authorize $60 million for the repair of failing flood control pump stations, which could bring federal funding to replace failing pump stations in West Kentucky.\r\n\r\nProtecting Families in Louisville and the Lincoln Trail\r\n1. Louisville Flood Protection System Reconstruction:Senator McConnell included an authorization of $188 million to improve Louisville's flood protection infrastructure, which is in need of upgrades as shown by the severe flooding that took place in 2018.\r\nI want to thank Senator McConnell for his continued leadership for our city. Here is another example of why it is so critical to have the Senate Majority Leader from Kentucky, and more specifically Louisville, said Louisville Metro Councilman Anthony Piagentini, District 19. As a former Jefferson County Judge/Executive, Senator McConnell has not forgotten about his hometown. He has delivered on this critical infrastructure funding. This will have tremendous impact on our whole community, but will have especially positive impact on more historically disadvantaged communities. Thank you Senator McConnell for your hard work.\r\n2. Rough River Easements:Senator McConnell has continued fighting for families at Rough River Lake, authorizing $10 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to relinquish its rights to certain property at the lake. This authorization builds on previous legislation authored by Senators McConnell and Rand Paul, which prohibited the Army Corps from collecting costly administrative fees from property owners to fund the federal government's past land surveying mistakes.\r\nSenator McConnell continues to fight for the Rough River community, said Breckinridge County Judge/Executive Maurice Lucas. This provision builds on Senator McConnell's previous work to ensure local landowners avoid a costly and burdensome process. This will finally put this issue to rest, and we have Senator McConnell to thank for it.\r\n\r\nDelivering safe water to Rural Eastern Kentucky \r\n1. Kentucky 531 Environmental Infrastructure Program: Senator McConnell supported Congressman Hal Rogers' (KY-05) efforts to raise the authorization limit for Kentucky 531, an environmental infrastructure program Congressman Rogers established in 1996. This legislation authorizes $100 milliona $60 million increase from its previous authorization levelfor improvements to publicly owned wastewater treatment and water supply facilities as well as surface water resource protection and development initiatives.\r\n \r\n\r\nSenator McConnell also supported expanding the program's eligibility to four new countiesBoyd, Carter, Elliott, and Lincoln.\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\nIn January, Senator McConnell contacted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and asked it to include this program in the Army Corps' annual report to Congress that identifies environmental infrastructure projects eligible for congressional authorization. The Army Corps included the program, which paved the way for its authorization increase.\r\n\r\n \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=D2885679-F155-496A-A9D9-F181205FB0C8", "McConnell Leads Senate Passage of Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) led the Senate today in passing his Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which was included in the year-end government funding bill. The legislation now goes to President Trump's desk to become law. Senator McConnell introduced the bipartisan legislation in September, only days after the 146th Kentucky Derby, to recognize a uniform, national standard for Thoroughbred racing.\r\nKentucky's cherished horseracing traditions deserve to be protected. I'm proud the Senate agreed to my legislation to preserve our signature racing industry and the 24,000 workers who support it, said Senator McConnell. With the leadership of Congressman Andy Barr and the partnership of sport leaders, horse advocates, and fans, we're one step closer to promoting fairness and safety across Thoroughbred racing. As Majority Leader, I made this Kentucky-focused legislation a top priority in the Senate. I look forward to this major advancement for our beloved sport becoming law.\r\nThe House of Representatives passed the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act in September led by U.S. Congressmen Andy Barr (KY-06) and Paul Tonko (NY-20). U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)Senators representing states with prominent racetrackswere original cosponsors in the Senate.\r\nWith today's passage of HISA in Congress we are in the final stretch of achieving the most transformational and consequential reform of the Thoroughbred horseracing industry since enactment of the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978, said Congressman Barr. For almost a decade, I have worked with industry stakeholders and my Congressional colleagues to build consensus around reforms that will protect equine athletes and strengthen confidence and international competitiveness in the sport. I am proud to champion this historic, bipartisan legislation with Congressman Paul Tonko and Leader McConnell and I look forward to President Trump signing it into law.\r\nIn August, Senator McConnell and Congressman Barr joined horseracing leaders in Lexington, the Horse Capital of the World, to announce an agreement years in the making to create national standards for the sport. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority will be an independent regulatory authority, similar to other professional sports, to set medication use and safety protocols.\r\nThe bipartisan legislation has earned broad support from trainers, breeders, jockeys, and other leaders of the Thoroughbred racing industry: \r\nSenator McConnell's leadership has been critical in bringing the Thoroughbred industry together and prioritizing the passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, said Bill Carstanjen, Chief Executive Officer, Churchill Downs Incorporated. This is a pivotal moment for the future of horseracing, a sport that will now be governed by world class, uniform standards across the United States.\r\nThe passage of HISA is a landmark moment for the Thoroughbred racing community's ongoing efforts to ensure our horses are running under the safest and most transparent conditions possible and to protect the integrity of the sport for our athletes, horsemen and fans. The independent Authority established by HISA will bring a level of consistency and accountability that will improve our sport for years to come as they work to develop and implement uniform anti-doping, medication control and operational measures. Keeneland is honored to have been involved in this ground-breaking legislation, said Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason jointly with President-elect Shannon Arvin.\r\nThis marks the single most significant safety and integrity development in the history of Thoroughbred racing. This moment also demonstrates that great progress can be accomplished when the industry works together, said Drew Fleming, President and CEO of Breeders' Cup. We recognize that there is more to be done and we look forward to working with our counterparts to build on this momentum and further improve the sport for generations to come.\r\nI'd like to thank Senate Majority Leader McConnell for diligently focusing on getting this much-needed bill included in the must-pass Omnibus Appropriations Bill, said Stuart S. Janney, III, Chairman of The Jockey Club. Leader McConnell has been a powerful force when it comes to promoting and supporting the Thoroughbred industry in Kentucky and throughout the nation. With the passage of this bill, we restore confidence with our fans that the competition is clean, the game is fair and the horse and rider are protected.\"\r\nWe thank Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his pivotal role in the passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) by the U.S. Senate, said Alex Waldrop, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). We look forward to President Trump signing the HISA into law and by doing so, commencing theestablishment of an independent and well-informed central authority that will ensure the integrity of our sport and the safety of our human and equine athletes nationwide.\r\nThis is a monumental step forward that will help secure the future of Thoroughbred racing in the United States, said Dave O'Rourke, President & CEO of the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA). For the first time, the sport will have a unified set of national safety and integrity standards to replace an outdated system that relied on patchwork regulation. The HISA will achieve the type of reforms long supported and advanced by NYRA, including a national approach to medication control and strongest anti-doping authority the sport has ever seen. This legislation will further modernize horseracing and arrives at a critical juncture in its history. NYRA looks forward to the work that lies ahead.\r\nThis is the day that the members of the Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA) have long been waiting for, said Staci Hancock, Managing Member of the Water Hay Oats Alliance. Since 2012 our grassroots movement has supported the passage of federal legislation to prohibit the use of performance-enhancing drugs in horseracing. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) brings much needed drug and medication reform, as well as national track safety standards, to our sport. It is with great pride and complete satisfaction that WHOA celebrates the bill's passage. We thank Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Sponsors, Congressmen Andy Barr and Paul Tonko, for getting it across the finish line.\r\nKitty Block, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and Sara Amundson, President of the Humane Society Legislative Fund jointly stated:\r\nThis is a blue ribbon moment in the history of American horseracing, and this well-crafted measure sets the bar high and is a reminder that goodwill is indispensable in our politics. Working together with stakeholders to get it across the finish line, Senator McConnell and other leaders have helped to put the industry on a strong path to positive reforms. With their success in brokering an agreement with disparate stakeholders, and their dedicated work in the stretch run, Majority Leader McConnell, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Dianne Feinstein and Martha McSally and Reps. Andy Barr and Paul Tonko have risen to the occasion, building a broad base of support for lasting and meaningful change.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=A5361901-A0EE-4BAB-8B75-6C6F667B0040", "Statement from Congressman Andy Barr on COVID-19 Relief Package and Government Funding Bill Vote", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) released the following statement after voting in support of legislation to fully fund the government for fiscal year 2021 and provide much needed and long delayed COVID-19 relief:\n\n\u201cTonight, I voted in support of critical COVID-19 relief for small businesses, families and workers throughout the United States. For months, I have led calls in Congress to deliver more resources to the American people to defeat the COVID-19 virus and relief from government-imposed lockdowns of the economy.\n\n\u201cBuilding on the success of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and Operation Warp Speed, this package makes important investments in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, delivers another round of job-saving forgivable loans to small businesses and provides much needed assistance to families, schools and healthcare providers.\n\n\u201cUltimately, no amount of government spending can substitute for a fully functioning economy free of lockdowns. However, I am confident this relief package will help bridge the gap until COVID-19 vaccines are widely distributed.\u201d\n\nThis package includes a desperately needed second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for distressed small businesses, including enhanced loans for restaurants, hotels, hospitality and travel-related businesses, which have experienced severe revenue reductions. It also extends PPP loan eligibility to 501(c)6 organizations like chambers of commerce and destination marketing organizations such as VisitLex, which also have been hard hit by the pandemic, but were not eligible for the first round of PPP loans under the CARES Act.\n\nSince early July, House Republicans attempted to force a vote on this latest round of COVID-19 relief no less than forty times. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked these efforts every time. In October, the Trump Administration offered a $1.8 trillion relief package that Speaker Pelosi rejected, a decision the Speaker later admitted was politically motivated. Tonight, Speaker Pelosi is accepting a targeted COVID-19 relief bill half that size that is strikingly similar to previous proposals by Congressional Republicans going back to this summer. Because of this political gamesmanship, thousands of American small businesses closed their doors and countless Americans lost their jobs.\n\nThe legislation does not contain liability protections for businesses, universities and schools for which Congressman Barr has been advocating for several months. However, the final package also does not include a series of liberal wish-list demands Congressman Barr has opposed, such as blue state bailouts for pre-COVID liabilities, economic impact payment (EIP) checks for illegal immigrants and federal prisoner releases.\n\nMany of Congressman Barr\u2019s priorities in combatting COVID-19 and strengthening our economy were made part of the relief bill. Some of these include:\n\n\u2022 $284 billion in additional funds for the PPP. The PPP provided over $5.2 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses in the Commonwealth of Kentucky since its rollout in April.\n\n\u2022 Simplified one-page forgiveness application process for PPP recipients who received loans of $150,000 or less in value. Congressman Barr led multiple efforts in the House to secure streamlined forgiveness for small businesses, including organizing a bipartisan group of nearly 100 Members to push for this fix and co-sponsoring bills to streamline the process.\n\n\u2022 Extends for one year the relief provided to lenders from requirements under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for Troubled Debt Restructuring (TDR) classifications on loans. Congressman Barr actively advocated for the extension of TDR relief, noting its importance for retail and commercial borrowers. He discussed this issue directly with Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell earlier this month and played a key role in the provision\u2019s original incorporation in the CARES Act.\n\n\u2022 Provides hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses the ability to apply for a PPP loan that is 3.5x monthly payroll as opposed to 2.5x for other applicants. Congressman Barr advocated for the hard-hit hospitality industry and its employees. Congressman Barr co-authored a bill (H.R. 7809) to create a federal assistance facility for struggling commercial real estate, including hotels, restaurants and retail (that bill has over 70 bipartisan co-sponsors). Lastly, Congressman Barr organized a letter to the U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary and the Federal Reserve Chairman requesting assistance for the hospitality industry via their existing authority.\n\n\u2022 Making permanent the Craft Beverage Modernization Act, legislation that includes Congressman Barr\u2019s Aged Distilled Spirits Act, which creates a level playing field for bourbon distillers, allowing them to deduct interest expenses associated with production in the year it is paid, not when the bourbon is bottled and sold. This provision will allow those in the Sixth District producing America\u2019s only official native spirit to better invest in their products, their workers, job creation, and the overall success of the Kentucky bourbon industry.\n\n\u2022 Over $13 billion to support our farmers and agricultural sector. This includes enhancements in assistance under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to support specialty crops and livestock producers as well as additional much needed support for our cattle producers. Congressman Barr advocated through letters to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on behalf of cattle and hemp farmers.\n\n\u2022 $20 billion for U.S. Small Business Administration\u2019s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. As of November 23, Kentucky small businesses received over $1.2 billion in EIDL loans.\n\n\u2022 $48 billion for vaccine distribution in schools, small businesses and healthcare providers so we can continue safely reopening America, including $20 billion specifically for the purchase of vaccines that will make the vaccine available at no charge for anyone who needs it.\n\n\u2022 $7 billion for rural broadband initiatives, including $300 million to construct rural broadband connectivity. Congressman Barr introduced legislation in September to enable local governments to repurpose CARES Act money for rural broadband development.\n\n\u2022 $250 million to expand telehealth services. Working with Lexington epidemiologists and hospitals, Congressman Barr led the effort last spring to persuade the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services to expand coverage of telehealth services to include same-location services.\n\nOther key items included in the legislation are:\n\n\u2022 Second round of EIPs, $600 for eligible individuals and their dependents.\n\n\u2022 Enhanced unemployment benefits of $300 per week.\n\n\u2022 $45 billion for transportation, including $10 billion for highways and $16 billion for another round of airline employee and contractor payroll support.\n\n\u2022 $82 billion in funding for schools and universities to assist with reopening for in-person learning that also includes $2.75 billion in designated funds for private K through 12 education.\n\nAs a senior Member of the House Financial Services Committee (FSC), and ranking Republican on the FSC Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee with oversight of the Federal Reserve and U.S. Department of Treasury, Congressman Barr also supported inclusion of a provision in the package to repeal $429 billion of unused CARES Act funding from the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) ensuring existing Federal Reserve emergency lending facilities are wound down consistent with existing law. This provision, in addition to the reauthorization of $135 billion in unused PPP funds from the CARES Act, helps to pay for this COVID-19 relief bill, requiring only a net of approximately $325 billion in additional outlays.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://guthrie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=387310", "Guthrie Praises New Kentucky Apprenticeship Entity", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Brett Guthrie", "G000558", "guthrie.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), senior member of the House Education and Labor Committee and co-chair of the Congressional Apprenticeship Caucus, released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announcing the recognition of the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment as an approved Standards Recognition Entity (SRE). \r\nThis SRE recognition will allow the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment to assist employers in overseeing current and designating new Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP) throughout the state, while partnering with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and Kentucky Career Center.\r\nI'm thrilled the Department of Labor has entrusted the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment to evaluate and expand high-quality apprenticeships in numerous industries across Kentucky, said Guthrie. As co-chair of the Congressional Apprenticeship Caucus and member of the House Education and Labor Committee, I have continuously worked to make apprenticeships more accessible. Apprenticeships provide opportunities for hardworking Kentuckians to learn new skills that lead to high-paying jobs. With years of manufacturing experience, I know the importance of effective apprenticeship programs firsthand. This announcement for Kentucky's workforce is welcome news as we are starting to defeat the virus with safe and effective vaccines to come back stronger than ever.\r\nMore information on Standards Recognition Entities can be found HERE.\r\n ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://guthrie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=387311", "Guthrie Statement on Passage of COVID-19 Relief Package", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Brett Guthrie", "G000558", "guthrie.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Guthrie Statement on Passage of COVID-19 Relief Package \r\n  \r\n     \r\n\r\n  \r\n\r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n\r\n  \r\n    \r\n      WASHINGTON, D.C.  Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) released the following statement after the Bipartisan-Bicameral Omnibus and COVID Relief Package passed the U.S. House of Representatives.\r\nI'm relieved this package finally came together to provide additional relief for Kentucky families and workers from the impact of COVID-19, said Guthrie. I voted in support of much-needed aid for Kentuckians, including unemployment benefits and relief for small businesses. Our community health centers and other health care providers on the front lines of this public health emergency will receive additional funding, and Kentucky will be given more resources to help with distributing safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines across the Commonwealth. Thankfully, families, workers, and health care professionals can go through this holiday season knowing COVID-19 relief and vaccines are on the way.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases?ID=BC8CDBE1-7EF5-4887-872D-224D846D6816", "Congressman Rogers Supports Comprehensive COVID-Relief & 2021 Federal Funding Package", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Harold Rogers", "R000395", "halrogers.house.gov", "halrogers", "https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, U.S. Rep. Harold \"Hal\" Rogers (KY-05) spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of the $1.4 trillion appropriations bill to fund the federal government through fiscal year 2021, in addition to a $900 billion COVID-relief package which includes a second round of stimulus checks for the American people and urgent support for small businesses. The legislation also advances $20 billion for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, extends the Payroll Protection Program and provides critical funding for all discretionary government operations.\n\nCongressman Rogers gave the following remarks, encouraging his House colleagues to pass H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021:\n\n\"This bill is not perfect, but it reflects a fair compromise that includes funding for many important priorities at home and abroad, and vital assistance for all those negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.\n\n\"As Ranking Member of the State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee, this bill provides critical funding for our national security. This includes $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel, and robust support to combat transnational crime and the flow of illegal drugs.\n\n\"The bill is also tough on China, as it commits serious resources behind our Indo-Pacific strategy. This includes exposing the censorship and propaganda wielded by the Chinese Communist Party, and countering Beijing\u2019s debt-trap diplomacy through well-funded, open and transparent U.S. development by the Development Finance Corporation and the Countering Chinese Influence Fund.\n\n\"This bill also protects our core values. It maintains all pro-life protections from last year and rejects efforts to undo the President\u2019s historic policies that protect the sanctity of life.\n\n\"This bill is also great for my district in Kentucky. It provides the resources we need to continue to fight the opioid epidemic\u2014which is now more important than ever. It fully funds my AML Pilot Program, which is truly breathing life back into my southern and eastern Kentucky communities. And it helps our small businesses and so many Kentuckians who are fighting tooth and nail to survive the coronavirus pandemic.\n\n\"The package does not have everything we wanted, but it\u2019s a good bill and a fair compromise. I urge my colleagues\u2019 support, and I yield back.\"\n\nThe legislation is expected to pass both chambers of Congress and be signed into law by President Trump.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-stop-piling-debt-future-generations-open-economy-and-cut-waste-budget-pay/", "Dr. Rand Paul: Stop Piling Debt on Future Generations, Open the Economy, and Cut Waste in the Budget to Pay for Priorities", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nDecember 21, 2020\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Shortly before legislators received a nearly 5,600-page government funding/COVID-19 response bill that they are expected to quickly digest and vote on, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) condemned Congress\u2019 fiscal recklessness on the U.S. Senate floor and called for opening the economy so Americans can rebuild their livelihoods.\n\nDr. Paul also once again proposed cutting waste and finding savings in the current budget to pay for the pandemic response and other priorities.\n\n\u201cWe are $27 trillion in debt today. How do we expect a child to have the economic opportunity when this crushing debt is their inheritance from Congress?\u201d asked Dr. Paul.\n\n\u201cWe are borrowing and worsening this debt crisis, in part, because too many governors and mayors have imposed heavy handed restrictions that crush business,\u201d he later observed.\n\n\u201cThe need for help is real. I hear it every day from Kentuckians and across the country. But it\u2019s clear that government has worsened the economic damage and acted as the biggest obstacle to economic recovery,\u201d said Dr. Paul. \u201cThe answer is not printing up and distributing \u2018free money.\u2019 It\u2019s opening the economy,\u201d he later added.\n\nYou can watch Dr. Paul\u2019s speech HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-stop-piling-debt-future-generations-open-economy-and-cut-waste-budget-pay", "Dr. Rand Paul: Stop Piling Debt on Future Generations, Open the Economy, and Cut Waste in the Budget to Pay for Priorities", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  \r\n\t\t\t\tDecember 21, 2020  Contact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\r\n\r\n\t\t\t  WASHINGTON, D.C. Shortly before legislators received a nearly 5,600-page government funding/COVID-19 response bill that they are expected to quickly digest and vote on, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) condemned Congress' fiscal recklessness on the U.S. Senate floor and called for opening the economy so Americans can rebuild their livelihoods.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tDr. Paul also once again proposed cutting waste and finding savings in the current budget to pay for the pandemic response and other priorities.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tWe are $27 trillion in debt today. How do we expect a child to have the economic opportunity when this crushing debt is their inheritance from Congress? asked Dr. Paul.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tWe are borrowing and worsening this debt crisis, in part, because too many governors and mayors have imposed heavy handed restrictions that crush business, he later observed.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tThe need for help is real. I hear it every day from Kentuckians and across the country. But it's clear that government has worsened the economic damage and acted as the biggest obstacle to economic recovery, said Dr. Paul. The answer is not printing up and distributing free money.' It's opening the economy, he later added.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tYou can watch Dr. Paul's speech HERE.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\t###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/mcconnell-on-the-daily-briefing-with-dana-perino-december-2020", "McConnell on \u2018The Daily Briefing\u2019 with Dana Perino", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.republicanleader.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.21.20\n\t\t\t McConnell on The Daily Briefing' with Dana Perino \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tOn the Targeted COVID-19 Relief Agreement:\r\nI said back in July, what the country needed was a package roughly of a trillion dollars focused on kids in school, small businesses, health care providers, and direct cash payments. We tried to pass -- we started advocating that in July and August and the talks were unproductive. So I essentially put that bill on the floor of the Senate in both September and October. Not a single Democrat supported it. Their view was give us everything we want or we would not give you anything, so it is noteworthy that at the end that they finally gave us what we could have agreed to back in July.\r\nI think what held it up was they did not want was to do anything before the presidential election, they felt that that would disadvantage the President, but look, we finally got it done, in exactly the same amount with the same configuration that we would have been able to do back in the summer, but for all of the intervening election shenanigans on the side of the Speaker and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.\r\n\r\nOn the Vaccine Rollout:\r\nI think it's important for the leaders in the country to step up, take the vaccine, and help reassure the American public, because polls indicate about half the public is either skeptical about taking the vaccine or does not want to take it at all. That has to change, because we can't solve this problem until large numbers of Americans are vaccinated.\r\nAs a polio victim myself, I fully understand the significance of vaccines. It took decades to develop the polio vaccine. This vaccine was developed in under a year, a modern medical miracle, and we need to take the vaccine.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n     \n\t\n \n\t\n    \n    \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t  \n\t\t\n\t\n\t   \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://yarmuth.house.gov/press/yarmuth-statement-distillery-excise-tax-relief-included-omnibus-spending-bill", "Yarmuth Statement on Distillery Excise Tax Relief Included in Omnibus Spending Bill", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "KY", "John Yarmuth", "Y000062", "yarmuth.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Today, Congressman John Yarmuth, Co-Chair and Founder of the Congressional Bourbon Caucus, released the statement below regarding inclusion of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act in the year-end omnibus spending bill. The measure, cosponsored by Yarmuth, will make permanent the excise tax relief for distilled spirits producers, craft brewers, and winemakers.\nThis is a major victory for American jobs and the entire distilled spirits and craft beverage industries. As Founder of the Congressional Bourbon Caucus, I've fought for the inclusion of this provision that will significantly benefit America's native spirit and the lives and livelihoods that depend on its production, distribution, and consumption. To finally provide certainty on what would have been a costly tax burden will allow producers to invest in their businesses, invest in their workers, and continue to produce some of the most celebrated spirits around the world. We can all say cheers to that.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://yarmuth.house.gov/press/yarmuth-statement-house-passage-bipartisan-covid-relief-omnibus-spending-package", "Yarmuth Statement on House Passage of Bipartisan COVID Relief-Omnibus Spending Package", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "KY", "John Yarmuth", "Y000062", "yarmuth.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Today, Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) released the following statement regarding House passage of H.R. 133, the Omnibus Appropriations and Emergency Coronavirus Relief package:\nFor so many Kentuckians and tens of millions of Americans, this compromise relief bill is woefully insufficient. For months, my Democratic colleagues and I have fought to get as much as we could from Mitch McConnell's Senate majority, and as families suffered, all they could ask is what was in it for them. Unfortunately, at this point, this is the most we could get for families in need.\nWe got some direct payments for those in need and were able to extend critical emergency unemployment benefits and rental assistance for Americans who've lost their income through no fault of their own  though this isn't nearly enough. This package provides new money for schools, hospitals and vaccine distribution, and will make badly needed investments in government operations, small and mid-sized businesses, and industries that were ravaged first by the pandemic and then by the failed federal response. We also withstood Republican demands to shield corporations from total legal liability when they harm or kill their workers, as well as efforts to hamper President-elect Biden's ability to help those in need next year.\nI am glad that we were able to pass something to help the American people today, but as governments around the world rise to meet the needs of their struggling citizens, I am frustrated and angry that the richest country in the world is hamstrung by a Senate majority content to let the American people suffer.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=3AAF1CBA-D0CF-46A3-B170-64E3321434C0", "McConnell Announces COVID-19 Relief Agreement: More Help Is On The Way", "2020-12-20", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nFor the information of all Senators, and for the information of the American people, we can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a long time:\r\nMore help is on the way.\r\nMoments ago, in consultation with our committees, the four leaders in the Senate and the House finalized an agreement.\r\nThere will be another major rescue package for the American people. As our citizens continue battling the coronavirus this holiday season, they will not be fighting alone.\r\nWe've agreed to a package of nearly $900 billion. It is packed with targeted policies to help struggling Americans who have already waited too long.\r\nFor workers at the hardest-hit small businesses, there will be a targeted second draw of the Paycheck Protection Program. We have not worked so hard to save as many jobs as possible, all these months, only to fumble the ball with vaccinations already underway.\r\nSpeaking of vaccines, we can't nullify the success of Operation Warp Speed by falling asleep at the switch on distribution. So this agreement will provide huge sums for the logistics that will get these life-saving shots to our citizens as fast as possible.\r\nOf course, many millions of Americans have lost their jobs  and are continuing to lose them  through no fault of their own. This package will renew and extend a number of the additional important federal unemployment benefits that have helped families stay afloat.\r\nAcross all kinds of families, in all kinds of situations, this has been a difficult time across the board. So, at the particular request and emphasis of President Trump and his Administration, our agreement will provide another round of direct impact payments to help households make ends meet and continue our economic recovery.\r\nWe all know this crisis has tested our healthcare providers. This legislation will continue to fund the front lines.\r\nBut the crisis in American education has been staggering as well. So this package will supply billions and billions of dollars to help get kids back in school and do so safely.\r\nThese are just some of the key components. There are many more.\r\nAnd importantly, we're going to supply this emergency aid in a way that is smart and responsible. We will be repurposing more than $560 billion in money that was already set aside by the CARES Act  but not spent  toward these urgent needs.\r\nAnd we'll be appropriately paring back some of the most expansive powers that Congress temporarily gave unelected officials to stabilize the financial system back in the springtime.\r\nAnd I want to particularly thank Senator Toomey, for his extraordinary contribution to that effort.\r\nAt long last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed.\r\nNow we need to promptly finalize text, avoid any last-minute obstacles, and cooperate to move this legislation through both chambers.\r\n***\r\nSo this is good news. But I need to close with one observation that is regrettable.\r\nFrom where I stand, from where Senate Republicans stand, there is no reason why this urgent package could not have been signed into law multiple months ago.\r\nFor months, Senate Republicans have consistently supported a targeted rescue package, under $1 trillion, focused on the same kinds of policies that we have settled on today.\r\nAs far back as July, and all autumn, Republicans have consistently supported a targeted package right in the ballpark of this total amount, with the same kinds of policies in the mix.\r\nThe package that will shortly become law falls exactly within the ballpark of what Senate Republicans have been proposing and trying to pass since last summer.\r\nCompare the shape of this major agreement with the shape of what I proposed all the way back in late July. Yes, some fine details are different.\r\nThere is no doubt this new agreement contains input from our Democratic colleagues. It is bipartisan. But these matters could have been settled long ago.\r\nSo why did it take all this time? We know why. We have heard Democrats say openly that they were not willing to deal all summer and fall, but are willing now, because they now have a President-elect of their own political party.\r\nThat's not my accusation  that's their admission.\r\nSo, look, I'm glad we've gotten this done. My Democratic colleagues and I have had good discussions this past week. Both parties have a lot to be proud of.\r\nBut I really regret that some on the Democratic side decided that partisan presidential politics were more important than getting urgent and noncontroversial relief out the door much, much sooner  to families who have needed this help badly.\r\nThe progress of this past week could have happened in July, or in August, or in September, or in October.\r\nSenate Republicans were advocating for a package just like this one, all along, in real time.\r\nI just wish our partners on the other side had put political calculations aside and worked with us to make this happen a long time ago.\r\n***\r\nWith that said, I appreciate the earnest conversations of this past week. I want to thank the Democratic Leader, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader McCarthy, as well as Secretary Mnuchin. Both sides, in both chambers, have worked hard to get this done.\r\nWe will be moving forward with both historic pandemic relief and full-year funding legislation for the federal government. And I hope we can do so as promptly as possible.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=741CF29F-1E2F-4334-AD94-8CBBDBD9605C", "Lets Make Today the Day We Join Together, Put Differences Aside, and Finally Get it Done", "2020-12-20", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nOur bipartisan, bicameral discussions on another major pandemic rescue package continued all night and all morning.\r\nWe are winnowing down the remaining differences. I believe I can speak for all sides when I say that I hope and expect to have a final agreement nailed down in a matter of hours.\r\nYesterday evening, our Democratic colleagues agreed to important language authored by the junior Senator for Pennsylvania, Senator Toomey.\r\nBack in March, in the CARES Act, Congress funded several new emergency lending facilities, to be operated by the Federal Reserve.\r\nTheir purpose was simple: To backstop the basic foundations of our economy and prevent any kind of sweeping financial paralysis.\r\nOur actions worked. The other historic relief that Congress passed, combined with the existence of these lending facilities, staved off any systemic collapse.\r\nAmerican workers and families still need much more help, but a total financial meltdown never materialized.\r\nThese new emergency lending facilities were always intended to sunset at the end of this year.\r\nSenator Toomey and our Democratic colleagues have landed on compromise language that ensures this will happen; redirects the dormant money in these accounts toward the urgent needs of working Americans; and ensures that these expiring programs cannot be simply restarted or cloned without another authorization from Congress.\r\nAll while preserving both the independence of the Federal Reserve and the proper authority of Congress.\r\nYet another example of the good-faith bipartisan collaboration that has defined our discussions this week.\r\n***\r\nAt this point, we are down to the last few differences that stand between struggling Americans and the major rescue package they need and deserve.\r\nThese days and nights of negotiations have been encouraging. But our citizens need this waiting game to be over.\r\nYesterday alone, another 3,388 of my fellow Kentuckians tested positive for the coronavirus.\r\nThe virus continues to spread throughout our country. Thousands of Americans are being robbed of their lives on a daily basis.\r\nAnd while the resilience of the American people have brought along our economic recovery faster than expected, it will remain both insufficient and tenuous until the vaccines that will end this fight have been distributed across the nation.\r\nFor months Senate Republicans have been calling for another targeted package to reopen the job-saving Paycheck Protection Program, extend federal unemployment benefits, fund K-12 schools, fund vaccine distribution, and get a lot more help onto the front lines as fast as possible.\r\nI am relieved that we appear to be just hours away from legislation that will do exactly that.\r\nWhen we get this done, Congress will not deserve any special praise. Not with this relief having waited until late December; and not with some of our Democratic colleagues openly saying the reason they finally changed their tune was that they got a President-elect of their own party.\r\nWhen we finalize this measure and pass it, Congress will only have done our job. We will have finally done our duty in getting more relief to those who need it most.\r\nLet's make today the day we join together, put differences aside, and finally get it done.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=A46028FB-2FF1-474C-B07F-EBAA84BA6857", "McConnell Statement on Former Laurel County Sheriff Gene Hollon", "2020-12-20", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement today regarding the passing of former Laurel County Sheriff Gene Hollon:\r\nFormer Sheriff Gene Hollon lived in courageous service to his neighbors and our Commonwealth. He was devoted to improving local public safety, both as a law enforcement officer and a volunteer fire chief.\r\nGene's leadership in Laurel County and across the region made real progress in tackling our biggest challenges. Today, brave officers continue to follow Gene's example in keeping Kentucky families safe.\r\nElaine and I join Sheriff Root and the entire department in sharing our sincere condolences with Edna and the Hollon family.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=8460EBAE-A37A-4DF8-89F1-2E2DFCF0A485", "We Need to Conclude Our Talks, Draft Legislation, and Land This Plane", "2020-12-19", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nOur nation stands at a crossroads in our months-long battle with the new coronavirus. Tracking recent developments lately has felt like watching a split-screen television.\r\nOn one hand, Operation Warp Speed has fostered a modern medical miracle. The genius of science has brought forward safe and effective vaccines at a pace which, just months ago, many claimed would be impossible. For about nine months now, our nation has been treading water together. Now the road to victory is in sight.\r\nBut at the same time, even as we see this hopeful sunrise on the horizon, in the here-and-now, we are still facing an ongoing, five-alarm national crisis.\r\nThe virus is surging across our country. Two days ago my home state of Kentucky set yet another bleak new record -- the most Kentuckians lost in a single day of this pandemic so far.\r\nNationwide, since the start of December, we have lost around 3,000 of our fellow Americans to this disease every day.\r\nMeanwhile, although the American people have built our economic recovery with more speed and resilience than anyone had anticipated, we've known all along that recovering prosperity would come hand in hand with defeating the virus. Thus millions of working families across the nation are still under terrible strain.\r\nLast week, economists thought we'd see a slight downward tick in new unemployment claims. Instead, the number shot up, logging 885,000 new claims in just one week. Almost 900,000 newly laid-off Americans in one week alone.\r\nSenators on both sides know what we need to do.\r\nIn the springtime, when the country needed a bridge, we passed the largest rescue package in American history on a unanimous bipartisan basis.\r\nNow, what Americans need is another bridge. Fortunately, this time, we do not need a bridge over an unknown and frightening future, but a bridge through the next several months while the life-saving vaccines can flow through our country.\r\nFront-line healthcare workers are receiving the vaccine as we speak. Yesterday, Vice President Pence, Speaker Pelosi, and I all received first doses of vaccines, pursuant to preexisting plans for the continuity of our government.\r\nThese vaccines are safe. They are effective. They are our nation's path out of this hellish chapter.\r\nSo the first lines of the cavalry are already arriving. We just need to help American families hold on while the reinforcements continue to pour in.\r\nMore Paycheck Protection loans for the hardest-hit businesses. More additional federal unemployment aid. More direct assistance for families.\r\nA lot more funding for K-12 schools to reopen safely and get our kids' educations back on track.\r\nAnd perhaps most important of all, a huge amount of funding for vaccine distribution -- so that we aren't just helping Americans endure this battle, but we are helping them win this battle, as fast as possible.\r\nLast night, we extended government funding for another two days.\r\nThe Senate and the House need to finalize another rescue package containing all the policies I just named and many more. We need to finalize government-funding legislation for next year. And we need to pass these measures with a big, bipartisan vote and get them signed into law without delay.\r\nWe need cooperation and focus from all sides.\r\nThere is a kind of gravitational pull here in Congress, where unless we are careful, any major negotiation can easily slide into an unending catalog of disagreements. Let's guard against that.\r\nThe American people have already waited for more assistance longer than they could afford. In my judgment, they have waited far too long for a relief package of the same general size and scope that Senate Republicans have been proposing literally since the summertime.\r\nEvery one of us, in the Senate and the House, represents American families who simply cannot wait any longer for Congress to conclude these discussions.\r\nEvery day that we delay may very well cost more small businesses their survival, cost more American workers their jobs, and yes, cost more Americans their very lives.\r\nWe've had productive discussions this past week.\r\nI appreciate the good-faith spirit that has characterized my talks with the Democratic Leader, Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, and Secretary Mnuchin.\r\nBut the American people cannot feed their families or pay their bills with Congress's good-faith discussions. They need us to act. We need to conclude our talks, draft legislation, and land this plane.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=10B3D866-1747-4EFC-94E5-80EA47189979", "Majority Leader McConnell Honors Personal Office Chief of Staff Phil Maxson", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor today paying tribute to his departing personal office Chief of Staff, Phil Maxson:\r\nI jump at any opportunity to praise my incredible staff. I'm just sorry that one natural occasion is when great people head toward the exits.\nPhil Maxson of Lexington, Kentucky has mastered one of the toughest jobs on Capitol Hill.\nAs Chief of Staff for my personal office, he oversees the operation that delivers for Kentucky families and Kentucky priorities.\nHere's what that role means in our tight-knit organization. It's like being the player-coach on an old baseball teamwho's also a utility player at the same time. Phil wears about ten hats each day, orchestrating a seamless operation.\r\nHe's mastered policy. Political strategy. Messaging. Constituent services. He's budgeted and managed the office itself. And Phil is also a liaison and colleague to my leadership office here in the Capitol. He's the linkage between the two sides of my operation; the single person most responsible for helping me harmonize home-state priorities with my national duties and keep the Commonwealth at the center of all I do.\nIt's a tall order. It takes the best of the best. Someone who's so capable that every important issue will involve them, but so humble that situations never become about them.\nEnter Phil Maxson. A kind, cheerful, and unbelievably competent servant leader whom I'm convinced nobody on this planet dislikes.\nPhil climbed the Capitol Hill ladder the old-fashioned way.\r\nHe joined my team as an intern a decade ago. Actually, I think Phil may have snuck a late application into a last-minute opening. If I'm right about that, then his good fortune was ours as well.\r\nHe's done every job  legislative correspondent, legislative assistant, legislative director, and then the top spot. As one of his old bosses reminded me recently, every time a gap in the office appeared, Phil was the natural choice.'\r\nIt's not like he elbowed his way up; it's that circumstances and our needs kept pulling him up. He's that good.\nFor the past decade, Phil has walked into every meeting, every markup, every normal day at the office and every grueling far-flung CODEL with total preparation, complete professionalism  and the score of the latest UK game.\nAnother former supervisor of his put it this way: I don't think I ever asked Phil a single question he didn't already know the answer to, or didn't find the answer within about 10 minutes.'\nThat's high praise when your portfolio ranges from U.S.-Burma relations to the BUILD grants that improve our roads and everything in between.\r\n***\r\nIt helps that Phil is a Kentucky Thoroughbred, through and through. This man really is Dyed in the Bluegrass.'\nAs a young man in Lexington, he found part-time work giving tours at Henry Clay's Ashland Estate. He also graduated from Henry Clay High School. You could say the Senate was a natural destination.\r\nHere, he's met UK's Coach Calipari, President Netanyahu, and families from Kentucky's smallest towns. And they all got exactly the same attention, enthusiasm, and warmth from Phil Maxson.\r\nHe clicks with everyone. He's as affable as he is intelligent. In a town full of big egos and sharp elbows, he stands out because he doesn't try to stand out.\nFor the better part of a decade, virtually every significant win we've notched for our Commonwealth has had Phil at its nucleus. But if you dropped by the staff meeting the day after, what you'd hear is Phil explaining why everyone else deserves more credit than he does. Why it really all came down to my leadership...or his peers' efforts...or the hard work of the junior folks beneath him.\r\nYou'd have to go to everyone else to learn that Phil was the human glue that held it all together.\r\n***\r\nIt'd take me all day to list every win Phil's helped quarterback for our home state.\nA state-of-the-art chemical weapons destruction facility in Madison County\nThe transfer of the Rochester Dam to local ownership\nA new wildlife refuge in Henderson County\nEnvironmental cleanup and health benefits for nuclear workers in Paducah\nThe planned construction of a new VA hospital in Louisville\nFreedom to Fish and the raising of Lake Cumberlandand many more.\nBut alas, his dedication to Kentucky is so all-encompassing that he and his wife Sarah Beth have decided they don't want to raise their young family anywhere else.\r\nSo B and Phil on Capitol Hill,' as friends have called them, plus their two boys Barbour and Theodore, are homeward bound.\r\nI made the same decision myself as a young man, trading in the life of a Senate staffer for a move back home. So I can't exactly fault his decision. Phil needs to spend fewer breakfasts and dinners with me, and more with his own burgeoning clan. I get it. But I'm sure sorry to see him go.\r\n***\r\nPhil is the kind of Senate all-star who deserves a full-dress curtain call. He deserves toasts, and a dinner, and a big farewell party. I regret that, in these bizarre pandemic times, a floor speech will have to suffice -- at least for right now.\r\nSo Phil  thank you for your years of dedication to the state we both love. We'll miss your brain and we'll miss your heart. You're leaving behind one heck of a fan club all throughout the United States Senate. We wish you all the best in the chapters ahead.\r\n  February 2020: Phil Maxson with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his personal office in Washington, D.C.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=3E6DC804-1165-47D6-A84F-861DB39E2D6C", "Lets Finish Our Business for the American People", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nOur bipartisan discussions are continuing to make significant headway toward another relief package for the American people.\r\nThe Democratic Leader, Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, and I have been working around the clock for several days now. The talks remain productive.\r\nIn fact, I am even more optimistic now than I was last night that a bipartisan, bicameral framework for a major rescue package is close at hand.\r\nBut let's face it. It doesn't help struggling Americans keep their jobs, or endure unemployment, or pay their rent, or get vaccines any faster to keep hearing that we're having good discussions.\r\nWhat families across the country deserve  what they have needed and deserved for many months now  is an outcome. Another targeted relief package to get more assistance into their hands as fast as possible.\r\nStruggling small-business owners have already waited too long for the targeted second round of the PPP.\r\nLaid-off workers have already waited too long to have expiring programs extended.\r\nKids, teachers, and families have already waited too long for funding to help schools reopen safely.\r\nWe've already waited too long to fully fund vaccine distribution, so our scientists' historic sprint towards a safe and effective vaccine is followed up by the equally important logistics.\r\nThis has been an unbelievably hard year for our country. We've seen normal daily life grind to a halt and take a record-setting economy down with it.\r\nAnd even as we've watched doctors, nurses and researchers make life-saving history, we have lost more than 300,000 Americans too soon.\r\nLike I've said, the Senate will be right here until an agreement is passed, whenever that may be.\r\nWe'll just continue voting. There are more well-qualified nominees for important posts that we can confirm in the meantime. Let's finish our business for the American people.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=2DF3E93B-0D83-46A4-B35B-A44A41173C07", "Congressman Andy Barr Receives Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccination", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination today on Capitol Hill. Congressman Barr was one of many Congressional Members to be immunized at the Capitol on Friday.\n\n\u201cThe Trump Administration\u2019s Operation Warp Speed was an extraordinary success and I want to thank researchers and scientists for their tireless efforts to deliver a potentially lifesaving vaccine to the American people,\u201d said Congressman Barr. \u201cFurthermore, I am fully confident in the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines approved by the FDA after thorough and rigid clinical trials that included thousands of American volunteers participating of many different ages and demographics with diverse health histories.\u201d\n\nCongressman Barr voted for over $10 billion in funding for Operation Warp Speed in Congress at the beginning of the pandemic.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://comer.house.gov/2020/12/comer-davis-hice-raise-concerns-about-padilla-misusing-federal-funds-benefit", "Comer, Davis, Hice Raise Concerns About Padilla Misusing Federal Funds to Benefit Pro-Biden Firm", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "James Comer", "C001108", "comer.house.gov", "comer", "https://comer.house.gov/media", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.), House Committee on Administration Ranking Member Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), and Government Operations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jody Hice (R-Ga.) today wrote Election Assistance Commission Inspector General Patricia Layfield to spur immediate action on the previously requested investigation into California Secretary of State Alex Padilla awarding a contract to Joe Biden\u2019s main election campaign advisory firm, SKD Knickerbocker (SKD), to contact voters. This $35 million no-bid contract appears to violate the law, wastes taxpayer money, and presents numerous conflicts of interest.\n\n\u201cSecretary Padilla\u2019s decision to fast-track a no-bid contract to a pro-Biden firm raises serious ethical and legal questions and we must have answers immediately. It appears taxpayer funds were illegally allocated by Padilla\u2019s office to enable Democrat operatives to contact voters and potentially have access to sensitive voter information. Secretary Padilla must be held accountable for this gross misuse of Americans\u2019 taxpayer dollars. Given Mr. Padilla is rumored to be appointed to Senator Kamala Harris\u2019 seat, the Inspector General must immediately investigate and report findings to Congress before he is entrusted with upholding the integrity of all federal elections and safeguarding taxpayer dollars,\u201d said House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member Comer.\n\nIn October, the lawmakers previously wrote to Inspector General Layfield calling for an investigation into this shady contract after obtaining documents showing potential violations of the law. They also wrote to Secretary Padilla in September but he has not provided a response to the letter.\n\n\u201cThree weeks after Election Day, California had multiple congressional races that still had not been called because ballots were still being counted. This mismanagement could, and should, have been avoided,\u201d said Davis. \u201cCalifornia received millions of federal dollars to help run their elections, but these dollars clearly were not put to good use. We have an obligation to taxpayers to find out how these federal funds were spent and if it was in compliance with the law. It\u2019s especially concerning that someone, like Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who has failed to follow federal laws, himself is now being considered for the U.S. Senate where he would help write the laws,\u201d said Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Davis.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve said it once and I\u2019ll say it again: Under no circumstances should federal taxpayer funds ever be used to explicitly benefit one political party over the other. The State of California awarded a $35 billion contract to SKD Knickerbocker, ostensibly for non-partisan voter registration, even as the firm was openly engaged in aiding Joe Biden\u2019s presidential campaign. This is not simply highly irregular\u2014it\u2019s inexcusable and likely illegal. Inspector General Layfield must immediately investigate this contract and expose any unlawful actions committed by California\u2019s elected officials. The American people are fed up with corruption disguised as government. We need answers,\u201d said Government Operations Subcommittee Ranking Member Hice.\n\nThe full letter is available here and below.\n\nDecember 3, 2020\n\nThe Honorable Patricia Layfield\n\nInspector General\n\nU.S. Election Assistance Commission\n\n1335 East West Hwy, Suite 4300\n\nSilver Spring, MD 20910\n\nDear Inspector General Layfield:\n\nIn light of media reports that California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is now the front-runner to be appointed to California\u2019s open United States Senate seat, we are writing to request a member-level briefing on the status of your review of the highly questionable $35 million contract for voter contact the California Secretary of State\u2019s Office awarded to SKD Knickerbocker (SKD), Joe Biden\u2019s main election campaign advisory firm.\n\nAccording to the New York Times, \u201cAlex Padilla, California secretary of state, has emerged as the front-runner to succeed Kamala Harris.\u201d Secretary Padilla reportedly provided California\u2019s governor Gavin Newsom with an early endorsement during the 2018 election and \u201c[n]ow Mr. Newsom is in a position to return the favor.\u201d An appointment is expected to be made before January 20, 2021. Because Secretary Padilla may become a member of the United States Senate in a matter of days or weeks, it is critical that he provide answers about his decision to award a contract to a partisan firm that appears to be both a misuse of taxpayer money and a violation of the law.\n\nTo our knowledge, your office has not yet began a formal investigation of the contract. We wrote to you on October 13, 2020 about the California Secretary of State\u2019s Office use of Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant money from the CARES Act to fund the voter contact contract with SKD. Documents provided to your office by Committee Republicans appear to show that the California Secretary of State\u2019s Office planned to use HAVA money for voter contact. As you know, the use of HAVA funds for voter contact is a violation of the law. According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), HAVA grants cannot be used to get out the vote (GOTV) or to encourage voting. Further, the CARES Act is very specific about the use of these funds, which must be used to \u201cprevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally, for the 2020 Federal election cycle.\u201d\n\nThe $35 million contract was apparently intended to provide a partisan firm the opportunity to use taxpayer money to influence the federal election. The $400 million supplemental appropriation funding, distributed by the EAC, was designed to provide states with additional resources to protect the 2020 election from the pandemic. As it stands, the Secretary\u2019s decisions ensured no Californians benefited from this appropriation. Before Secretary Padilla has the opportunity to become a member of the United States Senate entrusted with upholding the integrity of all federal elections and safeguarding taxpayer money, the American people deserve to know whether he has misused federal funds to benefit political allies. Since your office is charged with rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in EAC programs, your office is critical in determining whether the contract awarded to SKD violated the law by using HAVA grant money.\n\nPlease contact Committee staff at (202) 225-5074 to schedule this briefing by December 10, 2020. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this matter.\n\nThe Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate \u201cany matter\u201d at \u201cany time\u201d under House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.\n\nSincerely,\n\nJames Comer, Ranking Member, House Committee on Oversight and Reform\n\nRodney Davis, Ranking Member, Committee on House Administration\n\nJody Hice, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Government Operations", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://comer.house.gov/2020/12/comer-demands-california-return-federal-funds-treasury-due-padilla-s-unlawful", "Comer Demands California Return Federal Funds to Treasury Due to Padilla\u2019s Unlawful Contract with Pro-Biden Firm", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "James Comer", "C001108", "comer.house.gov", "comer", "https://comer.house.gov/media", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014Today, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.), House Administration Committee Ranking Member Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and Subcommittee on Government Operations Ranking Member Jody Hice (R-Ga.) demanded the State of California return all federal money to the U.S. Treasury that California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is attempting to use for an unlawful contract with a pro-Biden firm to contact voters.\n\nEarlier this year, Secretary Padilla awarded a $35 million no-bid contract to SKD Knickerbocker, Joe Biden\u2019s main election campaign advisory firm. Documents appear to show that the Secretary of State\u2019s Office attempted to inappropriately fund the contract with federal Help America Vote Act money from the CARES Act to target specific voters and encourage voting, which is a violation of the law. According to a media report, Secretary Padilla has received $34 million worth of invoices from SKD for the voter contact contract, but the California State Controller\u2019s Office says he lacks the state budget authority to pay for it.\n\n\u201cInstead of using taxpayer money to enrich political allies of Secretary Alex Padilla with a contract that likely violates the law, we request that you immediately return the federal money to the United States Treasury\u2026 The Secretary\u2019s attempt to pay SKD with federal money appears to be unlawful and an effort to influence the federal election. Instead of using federal grant money to benefit all Californians during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary has decided to skirt the law by pushing an unnecessary and frivolous contract for his political allies to influence the federal election. As it stands, the Secretary\u2019s decisions ensured no Californians benefited from this appropriation,\u201d wrote the Republican Members.\n\nThe Republican members previously called on the Election Assistance Commission Inspector General to investigate this contract and also called on Secretary Padilla to provide answers.\n\nThe full letter is available here and below.\n\nDecember 15, 2020\n\nKeeley Martin Bosler\n\nFinance Director\n\nCalifornia Department of Finance\n\nState Capitol Office, Room 1145\n\nSacramento, CA 95814\n\nDear Director Bosler:\n\nWe are continuing oversight of the highly questionable $35 million voter contact contract the California Secretary of State\u2019s Office awarded to SKD Knickbocker (SKD), Joe Biden\u2019s main election campaign advisory firm. Instead of using taxpayer money to enrich political allies of Secretary Alex Padilla with a contract that likely violates the law, we request that you immediately return the federal money to the United States Treasury.\n\nAccording to the Sacramento Bee, Secretary Padilla has received $34 million worth of invoices from SKD for the voter contact contract. The no-bid contract was awarded behind closed doors to a firm that employs the \u201cmastermind\u201d of Joe Biden\u2019s presidential campaign and recently added a banner to its website with pictures of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris thanking them for \u201cfighting for the soul of the nation.\u201d SKD also worked on five California congressional races for Democratic candidates during the 2020 election. Now, Secretary Padilla is reportedly the front-runner to be appointed to California\u2019s potentially open United States Senate seat. It is clearly a conflict of interest to provide SKD with millions of dollars in taxpayer money to contact voters while they were not only advising Joe Biden\u2019s presidential campaign but also supporting Democrats in congressional races across California.\n\nThe Secretary\u2019s attempt to pay SKD with federal money appears to be unlawful and an effort to influence the federal election. Documents reviewed by Committee Republicans and provided to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Office of Inspector General show that the Secretary of State\u2019s Office plans to use Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant money from the CARES Act to fund the contract. According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), HAVA grants cannot be used to get out the vote (GOTV) or to encourage voting. Further, the CARES Act is very specific about the use of these funds, which must be used to \u201cprevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally, for the 2020 Federal election cycle.\u201d\n\nInstead of using federal grant money to benefit all Californians during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary has decided to skirt the law by pushing an unnecessary and frivolous contract for his political allies to influence the federal election. The $400 million supplemental appropriation funding, distributed by the EAC, was designed to provide states with additional resources to carry out the 2020 election during the pandemic. As it stands, the Secretary\u2019s decisions ensured no Californians benefited from this appropriation. We respectively request that you immediately refund federal taxpayers the millions of dollars the Secretary of State\u2019s Office is attempting to use from the CARES Act to pay SKD.\n\nThe Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate \u201cany matter\u201d at \u201cany time\u201d under House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.\n\nSincerely,\n\nJames Comer, Ranking Member, House Committee on Oversight and Reform\n\nRodney Davis, Ranking Member, Committee on House Administration\n\nJim Jordan, Ranking Member, Committee on Judiciary\n\nJody Hice, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Government Operations", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://comer.house.gov/2020/12/comer-federal-investigation-hunter-biden-must-continue-unimpeded", "Comer: Federal Investigation into Hunter Biden Must Continue Unimpeded", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "James Comer", "C001108", "comer.house.gov", "comer", "https://comer.house.gov/media", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) today issued the following statement on the federal investigation into Hunter Biden\u2019s taxes:\n\n\u201cThere have been serious concerns about Hunter Biden\u2019s foreign business dealings and potential conflicts of interest for years, and the mainstream media\u2019s lack of reporting during the election and Big Tech\u2019s censorship didn\u2019t erase these facts. Joe Biden\u2019s na\u00efve approach to his son\u2019s foreign business dealings and refusal to answer basic questions are a disservice to the American people. The Oversight Committee must be vigilant in ensuring Joe Biden is not influenced by his family\u2019s foreign interests.\n\n\u201cThe U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware\u2019s investigation must continue unimpeded. Joe Biden must not replace the current U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware now that his son is under federal investigation. Any interference would be meddling in the Department of Justice\u2019s affairs.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://comer.house.gov/2020/12/top-republicans-call-fbi-provide-information-about-ccp-s-infiltration-us", "Top Republicans Call on FBI to Provide Information about CCP\u2019s Infiltration in U.S. Government Institutions", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "James Comer", "C001108", "comer.house.gov", "comer", "https://comer.house.gov/media", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014Today, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.), Subcommittee on Government Operations Ranking Member Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Subcommittee on National Security Ranking Member Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy Ranking Member Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Ranking Member Chip Roy (R-Texas), and Subcommittee on Environment Ranking Member Mark Green (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Wray, expressing concerns regarding recent reports that indicate a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy targeted a Member of Congress on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees to gain access and influence. The letter also highlights various methods the CCP is actively using to gather important, sensitive information from Americans and calls on the FBI to hold an immediate briefing on the depth and breadth of the CCP\u2019s infiltration in U.S. government institutions.\n\n\u201cOn our own soil, Chinese Communist Party intelligence operatives are strategically implementing new, creative ways to gain access and influence. We already know that the CCP seeks to infiltrate our academic institutions, allowing China to spew propaganda and potentially steal America\u2019s intellectual property. Unfazed, the CCP is now targeting our most distinguished institutions and high-profile government officials,\u201d said Ranking Member Comer. \u201cJust this past week, it was revealed that a U.S. Representative with access to sensitive information developed a close relationship with an undercover Chinese spy. We must ensure Members of Congress remain uncompromised from the attempts of our adversaries to plunder classified intelligence and influence American leadership. Going forward, understanding the scope of the CCP\u2019s whole operation is critical to combating and preventing any future attempts to undermine our U.S. government institutions.\u201d\n\nEarlier this year, Ranking Member Comer was joined by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Education and Labor Committee Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) in demanding that six of our nation\u2019s leading universities provide all records of donations from foreign governments and rogue regimes. The investigation seeks to hold America\u2019s educational system accountable for failing to disclose its monetary ties to the CCP.\n\nBelow is the full letter to Director Wray.\n\nThe Honorable Christopher Wray\n\nDirector\n\nFederal Bureau of Investigation\n\n935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW\n\nWashington, D.C. 20535\n\nDear Director Wray:\n\nWe write concerning the Federal Bureau of Investigation\u2019s (FBI) matter preventing and combating the attempts of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to spy on American citizens, steal intellectual property, and suppress free speech of American CCP dissenters. Recent reporting suggests these CCP attempts have garnered significant results, including interacting with a Member of Congress on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees.\n\nFor several months, Committee on Oversight and Reform Republicans have been conducting oversight on all aspects of malign influence by the CCP, particularly the use of spies or covert agents to infiltrate America\u2019s most sacred educational and governmental institutions. This year we have inquired into institutes of higher education failing to disclose monetary ties to the CCP, CCP disinformation campaigns regarding the origins and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, CCP providing false information to the World Health Organization (WHO), and CCP theft of American COVID-19 vaccine research. It is imperative we treat the CCP as what they are-adversaries. Indeed, the Director of National Intelligence recently proclaimed China as \u201cthe greatest threat to America today\u201d and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom world-wide since World War II.\u201d\n\nAccording to media reports, the CCP intelligence operative known as Fang Fang had developed extensive relationships with elected officials at every level of government, including a Democrat U.S. Congressman. U.S. intelligence officials believe Fang Fang\u2019s operation was orchestrated by the CCP\u2019s primary civilian spy agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), between 2011 and 2015. The operative targeted primarily Democrat politicians in the San Francisco area, but also around the country. Fang Fang gained influence through campaigning, fundraising, and cultivating romantic relationships with elected officials and their staff. This allowed her to learn these officials\u2019 habits, schedules, and preferences, potentially to share this information with the MSS.\n\nDepending on the total number of active CCP operatives and the breadth of the MSS operation across our country, any number of elected officials could potentially be compromised without even knowing it. Therefore, to help us better understand the depth and breadth of CCP influence in government institutions, as well as the FBI\u2019s efforts to investigate and affirmatively combat CCP efforts, please schedule a staff level briefing on this issue by December 21, 2020.\n\nTo schedule the briefing or ask any follow-up or related questions, please contact the Committee on Oversight and Reform staff at (202) 225-5074. This briefing may be conducted remotely for convenience and safety issues. The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principle oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate \u201cany matter\u201d at \u201cany time\u201d under House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.\n\nSincerely,\n\nJames Comer\n\nRanking Member\n\nHouse Committee on Oversight and Reform", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://guthrie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=387308", "Guthrie Encourages Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Brett Guthrie", "G000558", "guthrie.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, released the following video message after receiving the first of two injections of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. \r\n\r\nI'm Congressman Brett Guthrie. I'm on the Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, the ranking member. I had responsibility for the legislative oversight of the development of the vaccines, so I've been following these vaccines since the inception of Operation Warp Speed (OWS). I wanted to say that I took the vaccine today. I took it for the purpose of illustrating that I find it extremely safe, extremely effective, and I have no concerns about taking the vaccine. Always talk with your health care provider who provides it for you, but the vaccine is safe and effective. I'm willing to take it, and I encourage everybody to take the vaccine when it becomes available because we need to make sure that we beat this coronavirus.\r\nThe Office of the Attending Physician received Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses and strongly recommended the vaccine. While Guthrie has oversight of federal health agencies and COVID-19 vaccine development, this distribution to Congress was not his decision.\r\nClick HERE for Rep. Guthrie's video message. A video and photo of Rep. Guthrie receiving the COVID-19 vaccine can be found HERE and HERE, respectively.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://guthrie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=387309", "E&C Republican Leaders: Second EUA is a Testament to American Ingenuity", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Brett Guthrie", "G000558", "guthrie.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader for the 116th Congress Greg Walden (R-OR), Republican Leader for the 117th Congress Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Health Subcommittee Republican Leader Dr. Michael Burgess (R-TX), and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader Brett Guthrie (R-KY) released the following statement after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its second emergency use authorization (EUA) for a COVID-19 vaccine, this time authorizing Moderna's vaccine for distribution.\r\nIn just one week, we've gone from zero authorized vaccines to two that have both exceeded the strong safety and efficacy standards set by the FDA. This is a true testament to American ingenuity and the work of President Trump's Operation Warp Speed, the scientific and public health communities, and the patients who have volunteered their time to participate in clinical trials. This week, all Americans felt hope when we saw brave front line health workers receive the first vaccines. As we said last week, this is the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we owe it to every essential worker to continue handwashing and wearing masks. The United States of America will lead the world out of this pandemic, but we must continue doing our part to keep each other safe, said Walden, Rodgers, Burgess, and Guthrie.\r\nThe EUA follows a strong 20-0 vote by a panel of non-political scientific experts tasked with reviewing Moderna's clinical trial safety and efficacy data. Last Friday, the Republican Leaders commented on the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine. Read that statement here.\r\nTo read more about FDA's EUA process for vaccines click here. Read more about Operation Warp Speed here.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases?ID=C276DC5E-14FA-49F4-A2D0-0254553BD402", "Congressman Rogers is Hopeful About the COVID-19 Vaccines", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Harold Rogers", "R000395", "halrogers.house.gov", "halrogers", "https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. Harold \"Hal\" Rogers (KY-05) released the following statement about COVID-19 vaccines and distribution in Kentucky:\n\n\u201cThis has been a historical week for Southern and Eastern Kentucky as front-line healthcare workers and others received some of the first coronavirus vaccinations in the country.\n\n\"The fact that a vaccine is already available is a true testament to the monumental efforts of President Trump and Operation Warp Speed, which developed this vaccine in record time.\n\n\"My hope in the vaccine is two-fold: to save lives, and to provide a safe path forward to reopen our schools and businesses, and allow nursing home residents to see their loved ones face-to-face again.\n\n\"Today, the Capitol physician began administering the vaccine to Members of Congress, encouraging us to take the vaccine due to the nature of our frequent legislative meetings and travel between Washington and our home states.\n\n\"While many have reservations about the vaccine, I received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination today with confidence, knowing that this is the first step for America to beat this pandemic and revive our economy.\n\n\"We must ensure that the distribution process is successful across Kentucky and around the United States, and I will continue to work to make sure it is available to everyone who wants to receive it.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-local-news-and-broadcast-media-preservation-act/", "Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Local News and Broadcast Media Preservation Act", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nDecember 18, 2020\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the Local News and Broadcast Media Preservation Act, S. 5058, which would give local broadcasters and newspapers much-needed relief from outdated government restrictions that are currently threatening their ability to succeed in an evolving media environment.\n\n\u201cWith the rise of social media and an ever-changing media landscape, it is imperative that our local newspapers and broadcasters are given the freedom to adapt. My Local News and Broadcast Media Preservation Act gets government out of the way and frees broadcast media from the chains that restrict their ability to better serve their customers,\u201d said Dr. Paul.\n\nThe Local News and Broadcast Media Preservation Act would exempt newspapers from federal antitrust laws to allow them to compete with and negotiate with national tech companies.\n\nAdditionally, the legislation would allow local broadcast companies to merge without government interference to allow those broadcasters to better compete against these tech giants.\n\nLastly, the bill would eliminate the local and national caps on radio and television ownership.\n\nYou can read S. 5058, Dr. Paul\u2019s Local News and Broadcast Media Preservation Act, HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-introduces-local-news-and-broadcast-media-preservation-act", "Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Local News and Broadcast\u00a0Media\u00a0Preservation Act", "2020-12-18", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE:  December 18, 2020  Contact:Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343   WASHINGTON, D.C. Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the Local News and BroadcastMediaPreservation Act, S. 5058, which would give local broadcasters and newspapers much-needed relief from outdated government restrictions that are currently threatening their ability to succeed in an evolvingmediaenvironment.   With the rise of socialmediaand an ever-changingmedialandscape, it is imperative that our local newspapers and broadcasters are given the freedom to adapt. My Local News and BroadcastMediaPreservation Act gets government out of the way and frees broadcastmediafrom the chains that restrict their ability to better serve their customers, said Dr. Paul.   The Local News and BroadcastMediaPreservation Act would exempt newspapers from federal antitrust laws to allow them to compete with and negotiate with national tech companies. Additionally, the legislation would allow local broadcast companies to merge without government interference to allow those broadcasters to better compete against these tech giants.    Lastly, the bill would eliminate the local and national caps on radio and television ownership.   You can read S. 5058, Dr. Paul's Local News and BroadcastMediaPreservation Act, HERE.   ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=A7B89D9A-EB5E-4B7B-B0DD-11E17137E9C3", "COVID-19 Relief Update: Lets Make Law As Soon As Possible", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding appropriations and COVID-19 relief:\r\nWe in Congress are no strangers to December funding deadlines or the occasional pre-Christmas cliffhanger.\r\nIn that respect, the situation we face now is familiar. Funding for the federal government is hanging in the balance. In the next few days, Congress will either succeed or fail at providing secure and stable funding for our military commanders, our federal departments, and key investments for our future.\r\nFortunately, our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee and their House counterparts have been on the case. Bipartisan, bicameral committee work hasfull-year government funding legislation on the one-yard line.\r\nI'm optimistic that if we can close out our other, parallel business, we should be able to fund the government and move forward together.\r\nBut that brings me to the way in which this year is unlike anything we've seen before.\r\nIt's been more than nine months since our nation began to feel the full force of the COVID-19 pandemic.\r\nThe American people have done what Americans do when crises come knocking.\r\nEssential workers have kept our nation running. Healthcare professionals have worked day and night to care for strangers. Heroic American businesses have adapted, reinvented, and obeyed the advice of medical experts.\r\nNow we can see light at the end of the tunnel. Operation Warp Speed has given us safe and effective vaccines in record time. But the American people need another bridge to those better days that are not so far off. The country needs Congress to come through with another, targeted rescue package.\r\nThey've waited months. They've waited, and suffered, and some have died while needless political games have played out.The American people's wait for more emergency assistance ought to be over.\r\nFor months, I've called for a targeted, bipartisan package that would put hundreds of billions of dollars into payroll support, testing, vaccine distribution, extending unemployment aid, safe schools, and other essential priorities.\r\nSo I'm encouraged that our Democratic colleagues have now embraced this framework, that's been the right solution for our country all this time. And a bipartisan, bicameral agreement appears to be close at hand.\r\nThe outline that I've been discussing with the Democratic Leader, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader McCarthy would get another huge dose of bipartisan support out the door as fast as possible.\r\nWe have yet to nail down every detail. But in broad strokes:\r\nWe've been discussing the targeted second round of the job-saving Paycheck Protection Program that Republicans have sought since the summer.\r\nWe're discussing many tens of billions of dollars for distributing vaccines, COVID testing, and equipping safe schools to get our kids' educations back on track. We're discussing extending important unemployment programs.\r\nAt the particular urging of President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin, who have continued to be the champions of cash relief for American families, we're discussing more direct impact payments for individuals, plus the bonus for families with children.\r\nThese are just some of the major pillars. And equally important, we're agreeing to be smart about financing these extraordinary policies.\r\nWe intend to repurpose more than $400 billion in unspent funds which we already allocated in the CARES Act. It turned out these funds did not need to be tapped to restore basic stability to our economy. It's time we put that money to urgent use.\r\n***\r\nLike I said at this time yesterday, I am heartened by our discussions and our progress. I believe all sides are working in good faith toward our shared goal of getting an outcome.\r\nBut I will say this. In my judgement we're very close to a point that arises in every major negotiation. It's the point where each side faces a fork in the road.\r\nDo we want to lapse into politics as usual and let negotiations lose steam?\r\nDo we want to haggle and spar like this were an ordinary political exercise; get wrapped around the axle of language or policy riders that we know are controversial?\r\nOr, on the other hand, after months of inaction, do we want to move swiftly and with unusual bipartisanship to close out our issues, seal the deal, and write text that we can quickly pass into law?\r\nIn short, we're near the point in this process where we decide if we're going to stay on the fast track or drift back toward business as usual.\r\nI say the answer is obvious. After all these months, struggling Americans don't just need action; they need action fast.\r\nSo I continue to appreciate our productive discussions. But I hope we also remember just how urgent the situation is for millions and millions of our fellow citizens.\r\nFor the information of all Senators, we are going to stay right here until we are finished, even if that means working into or through the weekend.\r\nAnd if we need to further extend the Friday funding deadline before final legislation can pass in both chambers, I hope we only extend it for a very, very short window of time.\r\nOur citizens can't afford for us to get bogged down in the back-and-forth. Let's finish up our bipartisan framework. Let's make law as soon as possible. That's what our people deserve.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=B2B7DF38-C3F8-4805-8355-5B422F9261B4", "McConnell: Kentuckians and All Americans Should Accept the COVID-19 Vaccine", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement today regarding the COVID-19 vaccine:\r\nSince last spring, following health guidelines, I have advocated mask wearing, social distancing and other best practices.\r\nBecause of the health professionals at the FDA, Operation Warp Speed, and provisions of the CARES Act that I was proud to get signed into law, we now have a vaccine that is ready for use. But I am disappointed to see early public sentiment that shows some hesitation towards receiving a vaccine. \r\nA recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll shows about a quarter of U.S. adults aren't sure if they want to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Roughly another quarter say they won't. It is concerning that half of Americans feel this way.\r\nThe only way to beat this pandemic is for us to follow the advice of our nation's health care professionals: get vaccinated and continue to follow CDC guidelines.\r\nAs a polio survivor, I know both the fear of a disease and the extraordinary promise of hope that vaccines bring. I truly hope all Kentuckians and Americans will heed this advice and accept this safe and effective vaccine.\r\nBecause of government continuity requirements, I have been informed by the Office of the Attending Physician that I am eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, which I will accept in the coming days.\r\nEven with a vaccine, I will continue following CDC guidelines by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and washing my hands frequently. I would strongly encourage everyone to continue following these important guidelines. It is the only way we will defeat COVID-19 once and for all.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=C8094067-5AC6-4A27-A339-46DEB01834B2", "McConnells CARES Act Sends Another $143 Million to Kentucky to Help Fight COVID-19", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today Kentucky is receiving an additional $2,500,325 to be used to help fight COVID-19. Of the funding, $1,584,325 will go towards vaccine preparedness and $916,000 for testing and contact tracing. These federal resources, distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were made available by Senator McConnell's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. To date, Kentucky has received more than $120 million from the CDC for COVID-19 response.\r\nAdditionally, Senator McConnell announced $141,828,054 will also be provided to 598 Kentucky healthcare providers. This federal funding, distributed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), was made available through Senator McConnell's CARES Act Provider Relief Fund which has sent more than $1.4 billion to Kentucky's healthcare heroes on the frontlines of this pandemic.\r\nThere's a genuine feeling of excitement throughout the country over the delivery of the Coronavirus vaccine. I'm proud to announce today the incredibly urgent, targeted funding to get Kentuckians vaccinated and support our healthcare heroes to finish this fight, said Senator McConnell. Since May, I've visited more than 30 Kentucky healthcare providers to personally thank frontline healthcare heroes. Especially now with vaccines on the way, my CARES Act is providing critical federal resources so that healthcare providers can keep our communities safe from this terrible virus.\r\nTo date, Senator McConnell's CARES Act has had a more than $13 billion impact in Kentucky. Senator McConnell's legislation has delivered $4 billion in relief to address urgent housing, transportation, healthcare, education and economic development priorities. Kentucky small businesses, farmers, and nonprofits accessed more than $5.2 billion in assistance through 50,000PPP loans. Kentucky families have also received $4 billion in Economic Impact Payments from the U.S. Treasury.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=CF1BBCA9-1ED5-4DCB-8B34-6ADAFE954BD5", "Kentucky to Receive $5 Million for Substance Abuse Prevention Efforts", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today eight Kentucky communities will receive a total of $5 million over five years for their substance abuse prevention efforts. Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) James Carroll, also known as the Drug Czar, contacted Senator McConnell to share the recipients of the funding from the Drug-Free Communities Program.\r\nAcross Kentucky and the country, we're investing in our comprehensive response to opioid and substance abuse. I'm grateful to Director Carroll and the dedicated Kentuckians who are working to keep drugs away from our children, said Senator McConnell. Tragically, substance abuse is an ongoing problem in Kentucky. The multi-year federal resources for these programs can help educators and local leaders develop a long-term strategy to fight abuse and save lives.\r\nThe following entities will each receive $125,000 annually for five years for their addiction prevention efforts:\r\n \r\nButler County Educational Foundation\r\nCampbell County Drug Free Alliance\r\nErlanger-Elsmere Board of Education\r\nFamily & Children's Place (Louisville)\r\nGraves County Fiscal Court\r\nMuhlenberg County Health Department\r\nShawnee Transformation Youth Coalition (Louisville)\r\nSpencer County Public Schools\r\n \r\nEarlier this year, Senator McConnell applauded ONDCP's announcements of $2.25 million into Kentucky's substance abuse prevention efforts.\r\nThe E3C Drug Free project and the Erlanger-Elsmere Schools are humbled and proud to be a recipient of the Drug Free Communities Support Program Grant, said Erlanger-Elsmere Superintendent Chad D. Molley. Thanks to Senator McConnell, this funding will provide an incredible opportunity for our school district to increase community partnerships and to offer valuable resources to our students and families. These partnerships and resources will enable us to deepen our district's whole-child, whole-family approach to public education, which will, in turn, have a long-term positive impact on our community.\r\nSince becoming Majority Leader in 2015, Senator McConnell has prioritized the fight against the opioid and substance abuse epidemic by increasing federal funding for the response. Under Senator McConnell's leadership, Kentucky has received more than $275 million. He worked with the University of Kentucky to help secure an $87 million competitive federal grantthe largest in school historyto address the opioid crisis in high-risk communities. He has also helped secure the inclusion of some of Kentucky's hardest-hit counties in the ONDCP's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program to promote coordination and support for law enforcement in Kentucky.\r\nSenator McConnell consistently draws attention to Kentucky's prevention, treatment and enforcement efforts with the President's Cabinet and federal agencies. Multiple ONDCP Directors have visited Kentucky at his request to see the innovative work being done in the Commonwealth. This year, Director Jim Carroll visited Simpson, Logan, Clark, and Boyd counties at Senator McConnell's request to discuss the benefits of their recent HIDTA designations.\r\nIn 2018, President Trump signed into law the landmark opioid and substance abuse bill Senator McConnell helped shepherd to enactment. The bill included his CAREER Act  which U.S. Congressmen Andy Barr (KY-06) introduced in the House  recognizing the connection among employment, housing, and long-term recovery. The legislation also contained the Senator's Protecting Moms and Infants Act, which authorized an increase in federal funding to help babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=9CB97D9F-582E-4C21-AE43-F6626B3CA193", "Congressman Barr Calls on Congress to Pass COVID-19 Relief During Fox Business Network Appearance", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Congressman Andy Barr implored Congress to deliver COVID-19 relief to small businesses, families and workers today. Congressman Barr was the headline guest on Fox Business Network\u2019s Making Money with Charles Payne to discuss the latest COVID-19 relief talks in Congress.\n\n\u201cNo stimulus can replace a fully functional, open economy that has open schools, businesses and people who have confidence to go back to work,\u201d said Congressman Barr. \u201cThese government lockdowns have weakened our economy and that is why we need to deliver COVID-19 relief for small businesses, families and workers to sustain our economy until the COVID-19 vaccines can be widely distributed.\u201d\n\nFor months, Congressman Barr has been leading the charge to extend Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding for small businesses to receive a second loan. Forty times, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to bring legislation providing PPP relief to the floor and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked it from consideration.\n\nSmall businesses in Kentucky\u2019s Sixth Congressional District have received over $966 million in forgivable loans, impacting 118,459 jobs and reaching almost 10,000 different businesses. One business, MVC manufacturing in Jessamine County, worked with Congressman Barr\u2019s Office and successfully obtained PPP funds, a loan from U.S. Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program and a loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program. This funding allowed them to stay open and save 400 jobs in Nicholasville.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/mcconnell-kentuckians-and-all-americans-should-accept-the-covid-19-vaccine", "McConnell: Kentuckians and All Americans Should Accept the COVID-19 Vaccine", "2020-12-17", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.republicanleader.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.17.20\n\t\t\t McConnell: Kentuckians and All Americans Should Accept the COVID-19 Vaccine \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t The only way to beat this pandemic is for us to follow the advice of our nation's health care professionals: get vaccinated and continue to follow CDC guidelines.'\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON, D.C- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement today regarding the COVID-19 vaccine:\r\nSince last spring, following health guidelines, I have advocated mask wearing, social distancing and other best practices.\r\nBecause of the health professionals at the FDA, Operation Warp Speed, and provisions of the CARES Act that I was proud to get signed into law, we now have a vaccine that is ready for use. But I am disappointed to see early public sentiment that shows some hesitation towards receiving a vaccine.\r\nA recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll shows about a quarter of U.S. adults aren't sure if they want to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Roughly another quarter say they won't. It is concerning that half of Americans feel this way.\r\nThe only way to beat this pandemic is for us to follow the advice of our nation's health care professionals: get vaccinated and continue to follow CDC guidelines.\r\nAs a polio survivor, I know both the fear of a disease and the extraordinary promise of hope that vaccines bring. I truly hope all Kentuckians and Americans will heed this advice and accept this safe and effective vaccine.\r\nBecause of government continuity requirements, I have been informed by the Office of the Attending Physician that I am eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, which I will accept in the coming days.\r\nEven with a vaccine, I will continue following CDC guidelines by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and washing my hands frequently. I would strongly encourage everyone to continue following these important guidelines. It is the only way we will defeat COVID-19 once and for all.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n     \n\t\n \n\t\n    \n    \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t Related Issues:\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tCOVID-19,\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tHealth Care\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\n\t\t  \n\t\t\n\t\n\t   \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=999D6650-CE05-4943-8662-044DBD979488", "Congressional Leaders on Both Sides Are Going to Keep Working Until We Get it Done", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nThe Democratic Leader and I worked into the evening alongside the Speaker of the House and the House Republican Leader. We made major headway toward hammering out a targeted pandemic relief package that would be able to pass both chambers with bipartisan majorities.\r\nWe committed to continuing these urgent discussions urgently until we have an agreement. And we agreed we should not leave town until we've made law.\r\nThe American people need more help. It's that simple. Further targeted relief is now months overdue. We need vaccine distribution money. We need to re-up the Paycheck Protection Program to save jobs. We need to continue to provide for laid-off Americans.\r\nCongressional leaders on both sides are going to keep working until we get it done.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=B9FF6D2A-5E46-4973-9B0E-85D096E7F2C1", "McConnell Announces $450,000 for Infrastructure Upgrades in Bell County", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced the City of Middlesboro will receive $450,000 to upgrade aging infrastructure at a wastewater treatment plant. The federal funding comes from the Appalachian Regional Commission's (ARC) Central Appalachian Distressed County Infrastructure Program, which was established by Senator McConnell. These communities have received more than $40 million from this ARC fund.\r\nEvery Kentucky family deserves access to reliable water service. I am proud the ARC infrastructure and water program I established continues to deliver for thousands of families in Eastern Kentucky, said Senator McConnell. This major investment is welcome news for Bell County and will provide vital benefits for years to come. Along with my friend Congressman Hal Rogers, we're continuing to invest in this wonderful region's bright future.\r\nAccording to ARC, the investment will provide reliable wastewater treatment to 4,345 households and 605 businesses. The current water treatment facilities were built in 1986, and the aging equipment is subject to frequent failures and costly repairs. The threat of overflows from electrical and mechanical failures is high. The renovations funded by this ARC announcement will promote uninterrupted service and could save the city $17,000 annually.\r\nMiddlesboro Mayor Rick Nelson said: The citizens of Middlesboro appreciate the efforts of Leader McConnell and Congressman Hal Rogers for their help in securing this important funding for the citizens of Middlesboro.\"\r\nIn September, Senator McConnell joined U.S. Congressmen Hal Rogers (KY-05), Andy Barr (KY-06) and James Comer (KY-01) to announce $3.9 million for water infrastructure projects from this ARC fund.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=1AD55419-4341-4535-A678-2EC4AB740B58", "Congressman Andy Barr\u2019s Veterans\u2019 Bills Head to President\u2019s Desk for Signature", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Congressman Andy Barr\u2019s legislation improving veteran access to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability claims system and enhancing opportunities for veterans pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives after inclusion in H.R 7105, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020. This comprehensive veterans\u2019 legislation passed both chambers of Congress and will now be sent to the President to be signed into law. Versions of the Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act of 2020 (VBFTA) and the Veteran STEM Scholarship Enhancement Act, which Congressman Barr led to passage in the House, were included in the final veterans\u2019 package.\n\nCongressman Barr introduced the VBFTA in July and led it to unanimous passage in House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee (HVAC) with Democrat Congresswoman Elaine Luria (D-VA). The bill protects veterans filing for disability claims by requiring the VA to restore the availability of disability benefit questionnaires (DBQs) to their publicly available website. This allows veterans to use their own personal healthcare provider when filling out their DBQs outside the VA. Furthermore, the bill cuts red tape and bureaucracy by preventing a veteran\u2019s claim from being rejected just because the VA updated the DBQ form. The idea for this legislation came from a member of the Sixth District Veterans Coalition, a veterans\u2019 advisory group that regularly advises the Congressman on veterans\u2019 issues.\n\nAdditionally, the Veteran STEM Scholarship Enhancement Act allows the VA to improve processing times for veteran scholarship applications for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship. The bill achieves this by lifting the requirement for priority groups among eligible veterans applying for the scholarship unless the VA determines that it is nearing the scholarship\u2019s yearly funding limit. This bill also prevents the Rogers STEM scholarship from counting toward the 48-month limit a veteran can receive GI Bill benefits. This builds upon legislation the Congressman previously introduced that expanded access to the Rogers STEM scholarship for veterans that was signed into law in 2019.\n\n\u201cWith the passage of this comprehensive veterans\u2019 package, we have pushed expanding access for veterans to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational opportunities and important fixes to our VA disability claims system across the finish line,\u201d said Congressman Barr. \u201cThese initiatives have been priorities of mine since joining the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee at the beginning of the 116th Congress. I want to thank the Sixth District Veterans Coalition for their invaluable input on veterans\u2019 issues, including the Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act of 2020. I look forward to continuing our work to help veterans in the Sixth District and throughout the country.\u201d\n\nIn addition to Congressman Barr\u2019s legislation, H.R. 7105 expands access to education and training for transitioning servicemembers, improves care and benefits for women veterans, modernizes the Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance Program, supports veterans who are homeless, and addresses the needs of veterans across the VA system.\n\nFor a section-by-section summary of H.R. 7105, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, click here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=1B14BB7E-B185-48A2-A5C9-8BEAD6A42ECB", "Barr, Gorton Secure $511,078 Federal Grant for the City of Lexington Fire Department to Fight Opioid Epidemic", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Lexington, KY \u2013 U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) and Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton secured a $511,078 federal grant for the City of Lexington\u2019s Fire Department to assist the Department in fighting the opioid epidemic. The grant funding comes from the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP). This award will enable Lexington to continue services for survivors of substance abuse overdoses, which includes casework management, treatment providers, housing assistance and other mental health resources.\n\n\u201cDuring the pandemic, it is important now more than ever to maintain our investments in substance abuse prevention, response and recovery efforts,\u201d said Congressman Barr. \u201cIn the past, I have accompanied the Department on ride-along visits to Kentuckians recovering from overdoses and seen first-hand the impact these services have. I was happy to support this grant request and I applaud the DOJ for stepping up to help local governments meet this challenge. Together, we will defeat this epidemic.\u201d\n\n\u201cSubstance use disorders have been sapping the life out of our City, and having an impact on quality of life, workforce and city services,\u201d said Mayor Gorton. \u201cThe isolation many people are experiencing because of COVID-19 has driven up overdose rates, erasing much of the progress we made in recent years.\u201d\n\nThe Lexington Fire Department grant award is the latest in a slew of federal grants Congressman Barr helped deliver to combat the opioid epidemic in the Sixth District. In October, Congressman Barr announced a $433,903 DOJ grant for the Shepherd\u2019s House in Lexington. Shepherd\u2019s House has over three decades of experience providing multiple recovery programs to rehabilitate dozens of recovering addicts per year. Additionally, Congressman Barr also supported the $87 million grant awarded to the University of Kentucky\u2019s HEALing Communities research, designed to reduce opioid overdose death by 40%.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=0BD928C7-84CE-4DA4-BE90-464312BB56E3", "McConnell Applauds Attorney General Bill Barr", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement today regarding Attorney General Bill Barr\r\nAttorney General Barr is one of the most dedicated and capable public servants I have ever seen in action. For nearly two years, he's provided wise counsel to President Trump and rendered outstanding service to our country. He has helped keep America safe from criminals and terrorists and advanced the bedrock American value of equal justice under law.\r\nWhen his country came calling two years ago, Bill Barr did not have to answer. He had already completed a distinguished career in government. He had already led the Department of Justice, having been confirmed by a voice vote to serve President Bush 41 as one of the youngest Attorneys General in our nation's history. He had a wildly successful private-sector career. Fortunately for the nation, his dedication to the men and women of the Department of Justice compelled Attorney General Barr to clock back in.\r\nIn a time of intense polarization, and notwithstanding unfair criticism from the far left and the media, Attorney General Barr did his work with clarity, principle, and professionalism. He fostered greater accountability in the DOJ and confronted the egregious abuses surrounding the FBI's handling of the 2016 election. He worked to protect innocent Americans from violent crime and protected our nation's capital and its historic monuments when peaceful protests were hijacked by violent rioters. He fought against China's lawbreaking and corrosive influence. He was a warrior for religious liberty and free speech who ensured that DOJ safeguarded these liberties even during a pandemic. And he stood for the simple but apparently controversial proposition that the federal government should actually enforce the laws on the books, in subjects from immigration and border security to the death penalty that federal law reserves for the gravest offenses.\r\nNow, for a second time, Attorney General Barr will leave the Department and the rule of law in this country stronger than he found them. He has more than earned a return to private practice and more time with his family. I warmly wish him and his family the very best.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=9635BDBC-D677-4491-9B40-65B8103FD711", "Senator McConnell Names New State Director", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is welcoming Robbin Morrison Taylor back to his team to serve as his State Director for Kentucky. She previously worked for Senator McConnell from 1991 to 2000 as the South Central Kentucky Field Representative in Bowling Green. Taylor, currently a Principal at McCarthy Strategic Solutions in Frankfort, will transition and begin her new role as State Director in January. Taylor will succeed Terry Carmack, who McConnell recently named as his new Chief of Staff in his Washington, D.C. personal office.\r\nRobbin is known across Kentucky for producing results. I'm glad she accepted my offer to bring her ability and leadership back to my team as State Director, said Senator McConnell. Robbin's years of experience will be invaluable as she leads my state staff to connect Kentucky families with their government. Working with my new Chief of Staff Terry Carmack, she'll help keep our Commonwealth's priorities front and center in the Senate.\r\nTaylor spent 18 years at Western Kentucky University in several prominent roles including as Vice President of Public Affairs. She represented WKU's interests in Washington, D.C. and across the state with special focus in Frankfort directing development, alumni, corporate, and government relations.\r\nTaylor earned a Master's of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Public Relations from Western Kentucky University.After graduating from WKU in 1990, Taylor began her career as an intern in Senator McConnell's press office.\r\nSenator McConnell's main state office is in Louisville. Click HERE for contact information and a full list of his field offices across the Commonwealth.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=D35F949B-EAB4-40D8-93D6-7FDBC10BB22A", "McConnell Applauds President Trump & Congratulates President-Elect Biden", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding President Trump and President-Elect Biden:\r\nOver the last four years, our country has benefitted from a presidential term filled with major accomplishments.\r\nPresident Donald Trump has repeatedly surprised the skeptics, confounded his critics, and delivered significant policy victories that have strengthened our country.\r\nCase in point:\r\nBack in May, when the President set the goal of finding a pandemic-ending vaccine by the end of this year, his timeline was dismissed by people who assumed they knew better.\r\nQuote: Trump promises coronavirus vaccine by end of the year,' scoffed one headline, but his own experts temper expectations.'\r\nFact check,' complained another headline, Coronavirus vaccine could come this year, Trump says. Experts say he needs a miracle' to be right.' End quote.\r\nWell, with the genius of science, support from Congress, and the bold leadership of the Trump Administration, that medical miracle arrived right on schedule.\r\nAmericans on the front lines are receiving vaccinations as we speak.\r\nThis episode offers a kind of microcosm of the last four years.\r\nOn so many subjects  from economic prosperity to foreign policy to protecting American families  the skeptics doubted him, the critics derided him, but President Trump has delivered.\r\n***\r\nWhen President Trump ran for office, he promised to help open a new chapter for working families.\r\nAfter eight years of failed policies that concentrated wealth and optimism among a lucky few, prosperity was going to flow to all kinds of workers in all kinds of communities, he said.\r\nAnd that is exactly what happened.\r\nBefore this pandemic spread from China and the world had to slam on the brakes, the American people had the best job market in living memory.\r\nWith help from the policies of President Trump and Republicans in Congress, American workers dynamited the stagnation that experts had said was the new normal.\r\nUnemployment hit a 50-year low. Capital markets hit record highs. And this time, all kinds of Americans got to share in the gains.\r\nWe saw earnings grow faster for workers than for managers; faster for the bottom 25% than for the top 25%.\r\nThis success was fueled in part by the policy leadership of President Trump.\r\nThis Administration pursued bold regulatory changes.\r\nOnce-in-a-generation tax reform had eluded prior leaders. This President signed it into law in his first year.\r\nAnd together we repealed the worst part of Obamacare. The unfair individual mandate was zeroed out.\r\nPresident Trump also took historic steps to strengthen the future of our trade with the world.\r\nHe secured the historic United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and bilateral tax treaties with partners in Europe and Asia.\r\nA nation this productive needs plenty of energy to keep it going. Fortunately, President Trump and his administration ended the ideological war on fossil fuels and hit the accelerator on all-of-the-above American energy dominance.\r\nIn the last four years we surpassed Saudi Arabia in oil production. We saw energy exports exceed energy imports for the first year in almost 70 years.\r\nMeanwhile we saw our CO2 emissions fall, along with other harmful pollutants.\r\nThat energy independence has dramatically strengthened our hand with respect to the rest of the world, particularly the Middle East.\r\nSpeaking of the Middle East, President Trump wasted little time pulling back from the prior administration's disastrous Iran deal.\r\nHis team eliminated daylight between us and Israel and repaired our relationships with Arab partners.\r\nAnd he aligned these relationships around our common shared interests  countering threats like radical Islamic terrorists and Iranian aggression.\r\nUnder President Trump's command, our forces took terrorist leaders like Al-Baghdadi and Soleimani off the battlefield.\r\nThe physical caliphate that ISIS established on the previous president's watch was destroyed.\r\nAll this paved the way for the Abraham Accords  the historic normalization of relationships between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and most recently Morocco, with the potential for more on the horizon.\r\nNow, the Middle East isn't the only place where the Trump Administration has shored up our footing on the world stage.\r\nOur 45th commander-in-chief set out to rebuild and modernize our military, and to move our foreign policy from a chapter of weakness and apology into a renewed posture of strength.\r\nFour years later, we have a new National Defense Strategy to compete with and deter adversaries like Russia and China.\r\nWe have rebuilt the military and invested in new technologies to ensure America keeps our edge in everything from cyber to space to advanced weapons systems.\r\nAnd the President's leadership has not stopped with those who are currently serving.\r\nHe also signed into law the historic VA MISSION Act, to ensure our dedication to our men and women in uniform does not end when their tours conclude.\r\n***\r\nClearly, the list of American accomplishments since 2016 is nearly endless.\r\nThere are the many miles of new protections on our southern border. At one point apprehensions at the border hit their lowest level since the 1970s.\r\nEssential causes like religious liberty and the most vulnerable, the unborn, have had a champion in this Administration, instead of an adversary.\r\nThere have been historic new steps to conserve our national treasures, like the Great American Outdoors Act.\r\nAnd perhaps most important of all, President Trump nominated  and this Senate confirmed  three outstanding Supreme Court Justices along with more than 220 more Article III federal judges.\r\nThese are brilliant, young, constitutionalist men and women in lifetime appointments who will renew the judiciary for a generation.\r\nAll because President Trump knows we need judges who respect the essential but limited job description the framers wrote for our third branch of government.\r\n***\r\nAs you can see, it would take far more than one speech to catalog all the major wins the Trump Administration has helped deliver for the American people.\r\nThe outsider who swore he would shake up Washington and lead our country to new accomplishments both at home and abroad proceeded to do exactly that.\r\nPresident Trump and Vice President Mike Pence deserve our thanks and our gratitude for their tireless work  and their essential roles in all these victories and many more.\r\n***\r\nSix weeks ago, Americans voted in this year's general election. The legal and constitutional processes have continued to play out.\r\nYesterday, electors met in all 50 states. So, as of this morning, our country officially has a President-elect and a Vice President-elect.\r\nMany millions of us had hoped the presidential election would yield a different result. But our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on January the 20th.\r\nThe Electoral College has spoken.\r\nSo today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The President-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He has devoted himself to public service for many years.\r\nI also congratulate the Vice President-elect, our colleague from California, Senator Harris. Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female Vice President-elect for the first time.\r\nI look forward to finishing out the next 36 days strong with President Trump. Our nation needs us to add another bipartisan chapter to this record of achievement.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=5032D916-B266-4CAE-93D0-CBD4529E44DD", "Congressman Andy Barr Announces $180,000 Grant for Shepherd\u2019s House", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Lexington, KY \u2013 U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) announced that Shepherd\u2019s House in Lexington received a $180,000 grant to expand their Recovery Community Center (RCC). This facility will be used to provide housing services to Kentuckians in substance abuse recovery. For over three decades, Shepherd\u2019s House has provided multiple recovery programs to rehabilitate dozens of people in recovery per year. Shepherd\u2019s House received this grant award through the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE).\n\n\u201cThis grant award is a tremendous boost to Shepherd\u2019s House and a testament to the results they have been able to produce in helping so many Kentuckians bounce back from addiction,\u201d said Congressman Barr. \u201cI supported this grant project, and I will continue to support Shepherd\u2019s House going forward because they are an invaluable asset to our community as we fight to defeat the opioid epidemic together.\u201d\n\n\u201cShepherd\u2019s House is grateful for this grant and opportunity to use these funds to build on the success of our organization,\u201d said Jerod Thomas, President and Chief Executive Officer of Shepherd\u2019s House. \u201cI want to extend my appreciation to Congressman Barr and his team for their support and assistance in receiving this grant as well as their partnership on previous grant efforts.\u201d\n\n\u201cKORE is happy to support the establishment of additional recovery community centers to build on our infrastructure of support services in Kentucky,\u201d said Dr. Katherine Marks, KORE Project Director. \u201cRCCs provide an array of services that help individuals get the support they need within their own communities to build recovery capital and sustain long-term recovery. We are grateful for Shepherd\u2019s House and the City of Nicholasville for partnering with us to expand access to evidence-based recovery services in the Commonwealth.\u201d\n\nKORE is administered by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services with federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Congressman Barr voted for H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, which appropriated the HHS funding used for this grant.\n\nThe announcement of the KORE grant marks the second major grant Congressman Barr supported to Shepherd\u2019s House in 2020. In October, Congressman Barr announced a $433,903 federal grant through the U.S. Department of Justice.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases?ID=BD063FBF-ED10-4AB0-9C5B-5947809ABDD1", "Congressman Rogers Announces $1 Million Grant for a New Medical Clinic in McCreary County", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Harold Rogers", "R000395", "halrogers.house.gov", "halrogers", "https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WHITLEY CITY \u2013 U.S. Rep. Harold \u201cHal\u201d Rogers (KY-05) applauds a $1 million grant that was recently awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the Cumberland Family Medical Center (CFMC) to build a new healthcare clinic in Whitley City, Kentucky.\n\n\u201cThis is great news for the future of healthcare services in McCreary County. The addition of this medical clinic in the midst of a national pandemic will go a long way to provide urgent care to local folks who need immediate medical attention in a county without a local hospital emergency room,\u201d said Congressman Rogers, who supported the CFMC\u2019s grant application. \u201cI applaud Dr. Eric Loy and his team at the Cumberland Family Medical Center for their diligent efforts to expand healthcare opportunities for our people in Southern Kentucky.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are fortunate to have been awarded this grant and look forward to working with the local government and the residents of McCreary County as we move forward with the project,\u201d said Dr. Eric Loy, CEO of Cumberland Family Medical Center, Inc. \u201cAs a non-profit, our mission of providing affordable, accessible health care to all patients is the backbone of this project; we are pleased to be able to expand our services in McCreary County.\u201d\n\nCurrently, CFMC is designing the new clinic in Whitley City that will increase the capacity and capability of the area to respond to and recover from future emergencies and disasters. It will also support the continuity of access to high quality primary care services for the underserved and vulnerable populations in McCreary County.\n\nThe new clinic will be an immediate care facility that will be open with extended days and hours of operation.The clinic will be open 365 days per year, 8 AM - 8 PM and offer a combination of health care services including acute care/walk-in treatment in addition to Family Practice services for those with chronic medical care needs.\n\n\u201cThis will clearly fill a need for a community without access to a local emergency department,\u201d concluded Loy.\n\nThe HRSA award is part of the Capital Assistance for Disaster Response and Recovery Efforts (CADRE) grant to assist health centers located in areas impacted by tornadoes and/or floods occurring in 2019 as declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). CFMC applied on behalf of McCreary County, as it is part of the 26 county HRSA-designated service area.\n\nA late Spring 2021 start date is anticipated for the construction of the project with completion by the end of 2021.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-hemp-act-relieve-unnecessary-constraints-hemp-industry-provide/", "Dr. Rand Paul Introduces HEMP Act to Relieve Unnecessary Constraints on Hemp Industry, Provide Transparency and Certainty", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nDecember 15, 2020\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) continued his efforts to address Kentucky hemp farmers\u2019 concerns with federal overreach and bring clarity, transparency, and certainty to regulation by introducing the Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (HEMP) Act of 2020.\n\nIn response to concerns raised by Kentucky hemp farmers and processors, Dr. Paul\u2019s HEMP Act would change the legal definition of hemp to raise the THC limit from 0.3% to 1%. Currently, any hemp crops testing above 0.3% have to be destroyed.\n\nThe legislation would require testing of the final hemp-derived product instead of the hemp flower or plant itself, as the 15-day window for testing the hemp flower or plant does not take potential testing backlogs, lack of personnel to collect samples, harvesting time, or environmental factors that farmers cannot control into account.\n\nDr. Paul\u2019s HEMP Act would also protect legitimate hemp farmers, processors, and transporters by requiring hemp shipments to contain a copy of the seed certificate showing the hemp was grown from 1% THC seed, and it would address current uncertainty by defining a margin of error for testing THC levels. Neither current law nor the USDA\u2019s interim final rule provide such a margin.\n\n\u201cFor years, I\u2019ve led the fight in Washington to restore one of Kentucky\u2019s most historically vital crops by legalizing industrial hemp. We achieved a hard-won victory, but there is still work to do to prevent the federal government from weighing down our farmers with unnecessary bureaucratic micromanaging. My legislation will help this growing industry reach its full economic potential, and I am proud the bill has strong support all the way from local Kentucky farmers and activists to national groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation,\u201d said Dr. Paul.\n\n\u201cThe U.S. hemp industry has had its share of roadblocks, but we continue to push forward and make changes that will help hemp producers thrive. Senator Paul\u2019s HEMP Act has the potential to improve upon the highest priority issues for hemp growers, processors, and labs, while making sure to keep our consumers safe as well. We are grateful for the continued support from our federal delegation and ask that folks at home call their Congressional representatives to ask for their support,\u201d said Katie Moyer, Owner of Kentucky Hemp Works.\n\n\u201cWe are so excited to hear about Senator Paul\u2019s H.E.M.P. Act, which will help farmers, processors and retailers in our young hemp industry. We believe that loosening up some important interstate business requirements are a much-needed step toward more prosperous times in the hemp economy,\u201d said Kentucky Hemp Association President Tate Hall and Vice President Jana Groda.\n\n\u201cWe appreciate Sen. Paul\u2019s leadership and support for hemp farmers in Kentucky and across the United States. The HEMP Act makes critical improvements that will better allow farmers to successfully grow and profit from hemp,\u201d said Vote Hemp President Eric Steenstra.\n\nDr. Paul has been a leading voice for removing government restrictions on hemp, and his past efforts, including championing legislation, testifying before the Kentucky legislature, and advocating for Kentucky farmers in Washington, have helped ensure Kentucky can rebuild its hemp industry and push forward to a prosperous future. You can find a video detailing his efforts HERE.\n\nYou can read Dr. Paul\u2019s HEMP Act of 2020 HERE, and you can find background and further details in a one-pager HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-introduces-hemp-act-relieve-unnecessary-constraints-hemp-industry-provide", "Dr. Rand Paul Introduces HEMP Act to Relieve Unnecessary Constraints on Hemp Industry, Provide Transparency and Certainty", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE:  \r\n\tDecember 15, 2020  \r\n\tContact:Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\r\n\r\n  WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) continued his efforts to address Kentucky hemp farmers' concerns with federal overreach and bring clarity, transparency, and certainty to regulation by introducing the HempEconomicMobilizationPlan(HEMP) Act of 2020.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tIn response to concerns raised by Kentucky hemp farmers and processors, Dr. Paul's HEMP Act would change the legal definition of hemp to raise the THC limit from 0.3% to 1%. Currently, any hemp crops testing above 0.3% have to be destroyed.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tThe legislation would require testing of the final hemp-derived product instead of the hemp flower or plant itself, as the 15-day window for testing the hemp flower or plant does not take potential testing backlogs, lack of personnel to collect samples, harvesting time, or environmental factors that farmers cannot control into account.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tDr. Paul's HEMP Act would also protect legitimate hemp farmers, processors, and transporters by requiring hemp shipments to contain a copy of the seed certificate showing the hemp was grown from 1% THC seed, and it would address current uncertainty by defining a margin of error for testing THC levels. Neither current law nor the USDA's interim final rule provide such a margin.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tFor years, I've led the fight in Washington to restore one of Kentucky's most historically vital crops by legalizing industrial hemp. We achieved a hard-won victory, but there is still work to do to prevent the federal government from weighing down our farmers with unnecessary bureaucratic micromanaging. My legislation will help this growing industry reach its full economic potential, and I am proud the bill has strong support all the way from local Kentucky farmers and activists to national groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation,said Dr. Paul.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tThe U.S. hemp industry has had its share of roadblocks, but we continue to push forward and make changes that will help hemp producers thrive.Senator Paul's HEMP Act has the potential to improve upon the highest priority issues for hemp growers, processors, and labs, while making sure to keep our consumers safe as well.We are grateful for the continued support from our federal delegation and ask that folks at home call their Congressional representatives to ask for their support,said Katie Moyer, Owner of Kentucky Hemp Works.  \r\n\t  \r\n\t\"We are so excited to hear about Senator Paul's H.E.M.P. Act, which will help farmers, processors and retailers in our young hemp industry. We believe that loosening up some important interstate business requirements are a much-needed step toward more prosperous times in the hemp economy,said Kentucky Hemp Association President Tate Hall and Vice President Jana Groda.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tWe appreciate Sen. Paul's leadership and support for hemp farmers in Kentucky and across the United States. The HEMP Act makes critical improvements that will better allow farmers to successfully grow and profit from hemp, said Vote Hemp President Eric Steenstra.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tDr. Paul has been a leading voice for removing government restrictions on hemp, and his past efforts, including championing legislation, testifying beforethe Kentucky legislature, and advocating for Kentucky farmers in Washington, have helped ensure Kentucky can rebuild its hemp industryand push forward to a prosperous future.You can find a video detailing his efforts HERE.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tYou can read Dr. Paul's HEMP Act of 2020 HERE, and you can find background and further details in a one-pager HERE.\r\n\r\n  \r\n\t###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/mcconnell-applauds-attorney-general-bill-barr", "McConnell Applauds Attorney General Bill Barr", "2020-12-15", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.republicanleader.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.15.20\n\t\t\t McConnell Applauds Attorney General Bill Barr \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement today regarding Attorney General Bill Barr:\r\nAttorney General Barr is one of the most dedicated and capable public servants I have ever seen in action. For nearly two years, he's provided wise counsel to President Trump and rendered outstanding service to our country. He has helped keep America safe from criminals and terrorists and advanced the bedrock American value of equal justice under law.\r\nWhen his country came calling two years ago, Bill Barr did not have to answer. He had already completed a distinguished career in government. He had already led the Department of Justice, having been confirmed by a voice vote to serve President Bush 41 as one of the youngest Attorneys General in our nation's history. He had a wildly successful private-sector career. Fortunately for the nation, his dedication to the men and women of the Department of Justice compelled Attorney General Barr to clock back in.\r\nIn a time of intense polarization, and notwithstanding unfair criticism from the far left and the media, Attorney General Barr did his work with clarity, principle, and professionalism. He fostered greater accountability in the DOJ and confronted the egregious abuses surrounding the FBI's handling of the 2016 election. He worked to protect innocent Americans from violent crime and protected our nation's capital and its historic monuments when peaceful protests were hijacked by violent rioters. He fought against China's lawbreaking and corrosive influence. He was a warrior for religious liberty and free speech who ensured that DOJ safeguarded these liberties even during a pandemic. And he stood for the simple but apparently controversial proposition that the federal government should actually enforce the laws on the books, in subjects from immigration and border security to the death penalty that federal law reserves for the gravest offenses.\r\nNow, for a second time, Attorney General Barr will leave the Department and the rule of law in this country stronger than he found them. He has more than earned a return to private practice and more time with his family. I warmly wish him and his family the very best.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n     \n\t\n \n\t\n    \n    \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t Related Issues:\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tTributes\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\n\t\t  \n\t\t\n\t\n\t   \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=C1C75507-ADB1-4734-A4E8-C47F978BB7EE", "McConnell on Targeted COVID Relief: Lets Get This Done", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nThis past weekend we saw that the historic, nationwide effort to bring this pandemic to heel has begun a critical final chapter.\r\nAfter months of development, the first U.S. doses of a COVID-19 vaccine rolled off the assembly line, bound for treatment facilities across the country.\r\nI'm particularly proud that an important waypoint on that journey is my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.\r\nYesterday alone, Pfizer shipped 2.5 million vaccine doses. And less than an hour after their airlift began, shipments bound for the eastern United States were passing through the UPS Worldport logistics hub at Muhammed Ali International Airport.\r\nIn the days and weeks ahead, the hard work of Kentuckians at UPS's new Healthcare Command Center in Louisville will play a critical role in finishing this fight.\r\nAlready, they've helped direct tens of thousands of doses to Kentucky hospitals, where they're being administered to the Commonwealth's healthcare workers and most at-risk residents.\r\nThere's a historic success story being written today along the vaccine supply chain, from Missouri to Massachusetts to Michigan to Kentucky to front lines across the country. And it's emblematic of an approach that has been helping our country since the earliest days of this crisis.\r\nFrom the personal precautions that helped save our health system.\r\nTo the bravery of the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers who spent sleepless nights tending to victims of the virus.\r\nTo the ingenuity of entrepreneurs who have spun out masks and sanitizer or kept serving their customers safely.\r\nTo the patience of parents and schoolkids who have had to adapt in extraordinary ways.\r\nTo our economic efforts to blunt the pain of a self-inflicted slowdown without precedent.\r\nAll along the way, it has been the heroic, resilient American people fighting and winning this battle  with the government providing smart, targeted, and essential support to sustain them.\r\nIt's the American people who have brought the light at the end of the tunnel within sight. But Washington has played a key role in creating the conditions for them to do it.\r\nThat joint effort is how the unanimous, bipartisan CARES Act programs helped sustain struggling families, prevented millions more layoffs, and gave Main Street a fighting chance.\r\nIt's how Operation Warp Speed has helped unleash private enterprise and the genius of researchers on a breakneck campaign for a cure that, just a few months ago, the mainstream media was lecturing President Trump would be impossible.\r\nAt every step, the story of this year has been American workers and families digging deep, muscling through, and lending one another a helping hand, with an assist from us in Congress.\r\n***\r\nBut there's a problem. The American people's work is not finished. The struggle continues every day. Cases and deaths are mounting. The commerce that sustains small businesses is still depressed.\r\nWorking families are still trying to grind through but recently, Washington has not held up its end of the bargain.\r\nFor months, literally months, both sides in Congress have known roughly what the shape of a compromise rescue package could look like. We know all the areas where we do not even disagree, and should be able to make significant law.\r\nBut partisan dynamics and political posturing have prevented us from getting more relief out the door, even in areas where nobody even claims to disagree.\r\nI don't want to relitigate the last weeks and months this afternoon. Anyone who wants to dole out blame has a clear record they can analyze.\r\nBut it is time for this body to collectively recognize that finger-pointing doesn't put food on the table for struggling families.\r\nFinger-pointing doesn't help people avoid having to choose between Christmas gifts and making rent. And finger-pointing does not do a darn thing to fund vaccine distribution so we can slam the door on this virus as fast as possible and maximize the number of lives we can save.\r\nThat last point is a concern that state health officials across the country have raised repeatedly.\r\nEven with vaccines on the way, many are reporting they don't have the funds to hire enough trained workers or purchase enough PPE to safely administer them as fast as possible.\r\nAs one health observer put it, quote, It would be a shame if all the effort on Warp Speed for development isn't warp speed for distribution.'\r\nBut that is what we risk if Congress can't get our act together and supply the funds to deliver this literal shot in the arm to our people.\r\nThis is the support that state and local governments need most urgently. Not unfettered slush funds for non-COVID-related needs that predate the pandemic; but incredibly urgent, targeted money to get citizens vaccinated and finish this fight.\r\nBut that isn't the only urgent priority that Congress must not leave behind.\r\nThe same small business owners and working families who relied on the Paycheck Protection Program to get them through the bleakest points of the spring and summer are once again facing tough choices.\r\nRenewed health restrictions and decreased demand mean that some American jobs that have been sustained all this way may not survive this last home stretch.\r\nWe can help. We can provide a second round of the job-saving PPP, tailored to those who need it most.\r\nAnd what about Americans who have already lost their jobs this pandemic, through no fault of their own? Several key unemployment programs are set to expire at the end of this month.\r\nThat is not an outcome that struggling people deserve, least of all during the holiday.\r\nWe should act.\r\n***\r\nSo, the next several days are going to bring about one of two outcomes.\r\nEither 100 Senators will be here shaking our heads, slinging blame, and offering excuses about why we still have not been able to make a law or we will break for the holidays having sent another huge dose of relief out the door for the people who need it.\r\nIt's up to us. We decide. This is entirely within our control.\r\nThe Republican side wants to make law, to agree where we can and help people who need it.\r\nI hope and believe that my Democratic colleagues feel the same way.\r\nSo let's get this done.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/leaders-mcconnell-and-mccarthy-on-urgent-need-for-covid-relief", "Leaders McConnell and McCarthy on Urgent Need for COVID Relief", "2020-12-14", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.republicanleader.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.14.20\n\t\t\t Leaders McConnell and McCarthy on Urgent Need for COVID Relief \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) issued the following statement regarding COVID relief legislation: \r\nCongress has two critical items to tackle this week: funding the government and delivering crucial COVID relief to families, workers, and businesses across the country. It is time for Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House to find consensus on COVID relief before the holidays. We hope our Democrat counterparts share our sense of urgency.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n     \n\t\n \n\t\n    \n    \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t Related Issues:\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t         \n\t\t\t\t\t     \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tCOVID-19\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\n\t\t  \n\t\t\n\t\n\t   \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://guthrie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=387306", "Guthrie, Engel Bipartisan Bill to Protect Public Health Heads to President\u2019s Desk", "2020-12-12", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Brett Guthrie", "G000558", "guthrie.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and Congressman Eliot Engel (NY-16), senior member of the Health Subcommittee, released the following statements after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate amended Safeguarding Therapeutics Act (H.R. 5663). This bill is headed to President Donald Trump's desk. \r\nSadly, even during the COVID-19 public health emergency, bad actors are trying to bring counterfeit medical devices into our country, including fake COVID-19 testing kits, said Guthrie. I've seen the dangers these counterfeit devices pose to public health firsthand when I visited the International Mail Facility at John F. Kennedy Airport. I introduced this bill with Congressman Engel to protect patients by giving the FDA the authority needed to destroy fake medical devices coming into our country. I want to thank my House and Senate colleagues for supporting this bipartisan bill, and I look forward to President Trump signing this important public health bill into law.\r\n\"The COVID-19 vaccine is top of mind for millions of Americans right now, but ensuring the vaccine is delivered safely must include steps to protect the public from counterfeit medical devices and medications, said Engel. The Safeguarding Therapeutics Act that Congressman Guthrie and I authored will give the FDA the tools needed to seize and destroy counterfeit medical products, which pose significant threats to people's health. Its passage this week, just days before the first COVID-19 vaccines are administered in the U.S., is an important step forward in the battle against this awful pandemic, and I am hopeful that the President will move swiftly to sign this bill before the end of the year.\"\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=5AC40B1F-99DA-49DA-A2D8-42D00791C1D4", "Senate Passes Critical Defense Bill with Kentucky Priorities", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) led the U.S. Senate to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference report. The Senate vote marks the 60th consecutive year Congress has passed the defense policy bill. Senator McConnell secured critical provisions in the legislation for Kentucky's servicemembers, military installations, and defense programs.\r\nThe Senate has continued rebuilding and modernizing the world's greatest fighting force to protect Americans, our interests, and our allies. I was proud to vote in support of our men and women in uniform and their families, said Senator McConnell. This legislation is a victory for Kentucky's role in our national security. From the reactivation of the historic V Corps at Fort Knox to the stationing of a new C-130J aircraft squadron for the Kentucky Air National Guard, Kentucky's military installations continue to be recognized for their elite contributions to our Armed Forces. This year also brought landmark progress in chemical weapon destruction at the Blue Grass Army Depot as well as a deployment of Fort Campbell soldiers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a high honor to provide for our military heroes as they sacrifice to keep our country safe.\r\nIn addition to a well-deserved pay raise for our servicemembers, Senator McConnell secured authorizations for these Kentucky priorities:\r\n \r\n$69.3 million for construction of the Van Voorhis Elementary School at Fort Knox;\r\n$20 million for the NSA Workforce Transformation Cyber Initiative Pilot Program, which supports the University of Louisville's recently-announced healthcare cybersecurity certificate programs; and\r\n$15 million for an Army National Guard/ Reserve Center building in Frankfort.\r\n \r\nThe NDAA also includes the following provisions to support military families:\r\n \r\nResources and authorities to support the U.S. Armed Forces' COVID-19 response and protect the health of our servicemembers;\r\n$50 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, which provides competitive grants for quality of life projects for servicemembers and families;\r\nSupport for military spouse employment programs and funding for re-licensing costs incurred when changing duty stations; and\r\nImproved oversight over privatized military housing system to ensure high-quality, healthy, and safe housing.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-reintroduces-government-shutdown-prevention-act/", "Dr. Rand Paul Reintroduces the Government Shutdown Prevention Act", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nDecember 11, 2020\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) reintroduced the Government Shutdown Prevention Act under Rule 14 to make it available for quick consideration. The bill incentivizes Congress to properly consider and debate spending legislation in the future, as it is the only shutdown prevention plan that immediately cuts spending if an agreement is not reached.\n\nInstead of Congress risking government shutting down operations, Dr. Paul\u2019s plan would keep government open but institute a one-percent cut to then-current funding levels for any agency, program, and activity that Congress failed to fund by the start of the fiscal year (October 1). Funding would be reduced by another one percent every 90 days thereafter that an agreement is still not enacted.\n\n\u201cMy Government Shutdown Prevention Act would help ensure Congress starts hitting its deadlines, making it a more responsible steward of the American people\u2019s resources,\u201d said Dr. Paul.\n\nCurrently, Congress does not face any consequences for failing to pass appropriations bills on time, which has helped lead to it pursuing procrastination over prudence and risking shutdowns due to impasses.\n\nAlong with ensuring government honors its obligations and maintains its operations, Dr. Paul\u2019s proposal would give agencies the certainty of knowing that, in a worst-case scenario, they will always be able to operate with a full year of funding at no less than 96 percent of their then-current levels.\n\nYou can read Dr. Paul\u2019s Government Shutdown Prevention Act HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-reintroduces-government-shutdown-prevention-act", "Dr. Rand Paul Reintroduces the Government Shutdown Prevention Act", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE:  \r\n\tDecember 11, 2020  \r\n\tContact:Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\r\n\r\n  WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) reintroduced the Government Shutdown Prevention Act under Rule 14 to make it available for quick consideration. The bill incentivizes Congress to properly consider and debate spending legislation in the future, as it is the only shutdown prevention plan that immediately cuts spending if an agreement is not reached.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tInstead of Congress risking government shutting down operations, Dr. Paul's plan would keep government open but institute a one-percent cut to then-current funding levels for any agency, program, and activity that Congress failed to fund by the start of the fiscal year (October 1). Funding would be reduced by another one percent every 90 days thereafter that an agreement is still not enacted.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tMy Government Shutdown Prevention Act would help ensure Congress starts hitting its deadlines, making it a more responsible steward of the American people's resources,said Dr. Paul.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tCurrently, Congress does not face any consequences for failing to pass appropriations bills on time, which has helped lead to it pursuing procrastination over prudence and risking shutdowns due to impasses.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tAlong with ensuring government honors its obligations and maintains its operations, Dr. Paul's proposal would give agencies the certainty of knowing that, in a worst-case scenario, they will always be able to operate with a full year of funding at no less than 96 percent of their then-current levels.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tYou can read Dr. Paul's Government Shutdown Prevention Act HERE.\r\n\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=52C50045-7DB5-4DA2-9DC8-418107BE0C2B", "McConnell Celebrates Truly Exceptional Senator Cory Gardner", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO):\r\nIt's my honor today to pay tribute to a truly exceptional U.S. Senator.\r\nSomeone who arrived in this body with a full head of steam; a determination to cram as much service as possible into every day he got to wake up and serve his neighbors who sent him here.\r\nOur good friend Cory Gardner, the junior Senator for Colorado, has been a man on a mission from the day he arrived.\r\nHe already knew the institution. He was already one of the highest-energy high-achievers that anybody who knew him had ever met. So he got to work. And he's spent six years delivering a dizzying list of accomplishments.\r\nIf you've heard about Cory Gardner's early days, you know this high-speed can-do attitude is nothing new.\r\nCase in point: One evening when Cory was a boy, he and his friends got tired of their hoop sessions ending at sundown, because the public basketball court lacked sufficient lighting.\r\nThe group of friends considered how to remedy this. Cory's dad happened to be a town councilman. So a little government relations took place around the dinner table.\r\nWell, no Senator who Cory's ever pressed for a vote will be surprised to hear that the lighting infrastructure was soon adjusted, and the kids could take their pick-up games into primetime.\r\nSo young Cory was no stranger to persistence, or to public service.\r\nBut it was in high school that he scored an opportunity to taste a level beyond Yuma's local government.\r\nHe won admission to the U.S. Senate Youth Program. It's a scholarship that brings promising students from around the country to these halls for a quick immersion experience.\r\nTeenaged Cory Gardner liked the looks of this place. He made a mental note. By the way, to this day, Cory, along with his fellow alumna Senator Collins, continue to make sure that special experience is paid forward.\r\nIt didn't take Cory long to come back and begin strolling these hallways for real. After earning honors at Colorado State and a law degree from CU Boulder, he wound up working for our former colleague Senator Wayne Allard -- and rising quickly through the ranks.\r\nIn short order, he developed a reputation as a highly effective advocate for Coloradans.\r\nIn fact he was so well-liked, so effective, and so thoroughly the proud son of Yuma that folks started to wonder if it wasn't time for Cory to put his own name on a door somewhere.\r\nSo it wasn't long before the men and women of Colorado's state House District 63 found out firsthand what happens when you hire Cory Gardner to fight on your behalf: You get results. Big time.\r\nNot much later, his neighbors then gave Cory a new assignment here in Congress. Again, Congressman Gardner didn't just meet the bar, as one out of 435.\r\nHe excelled. A powerful, energetic voice on the most consequential issues. He brought home one win after another where it mattered.\r\n***\r\nIt didn't take long before another promotion came calling. And so, appropriately enough, the Senate's freshman class of 2014 included a new member from the land of 14ers  what Coloradans call their peaks higher than 14,000 feet.\r\nCory was already accustomed to altitude. So here in this upper chamber,' Senator Gardner hit the ground sprinting.\r\nI believe he's authored 11 standalone bills that have been signed into law in just six years.\r\nWithout Cory's tireless work -- and his travels to the four corners of Colorado and beyond -- the biggest conservation bill in a generation, the Great American Outdoors Act, would not be law.\r\nThere's been his key role in the Supreme Court confirmation of fellow Coloradan Neil Gorsuch His mission to move the Bureau of Land Management to Grand Junction\r\nAnd, of course, the nuts-and-bolts constituent work that Cory and his staff are famous for mastering.\r\nThis not-so-junior Senator has used Colorado values to improve Washington, and Washington influence to advance his home state.\r\nHe dived headfirst into his leadership role on the East Asia Subcommittee on Foreign Relations. His work with regional allies helped drive the Senate to approve meaningful sanctions against North Korea.\r\nAnd the impact of the Asia Reassurance Initiative should echo long after all of us here today have left the scene.\r\nThe litany of Cory's work just does not end.\r\nThere's the new, nationwide, three-digit suicide prevention hotline.\r\nThere's the fact that this freshman not only scrapped over a national defense issue with our late colleague Chairman John McCain  talk about fearless  but that he somehow emerged mostly unscathed, and with a win on space launch vehicles to show for it.\r\nBut like I said, one of the best aspects of Cory's operation is his almost obsessive focus on looking out for his people  one family, one story at a time.\r\nThat's why it's impossible to give a speech on Senator Gardner without working your way to another name: Don Stratton.\r\nWhen Don was first met with our colleague, the 95-year-old Navy veteran was living with his wife in Colorado Springs.\r\nBut the story began 76 years earlier, when he was among the fortunate few sailors to survive the bombing of the U.S.S. Arizona at Pearl Harbor.\r\nAt 19, Don had survived severe burns, but insisted on returning to combat with the fleet. After the war, he raised a family and wrote a book about his experiences.\r\nBut Don's request to Senator Gardner wasn't anything for himself. It concerned a comrade who'd saved his life that day 79 years ago this very week.\r\nAt risk to himself, a sailor named Joe George had literally thrown the lifeline that brought Don and five of shipmates to safety. But Joe's lifesaving efforts had gone unrecognized before his death.\r\nFor years, Don didn't even know who had saved him. So once he found out, Don Stratton made it his mission to ensure our nation formalized our gratitude for his guardian angel.\r\nWell, let's just say the Strattons picked the right state to retire in. Colorado's junior Senator was on the case.\r\nCory and his staff waded through tangles of bureaucracy. They appealed decisions all the way to the Secretary of Defense. And you better believe they secured that Bronze Star for Petty Officer First Class Joe George -- with the V device for valor, to boot.\r\nDon passed away earlier this year. By all accounts, he and his family had come to regard Senator Gardner not just an incredible advocate, but a true friend.\r\n***\r\nNow in fairness, this same eagerness and almost maniacal problem-solving can also get Cory in the occasional pickle.\r\nI remembered recently that, just months after the Senator was sworn in, he and I were on a CODEL together in the Middle East.\r\nI think the itinerary was something like eight countries in six days.\r\nAt one point, we were waiting to meet with a foreign leader.\r\nAs everyone else was just waiting patiently in this grand palace, Cory spots what looks like a stray piece of paper lying on the floor.\r\nEarnestly thinking he should leave the place better than he found it, Cory bends over and picks up the trash.\r\nExcept it wasn't trash.\r\nJust then, the monarch rolls in with a color guard\r\nA color guard that is looking anxiously for the floor marker that was supposed to indicate where to stop marching.\r\nLuckily the only diplomatic fall-out was a good laugh.\r\nActually, good laughs tend to follow Cory in his wake. Our colleague finds humor in the everyday like few can, and shares it freely.\r\nI understand one of his favorite stories concerns a chat in the well with yours truly, and former Senator Hatch. Cory was filling me in on the efforts to legalize marijuana in states like his. Orrin comes by, and sensing an ally, I pulled him in: Orrin, is this true? What the heck is going on out West?'\r\nWithout missing a beat, our friend from Utah, a member of the LDS church, shook his head sadly and said: First, it was tea. Then, coffee. And now this!'\r\nCory's version of this story comes complete with his finest Hatch and McConnell impersonations. Believe me, he's got the voices down pat.\r\n***\r\nFor six years, Coloradans have been represented by this remarkable person, who lives and works with relentless focus and infectious joy. Globe-trotting diplomacy. A thick stack of signature bills signed into law. And generational accomplishments that were only possible because he was here.\r\nAs Cory likes to say himself: Not bad for a boy from Yuma, Colorado!'\r\nWe know what he means. But I have to observe that Cory's roots and his accomplishments are not in conflict. Quite the contrary. It is only because Cory Gardner is exactly who he is... that he is able to do what he does.\r\nCory, everyone knows darn well your transition is no quote-unquote retirement. This is a brief pause between great chapters.\r\nI bet Jaime will call it a victory if she, Alyson, Thatcher, and Caitlyn can just get you to sit still and stay home through the holidays!\r\nBut we all know it will take about five minutes before you've found a dozen new ways to keep doing big things, winning victories on behalf of others, and paying forward the ways in which you've been blessed.\r\nColorado and your country aren't finished with you yet, Senator. Not by a long shot.\r\nSo thank you for everything. We'll miss you badly around here. But we can't wait to see what course you chart next.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=7F063CCA-E3DF-4618-A4CC-236C21D8C848", "McConnell on National Defense Authorization Act", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding NDAA:\r\nYesterday, we began moving the conference report of the National Defense Authorization Act toward the floor.\r\nFor the information of all Senators, we should expect the potential for a late night tonight and the possibility of votes tomorrow.\r\nBack in July, the Senate passed our version of this crucial annual bill. Now our colleagues on the conference committee have done their tough job and reconciled two different approaches so we do not leave our military in the lurch.\r\nOn Tuesday, the House passed the conference report with overwhelming bipartisan support.\r\nNow it's the Senate's turn to make it an unbroken 60-year-streak of passing this legislation to keep our military strong and our homeland safe.\r\nThis NDAA will unlock more than $740 billion for the training, tools, and cutting-edge equipment that our servicemembers and civilian employees need to defend American lives and American interests.\r\nIt will give our troops the 3% pay raise they deserve.It'll keep our forces ready to deter China and stand strong in the Indo-Pacific.\r\nAnd it will secure President Trump's major progress at modernizing our capabilities, our technologies, and our strategic nuclear deterrent.\r\nThis legislation will secure wins on priorities that all of us share. It does not contain every policy that either side would like to pass. But a huge number of crucial policies are included and a lot of bad ideas were kept out.\r\nI encourage all our colleagues to vote to advance this must-pass bill.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=FBB8E7A5-31FF-437A-9B81-47BCD5FBBC5F", "Americans Cannot Afford To Wait for Targeted COVID-19 Relief", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nWe learned a few minutes ago that new unemployment claims just hit their highest weekly total since mid-September.\r\nIt's the largest one-week jump since back in March. And the number of continuing claims  people struggling with joblessness on an ongoing basis which had plateaued for months but at least not increased, just ticked back up as well.\r\nOur economic recovery thus far has been faster than expected. Americans are tough and resilient.\r\nBut our people need another dose of support as we hope to close out our battle with this virus.\r\nWe should be doing everything we can to prevent layoff, create jobs where possible, and race toward the vaccines that will end this nightmare.\r\nWhile Democrats hold the Paycheck Protection Program hostage over controversial state government bailouts, family businesses are closing their doors.\r\nWhile Democrats resist the kinds of common-sense legal protections that we've put in place during past emergencies, our re-opening and recovery is threatened by  according to one estimate  more than 6,500 lawsuits and counting.\r\nHere's what one litigator told one reporter a couple days ago: These lawsuits are, quote, pretty common these days. I have seen 10 like this over the past 30 days.'\r\nThe American Council on Education told Congress in May that colleges and universities need temporary but strong legal protections. Our Democratic colleagues want to pretend they are bravely fighting big corporations, but they're really bullying small-business owners and college presidents, who've been pleading for these protections for months.\r\nOur Democratic colleagues have not even let us pass non-controversial money to invest in vaccine distribution. Not unless the two parties settle a whole list of issues that are controversial the way they want.\r\nI hope our colleagues let Congress deliver more help soon. A lot of Americans cannot afford to wait.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://guthrie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=387305", "Guthrie Announces Butler County Drug-Free Coalition Grant", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Brett Guthrie", "G000558", "guthrie.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Guthrie Announces Butler County Drug-Free Coalition Grant \r\n  \r\n     \r\n\r\n  \r\n\r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n\r\n  \r\n    \r\n      WASHINGTON, D.C.  Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) today announced that the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is awarding the Butler County Drug-Free Coalition a $125,000 grant to help prevent youth substance use. \r\nThis grant is awarded from the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program, which aims to reduce youth substance use by empowering community coalitions with resources through grants. \r\nThe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on the mental health of Americans and worsen substance use disorder crises, said Guthrie. Sadly, the youth in our communities also face the negative impact of the pandemic, especially with changes in schooling. I thank the Trump administration for providing this $125,000 grant to give Butler County additional resources and tools to help keep our youth from falling victim to substance use. I know the Butler County Drug-Free Coalition will keep up the good work in implementing local strategies to support our youth in the community.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases?ID=FA53AA77-07A7-4B78-9873-68EDD77A048C", "Congressman Rogers calls on House Democrats to extend the Paycheck Protection Program", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Harold Rogers", "R000395", "halrogers.house.gov", "halrogers", "https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 U.S. Rep. Harold \u201cHal\u201d Rogers (KY-05) joins House Republicans to call for an immediate extension of the Paycheck Protection Program, which would provide critical relief for small businesses who desperately need it.\n\nHouse Democrats have blocked more than 40 attempts by House Republicans to deliver much needed aid to American small businesses and workers.\n\n\u201cOur small businesses are on the brink of shutting their doors forever. In fact, some of them have already made that difficult decision. The best thing we could do right now to save small businesses is release the $138 billion that we previously approved for the Paycheck Protection Program that expired in August,\" said Congressman Rogers. \"We know additional relief will be necessary, but let\u2019s get this money out the door. There is nothing controversial about releasing funding that is readily available to make sure these employers can keep paying their workers.\u201d\n\nSpeaker Pelosi has refused to consider the legislation, H.R. 8265, for a vote and House Democrats have refused to sign a discharge petition that would allow the legislation to receive a simple vote on the floor.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-condemns-effort-prevent-president-trump-stopping-endless-war/", "Dr. Rand Paul Condemns Effort to Prevent President Trump from Stopping Endless War", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nDecember 10, 2020\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) condemned a provision in the U.S. House-passed 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that is aimed at preventing President Trump from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and that could instead extend the war indefinitely. Dr. Paul specifically called out the hypocrisy of those who would at any other time argue for virtually unlimited presidential power to start a war without congressional authorization now seeking to prevent a president from ending one.\n\nCurrently, language in the 2021 NDAA would tie the president\u2019s hands in red tape before troops could be withdrawn and the war ended. It would also cut off funding for those aims in the meantime.\n\n\u201cThe hawks and the neocons somehow want you to believe, in contrast to all logic, that the President of the United States has the unitary power to go to war anytime he wants, anywhere, free from interference from Congress. That\u2019s their stated position anytime war comes up. Yet, today, in the NDAA, they say they now want a president that cannot leave a war without their permission,\u201d said Dr. Paul.\n\n\u201cThis Defense Authorization bill could more aptly be called, \u2018A Bill to Prevent the President from Ending the Afghan War,'\u201d he later observed.\n\nYou can watch Dr. Paul\u2019s speech HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-condemns-effort-prevent-president-trump-stopping-endless-war", "Dr. Rand Paul Condemns Effort to Prevent President Trump from Stopping Endless War", "2020-12-10", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  \r\n\tDecember 10, 2020  \r\n\tContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\r\n\r\n  WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) condemned a provision in the U.S. House-passed 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that is aimed at preventing President Trump from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and that could instead extend the war indefinitely. Dr. Paul specifically called out the hypocrisy of those who would at any other time argue for virtually unlimited presidential power to start a war without congressional authorization now seeking to prevent a president from ending one.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tCurrently, language in the 2021 NDAA would tie the president's hands in red tape before troops could be withdrawn and the war ended. It would also cut off funding for those aims in the meantime.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tThe hawks and the neocons somehow want you to believe, in contrast to all logic, that the President of the United States has the unitary power to go to war anytime he wants, anywhere, free from interference from Congress. That's their stated position anytime war comes up. Yet, today, in the NDAA, they say they now want a president that cannot leave a war without their permission, said Dr. Paul.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tThis Defense Authorization bill could more aptly be called, A Bill to Prevent the President from Ending the Afghan War,' he later observed.  \r\n\t  \r\n\tYou can watch Dr. Paul's speech HERE.  \r\n\t\r\n\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=39040CB7-C8C6-4B98-BD94-F218D4389E0A", "We Cant Do A Thing Unless Democrats Decide They Want to Make Law", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nThe American people are hurting. We're in the thick of one of the worst national crises in modern memory. And people's eyes are fixed on Congress. They need the House and the Senate to stop chasing our tails and make law.\r\nThere are small-business employees who've held onto their job all this time because of the Paycheck Protection Program  but are facing the prospect they might be laid off now, with vaccines around the corner, because Washington fumbles the ball in the red zone.\r\nThere are medically-vulnerable Americans who've watched Operation Warp Speed appear to succeed at an historic pace  but Congress can't even agree to fully fund the distribution efforts that will get the vaccine to you.\r\nThere are Americans who've been thrown out of work through no fault of their own who are watching federal aid programs tick toward expiration in a few weeks  even though neither side in Congress opposes extending them!\r\nSenate Republicans have made one offer after another after another to try and make law on all the significant areas where nobody even disagrees. We have spent July, August, September, October, and November trying different ways to create common ground.\r\nBut the Speaker of the House and the Senate Democratic Leader have been just as consistent. At every turn, they have delayed, deflected, moved the goalposts, and made the huge number of places where Congress agrees into a hostage of the few places we do not.\r\nBack in the summertime I pointed out the obvious.\r\nI said leading Democrats simply didn't want any more help to reach American families before the election.\r\nThe other side claimed great offense. How insulting to even suggest that much cynicism might be at play.\r\nBut now they're admitting it. Out loud.\r\nYesterday, on CNN, the Democratic Whip was asked point-blank why the Speaker and the Democratic Leader were so unwilling to play ball in the autumn.\r\nThe number-two Senate Democrat responded, quote, there was some exuberance involved because an election was coming.'\r\nBecause an election was coming.\r\nA few days ago, Speaker Pelosi told reporters why she reversed months of statements and suddenly began discussing comparatively more reasonable sums of money. Her answer was simple: she thinks the presidential election went the way she wanted.\r\nThe Speaker of the House of Representatives views it as a success that she denied struggling people relief they badly needed, for months, because she thinks she got the political result she was after.\r\n***\r\nI count no fewer than 10 separate times that top Democrats rejected or blocked various Republican efforts to jump-start this process. Here is just a partial sampling.\r\nIn July, Republicans sketched a comprehensive plan for safe schools, jobs, and healthcare. We could have made law in July. But the Democratic Leader wouldn't even engage with it.\r\nJust before August, Republicans tried to at least extend unemployment aid before it expired. Democrats blocked that too.\r\nIn September, we tried something else  a targeted effort to send hundreds of billions of dollars for the PPP, vaccine development, and other priorities. Every Democrat voted to block us from even debating it. And they did it a second time in October.\r\nLast week, after speaking with the Administration, I made yet another overture. The Democratic Leader said no thanks.\r\nAnd just yesterday, the Speaker and the Democratic Leader brushed off two different overtures in the space of about two hours!\r\nI suggested that both sides drop what seem to be the most controversial demand in the eyes of our counterparts. Democrats continue to oppose common-sense legal protections that university presidents have been begging for; and Republicans see no need to send huge sums of money to state and local governments whose tax revenues have actually gone up.\r\nNegotiating 101 suggests we set those two controversial pieces aside and plow ahead with the huge pile of things that we agree on. But that would require both sides to truly want an outcome.\r\nJust hours after Democrats poured cold water on that, Secretary Mnuchin tried another new tack, and sent over an offer. In a bizarre and schizophrenic press release, the Speaker and the Leader said the Administration was obstruct[ing]' negotiations by negotiating.\r\nTwo more brush-offs in about two hours. More deflection, more delay, and more suffering for innocent Americans.\r\n***\r\nCan anyone point to a single sign, from April through now, that Democratic leaders have seriously wanted another bipartisan deal to become law?\r\nCan anybody name one way  just one  the Democratic leaders would have behaved differently if their singular goal was to kill any compromise?\r\nThat hypothetical world looks suspiciously like the world we've been living in.\r\nThink of it: We have a Speaker of the House from San Francisco who has spent months ensuring that unemployed Californians can't have jobless aid extended and California restaurants can't get another round of the PPP... unless the Governor of California gets a federal slush fund out of any proportion to proven need.\r\nDo working families agree they should not get any more help themselves unless their Governors and state legislatures get a controversial bail-out?\r\nAre struggling Americans saying thank goodness the Democrats are bravely blocking help for me and my family unless my state politicians get some cash'? I'd say not.\r\nOur people need more help. There's a huge list of helpful policies that both sides agree on. This need not be rocket science.\r\nBut we can't do a thing unless the Democrats decide they want to make law.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=3E39CACB-B3F1-4039-971F-13E4CCAAAC23", "Kentucky Nursing Homes Receive Nearly $11 Million in Additional Coronavirus Relief", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today 139 Kentucky nursing homes received a total of $10,947,338 in additional federal funding to combat the coronavirus. The funding, distributed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), was made available by the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Senator McConnell introduced the CARES Act, which became the largest economic rescue package in history, and led it to enactment in about a week.\r\nWith promising signs of a vaccine on the horizon, now is not the time to lose focus on slowing the spread of this virus. I'm proud my CARES Act is continuing to invest in protecting Kentucky seniors and frontline workers, said Senator McConnell. Kentucky's healthcare heroes have received over $1.3 billion so far to fight the coronavirus. I'd like to applaud these medical professionals for their excellence in keeping our Commonwealth's seniors healthy. As Senate Majority Leader, I will continue working to deliver additional relief for families, workers, small businesses, doctors and nurses.\r\nIn October, HRSA awarded $5.3 million to Kentucky nursing homes through performance-based incentive payments to slow the virus' spread. Today's payments recognize the nursing homes that have successfully reduced COVID-19 related infections and fatalities.\r\nTo date, Kentucky nursing homes have received more than $180 million from the CARES Act.\r\nThis most recent monetary bonus for our quality outcomes and clinical success fighting COVID-19 helped bring much needed public recognition and stabilization to our industry in Kentucky at a very critical point in time! said Joe Steier, President and CEO of Signature HealthCARE. The $10 million funding assistance for quality COVID-19 care to all Kentucky centers helps save our elders and our staff at a time when our front line healthcare heroes are fighting the hardest amidst great uncertainty. This much needed reward lets everyone know we are beating this virus and this funding will help us keep our doors open providing much needed care for some of the most vulnerable in our Kentucky communities.We remain grateful to Leader McConnell for fighting for our elders and frontline healthcare heroes again and helping get this done!\r\nWe are grateful for Senator McConnell's leadership and HHS's continuous support and consideration for Kentucky's most vulnerable, said Betsy Johnson, President of the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities.Long-term care workers have been on the front lines in battling this dangerous virus and are exhausted. Congratulations to those providers who are receiving this essential funding for their residents and staff. We must keep our focus and attention on long-term care during the administration of this highly anticipated vaccine.\r\nSenator McConnell's CARES Act has had a more than $13 billion impact in Kentucky. Senator McConnell's legislation has delivered $4 billion in relief to address urgent housing, transportation, healthcare, education and economic development priorities. Kentucky small businesses, farmers, and nonprofits accessed more than $5.2 billion in assistance through 50,000 PPP loans. Kentucky families have also received $4 billion in Economic Impact Payments from the U.S. Treasury.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=B6A793FA-6285-4734-A669-8AB8E58816F7", "McConnell Pays Tribute to Superintendent Manny Caulk", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following tribute today on the Senate floor in memory of Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Emmanuel Manny Caulk, M.Ed., J.D.:\r\nLast week, students and families in Kentucky were met with tragic news. On Friday, Manny Caulk, the Superintendent of Fayette County Schools, passed away unexpectedly.\r\nManny was the first member of his family to graduate college. In 2015, he assumed responsibility for the second-largest school district in Kentucky.\r\nAn education had changed his life and he wanted to share that gift with others. By all accounts, he did just that.\r\nManny encouraged his students to aim high and helped them exceed expectations, starting with his first students in a county detention center. And in 2018, his colleagues chose him as Kentucky's Superintendent of the Year.\r\nI was glad to have Manny's partnership as we worked to protect Kentucky families from COVID-19. At every step, he kept focus on the well-being of Lexington students.\r\nOver the weekend, condolences poured in as we reflected on Manny's lasting contributions.\r\nI'd like to add the Senate's gratitude for this top-tier educator. Our prayers are with Manny's wife, Christol and their children at this difficult time.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=FA78ADF5-F8F8-4020-A1CD-0B3F8854C9C6", "McConnell Condemns Treatment of Jimmy Lai and Continued Crackdown on Hong Kongers", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding China:\r\nLast week, the struggle to preserve freedom and autonomy in Hong Kong was dealt another disturbing blow.\r\nOn Thursday, Jimmy Lai, a prominent media figure and pro-democracy activist, was denied bail. The Chinese Communist Party continues cracking down on dissent and free speech.\r\nNot long ago, the international community hoped China's modernization would create more respect for basic freedoms. Unfortunately, the CCP has just marshaled new tools for making its oppression even more stifling.\r\nAnd internationally, we've seen the CCP find more success exporting its warped vision into the global public square than the free world has had getting Beijing to respect the rules of the road.\r\nFor the last four years, thanks to this Administration's leadership and this Senate, we've begun exchanging the old naivete about China for a smarter and tougher approach.\r\nThrough new National Security and National Defense Strategies, the United States has committed to deterring a new wave of threats from near-peer competitors like China and Russia.\r\nReforms to our budgets and policies are underway. We've used NDAAs and appropriations to invest in a military that is prepared to meet and defeat these threats.\r\nMaintaining our edge will mean sustaining these reforms, along with strong diplomacy to counter China's influence.\r\nIn coordination with the executive branch, our Intelligence Committee has highlighted the need for everyone to strengthen their defenses against the CCP's espionage, intellectual property theft, and political influence campaigns.\r\nSenators Cornyn and Feinstein, in particular, have led bipartisan efforts to reform CFIUS and protect against predatory foreign investments aimed at threatening or stealing high-tech and critical infrastructure.\r\nAllied countries are following our lead. And public- and private-sector cooperation has improved, to defend the institutions, alliances, and international order the CCP wants to disrupt.\r\nThe Administration has worked with international partners to ensure the security of 5G, reassert freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and blunt harmful elements of China's exploitative Belt and Road Initiative.\r\nOf course, more must be done, particularly on human rights. The treatment of Hong Kongers in the spotlight reminds the world of the ways we know Beijing is treating Uighurs and Tibetans in the shadows.\r\nAnd if China treats its own citizens with brutal violence, just think how it plans to treat its neighbors.\r\nSo I welcome the latest sanctions imposed by the Administration and the latest authorities granted by Congress. We are raising the stakes for China's repression.\r\nBut our work isn't over.\r\nOur partners will continue to look to us to lead with a tone of zero tolerance for this behavior.\r\nThe United States must continue to work alongside China's peaceful neighbors and our democratic allies like Japan and Australia.\r\nWe must give voice to those in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet who have been repressed and jailed.\r\nWe must stand against the worst instincts and actions of the Communist Party.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://guthrie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=387304", "Guthrie Energy Efficiency Bill Passes House", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Brett Guthrie", "G000558", "guthrie.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Congressman Brett Guthrie's (KY-02) Ceiling Fan Improvement Act (H.R. 5758) passed in the U.S. House of Representatives today by a vote of 396 to 2. This commonsense bill would update energy conservation standards from the Department of Energy (DOE) to better regulate and acknowledge the efficiency of large-diameter fans. \r\nThe Ceiling Fan Improvement Act was advanced to the House floor from the Energy and Commerce Committee. Guthrie, who serves as the top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), the chair of the committee's Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, introduced this bipartisan legislation.\r\nIn January 2017, the Department of Energy finalized energy conservation standards for ceiling fans that unfortunately, did not account for the different airflow dynamics of large ceiling fans, said Guthrie on the House floor. Under the current regulations, some of the most efficient large-diameter fans would have to be taken off the market in the U.S.\r\nHe continued, The Ceiling Fan Improvement Act is a bipartisan, commonsense bill that will ensure large-diameter fans are properly regulated. Technical innovation and new products will be the key to improving energy efficiency and protecting our environment for generations to come, and the Ceiling Fan Improvement Act seeks to ensure that high performing, large-diameter ceiling fans can remain on the market and help achieve real energy savings. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.  \r\n\r\n  \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-icymi-dr-rand-paul-urges-senate-block-us-arms-sales-united-arab-emirates/", "ICYMI: Dr. Rand Paul Urges Senate to Block U.S. Arms Sales to the United Arab Emirates", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nDecember 9, 2020\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator and Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Rand Paul (R-KY) urged the U.S. Senate to support two bipartisan joint resolutions of disapproval he offered with Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) to block proposed U.S. arms sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).\n\nThe sale includes 50 F-35A fighter jets (costing an estimated $10.4 billion), 18 MQ-9B drones (costing an estimated $2.97 billion), and Hellfire missiles, among other weapons and associated training and support. Currently, Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has the F-35.\n\nIn his speech, Dr. Paul cited his concerns with the UAE\u2019s record on attacking free speech in the country, discussed the humanitarian crisis the Saudi-UAE coalition helped create in Yemen, and talked about a report that some of the weapons and vehicles that were sent to the coalition ended up in the hands of terrorists.\n\nDr. Paul stated his support for the recent advance toward peace between Israel and the UAE in his speech, but he asked, \u201cCan a lasting peace be purchased with more weapons? Will selling sophisticated fighter jets and weaponized drones bring more stability to the Middle East?\u201d\n\nRegarding concerns about how the sales will impact Israel\u2019s Qualitative Military Edge (QME), Dr. Paul observed, \u201cThe easiest way, if you favor protecting Israel\u2019s QME, or military edge, is to stop sending military assets to other countries in the region.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would urge my colleagues to consider the possible consequences of this sale. We should not accelerate an arms race in the Middle East. We should not jeopardize the security of our military technologies, and we should not reward a decade-plus of undesirable behavior by the UAE,\u201d Dr. Paul said.\n\nYou can watch Dr. Paul\u2019s speech HERE.\n\nUnfortunately, a majority of the Senate chose to support the sales, further fueling a Middle East arms race.\n\nThe Arms Export Control Act of 1976 provides the special procedures whereby a senator can force a vote on an arms sale, and, over the past several years, Dr. Paul has led multiple efforts to stop the sale of U.S. weapons and equipment to Saudi Arabia and other nations that have been involved in the devastating war in Yemen.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/icymi-dr-rand-paul-urges-senate-block-us-arms-sales-united-arab-emirates", "ICYMI: Dr. Rand Paul Urges Senate to Block U.S. Arms Sales to the United Arab Emirates", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  December 9, 2020  Contact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343 WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator and Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Rand Paul (R-KY) urged the U.S. Senate to support two bipartisan joint resolutions of disapproval he offered with Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) to block proposed U.S. arms sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The sale includes 50 F-35A fighter jets (costing an estimated $10.4 billion), 18 MQ-9B drones (costing an estimated $2.97 billion), and Hellfire missiles, among other weapons and associated training and support. Currently, Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has the F-35. In his speech, Dr. Paul cited his concerns with the UAE's record on attacking free speech in the country, discussed the humanitarian crisis the Saudi-UAE coalition helped create in Yemen, and talked about a report that some of the weapons and vehicles that were sent to the coalition ended up in the hands of terrorists. Dr. Paul stated his support for the recent advance toward peace between Israel and the UAE in his speech, but he asked, Can a lasting peace be purchased with more weapons? Will selling sophisticated fighter jets and weaponized drones bring more stability to the Middle East? Regarding concerns about how the sales will impact Israel's Qualitative Military Edge (QME), Dr. Paul observed, The easiest way, if you favor protecting Israel's QME, or military edge, is to stop sending military assets to other countries in the region. I would urge my colleagues to consider the possible consequences of this sale. We should not accelerate an arms race in the Middle East. We should not jeopardize the security of our military technologies, and we should not reward a decade-plus of undesirable behavior by the UAE, Dr. Paul said. You can watch Dr. Paul's speech HERE. Unfortunately, a majority of the Senate chose to support the sales, further fueling a Middle East arms race. The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 provides the special procedures whereby a senator can force a vote on an arms sale, and, over the past several years, Dr. Paul has led multiple efforts to stop the sale of U.S. weapons and equipment to Saudi Arabia and other nations that have been involved in the devastating war in Yemen. ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=2B709023-6E4C-4B6F-BEE0-D641A7A35AD8", "McConnell Speaks Against Efforts to Block Sales to the UAE", "2020-12-08", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding UAE arms sales:\r\nThis week, some Senators indicate they may attempt to move a privileged resolution to disapprove of the Administration's proposed sale of advanced armaments to the United Arab Emirates, a critical partner in the fight against terrorists.\r\nIt's a little baffling to suggest that, now of all times, a protest gesture with no chance of obtaining a veto-proof majority is a valuable use of the Senate's time. But above and beyond that, the strategic realities dictate that Congress should not stand in the way of this sale.\r\nIn August, the UAE reached the first of the Abraham Accords, the landmark peace deal with Israel, brokered by the Trump Administration, which Bahrain soon went on to reprise. That step, the first normalization of relations between an Arab nation and the state of Israel in nearly 30 years, cemented an important new chapter in the UAE's international relations and its close relationship with the United States.\r\nOf course it is a key American objective to preserve and protect Israel's quantitative military edge. Fortunately, Israel's Ambassador, Defense Minister, and Prime Minister have all made clear they are comfortable with this deal.\r\nSenators considering this sale need to consider a reality we cannot escape. A significant competition for influence in the Middle East is underway, and China and Russia will be more than happy to meet the demand for advanced capabilities if the U.S. simply takes our ball and goes home.\r\nIf our colleagues make the Senate vote on this measure, I urge all my colleagues to vote against it.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=96B7695D-5489-4E1A-9E53-FAD54F117EB6", "Senator McConnell Names New Personal Office Chief of Staff; Thanks Phil Maxson for Decade of Service", "2020-12-08", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today he has named Terry Carmack as the next Chief of Staff in his personal office in Washington, D.C. Carmack currently serves as Senator McConnell's State Director. McConnell's outgoing Chief of Staff, Phil Maxson, is leaving after nearly 10 years with the office to return to Kentucky to raise his family.\r\nPhil has led by example and with good humor as my Chief of Staff, creating one of the best teams on Capitol Hill, Senator McConnell said. His wise counsel and masterful knowledge of legislative procedure, the committee process, and Kentucky projects have produced a lengthy record of accomplishments of which he should be proud. Phil has my sincere thanks for his decade of service in my office. I wish him, Sarah Beth, and their family the very best for their future.\r\nMaxson, of Lexington, has served as Senator McConnell's Chief of Staff since 2017. He previously served as Legislative Director and oversaw the appropriations portfolio for the office as the Director of Projects. He was also responsible for defense and military legislative affairs.\r\nTerry Carmack has been a friend and trusted advisor for more than 30 years. I'm grateful he will continue to serve Kentucky as my new Chief of Staff, said Senator McConnell. He's the perfect mixture of talent and hard work. For the last decade as my State Director, Terry has traveled to every corner of Kentucky to listen to families' stories and concerns. Now, he's the best choice to help me advance our Commonwealth's priorities in the Senate. Terry is ready to lead my DC and state staffs, in coordination with my leadership office, to deliver for Kentucky and Middle America.\r\nCarmack, who grew up in Marshall County, has served as Senator McConnell's State Director since June 2010. He previously worked as the Political Director at the National Republican Congressional Committee and served as Chief of Staff for two Kentucky Members of Congress, Anne Northup and Ed Whitfield. Carmack also has experience in positions at the White House and the Small Business Administration. His first job on Capitol Hill was working in Senator McConnell's mailroom beginning in 1985. Carmack attended Murray State University and is a graduate of George Mason University.\r\nThe transition will officially take place in January. Sharon Soderstrom is the Chief of Staff in McConnell's Leadership office.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://barr.house.gov/press-releases?ID=C2DC2A3A-9044-4A11-B91D-A8852098E408", "Statement from Congressman Andy Barr on National Defense Authorization Act Vote", "2020-12-08", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Andy Barr", "B001282", "barr.house.gov", "barr", "https://barr.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) released a statement following his vote tonight on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):\n\n\u201cToday, I voted in support of the Fiscal Year 2021 NDAA to provide our military with the funding, equipment and resources necessary to continue being a lethal and effective defense of our country and our freedoms. The NDAA includes a well-deserved 3% pay raise for our military servicemembers as well as continued hazardous pay for servicemembers serving in combat zones.\n\n\u201cThe NDAA offers significant COVID-19 relief for National Guard units, including the Kentucky National Guard\u2014who answered the call of duty during the COVID-19 pandemic to serve their fellow Kentuckians and their country.\n\n\u201cAdditionally, Congress phases out the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s (CCP) ability to finance through the World Bank and launches a historic $2.2 billion Pacific Deterrence Initiative designed to facilitate investments in the Indo-Pacific region and directly combat the rise of the CCP. This policy prescription strengthens America\u2019s position against the threat posed by the CCP, which represents America\u2019s greatest foreign policy challenge since the Cold War.\u201d\n\nThe COVID-19 relief included in the NDAA package for the National Guard includes more diagnostic equipment, testing capabilities and personal protective equipment needed to combat the pandemic within military ranks. Furthermore, the NDAA provides that servicemembers in the National Guard who were activated to fight the COVID-19 pandemic will also receive federal health insurance benefits if they got sick during their service.\n\nFor the Sixth District, the bill allows the United States to fulfill international treaty obligations by destroying chemical weapons and authorizes continued chemical agent and munitions destruction activity that occurs at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County. This NDAA continues to support the partnership between the National Guard and local authorities, authorizing funding for drug interdiction and counter-drug activities in Eastern Kentucky.\n\nEarlier this month, Congressman Barr successfully led the effort for the Kentucky National Guard to be selected to receive eight C-130J aircraft. The new of aircraft are scheduled to replace the fleet of C-130H aircraft sometime next year.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://guthrie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=387303", "Guthrie Supports Fort Knox and Pay Raises for Troops in NDAA", "2020-12-08", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Brett Guthrie", "G000558", "guthrie.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) released the following statement after the House passed the Mac Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA).\r\nI proudly voted to support our brave service members and their families who are serving at Fort Knox and all around the world. The National Defense Authorization Act increases pay for our troops and ensures that our military has the resources necessary to help keep our competitive edge against our adversaries like China and Russia. \r\nI am very pleased that the NDAA approves more than $69 million in funding for the construction of Fort Knox's new Van Voorhis Elementary School. Throughout Kentucky, I am thankful for our National Guard's efforts to help with COVID-19 response efforts, and this NDAA will provide much-deserved health benefits for these hardworking men and women serving in the National Guard. Our service members have been stepping up to the plate during the COVID-19 health public emergency to protect our national security and public health, and this legislation provides COVID-19 testing, personal protective equipment, and other critical supplies needed for our troops. Additionally, this NDAA expands benefits for families of service members, such as improved access to childcare and mental health care.\r\nIt was an honor to be appointed and to serve on the conference committee this year to ensure Fort Knox and all of our armed forces have the support and resources needed to complete their mission and protect our national security. For decades, we have supported our troops each year in a bipartisan manner through the NDAA, and I am glad to see this bipartisan tradition continue in order to support of our service members and their families, said Guthrie.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=700F6E79-EBD6-47F5-BFC2-A9E99185A312", "Even Prominent Democrats Most Urgent COVID Priorities Are Already Addressed in Republican Proposal", "2020-12-07", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nWe've reached the time of year when the Senate has more important outstanding business than we have days to complete it.\r\nDelivering for the American people will take focus, dexterity and real bipartisanship.\r\nOn government funding, as I've said for weeks, it's my hope that our committees' work will bear fruit and a full-year funding package will come to the floor in both chambers.\r\nI anticipate that the Senate will take up a one-week extension this week so the government does not close on December 11th and work can continue through the end of next week.\r\nThe nation needs our Democratic colleagues to resist the temptation to play brinkmanship with long-settled policy issues or push poison-pill riders that they know would tank the process.\r\nWe also expect to receive and pass a conference report of the annual defense authorization. And we need to continue confirming impressive nominees to vacancies in the judiciary and the executive branch.\r\nWe Senators are no strangers to end-of-year drama. But this time, the stakes are far higher.\r\nWe're up against another, even steeper surge in COVID-19 cases than we saw in the spring.\r\nWorkers and small businesses are once again struggling to make ends meet as states and localities step up precautions.\r\nAnd while the latest news on vaccine trials suggests that that victory over this virus may soon be within reach, our work in that area is far from complete. As one recent article put it, State [and] local officials plead for vaccine distribution funds'.\r\nOur nation's historic sprint to victory through vaccines seems poised to succeed in record time. But the critical last step -- getting hundreds of millions of doses out to the American people -- is still in front of us.\r\nCongress cannot stay on the sidelines.\r\n***\r\nNow yesterday, our colleague from Illinois, the Democratic Whip, gave an interview in which he named three examples of highly urgent matters that need to be addressed for our nation right now.\r\nHere are three things Senator Durbin mentioned as flashing-red urgent priorities:\r\nThe millions of people who are going to lose their unemployment insurance the day after Christmas'\r\nThe businesses that are trying to decide whether or not they can continue'\r\nAnd the vaccine logistics to make sure that this vaccine is on the road and vaccinating people across America as quickly as possible.'\r\nThose are the three urgent issues he named as examples: Extending unemployment insurance; helping small businesses; and funding vaccine distribution.\r\nI do not question the sincerity of our colleague, who I believe is engaged in these discussions in good faith.\r\nBut these comments illustrate perfectly a point that Republicans have been making for weeks.\r\nThose three urgent issues are issues where there is almost total bipartisan consensus. No real disagreement whatsoever.\r\nIn fact, the framework for a smart, targeted relief package that I put forward last week  something which Democrats quickly attacked  would have resolved all three of those subjects.\r\nThe targeted Republican framework extends unemployment insurance programs that will otherwise expire. It creates an entire second round of the Paycheck Protection Program for the hardest-hit small businesses. And it lays groundwork to distribute the vaccines that appear to be on the horizon.\r\nCheck, check, and check.\r\nThe Democratic Whip is right to recognize these three subjects as especially urgent. They are!\r\nThat's why Republicans have been trying over and over to get them passed.\r\nThat's why Republicans have been saying for months that Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic Leader should let Congress get outcomes in all the places where we already agree, rather than holding everything hostage over their most controversial partisan demands.\r\nBut month after month after month, it is the Democratic leaders who have said that no relief whatsoever can pass, no consensus items can become law, unless multiple controversial areas where we don't agree are resolved to the Democrats' liking.\r\nThat's why the Democratic Leader had every single Senate Democrat vote to filibuster a targeted COVID-19 rescue package in September and in October. That bill would have taken care of small businesses, unemployment insurance, and vaccine distribution months ago. But Senate Democrats blocked it.\r\nWell, I think if the Senate Democratic Leader would allow it, the three things the Democratic Whip mentioned  small business aid, re-upping unemployment aid, and setting up vaccine distribution  could pass the Senate by a landslide.\r\nA targeted compromise on the most urgent items could pass by a massive bipartisan margin. We could easily put together a whole slew of commonsense policies  including those three and other things like legal protections that universities and the American Council on Education have been pleading for  bring it to the floor, and pass it.\r\nEverybody knows why that hasn't happened. There's one reason. The Speaker of the House and the Democratic Leader have spent months tying the most bipartisan, common-sense policies to their most controversial requests, and saying the country can't get the former unless they get the latter.\r\nTheir strategy has been all or nothing. And so struggling Americans have gotten nothing.\r\nWell, we are down to the wire.\r\nThe light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. Operation Warp Speed seems poised to deliver vaccines on an historic, almost miraculous timetable.\r\nWe have seen some hopeful signs of engagement from our Democratic colleagues. But we have no reason to think the underlying disagreements about policy are going to evaporate overnight.\r\nRepublicans and Democrats do not need to resolve every one of our differences to get badly-needed relief out the door.\r\nWe just need both sides to finally do what members of Congress do when they're serious about wanting an outcome: Drop the all-or-nothing tactics, drop the hostage-taking, and make law in the many places where we have common ground.\r\nThat's what this country is counting on. That's how we can do right by the American people by Christmas.\r\nSo let's get it done.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=AC9A0DEA-80A5-4A9F-88A7-1B9AE0DB1C88", "McConnell, Paul, and 36 Senate Republicans File Brief Urging Supreme Court to Reaffirm Religious Liberty Still Exists in a Pandemic", "2020-12-04", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "LOUISVILLE, KY- U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rand Paul (R-KY), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), David Perdue (R-GA), John Thune (R-SD) ,John Barasso (R-WY), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Todd Young (R-IN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AZ), Mike Braun (R-IN), Richard Burr (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS), issued the following statement Friday regarding the amicus brief they are submitting to the Supreme Court concerning Danville Christian Academy v. Beshear:\r\nU.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), and 36 of their fellow Republican Senators announced Friday they are submitting an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's religious liberty lawsuit, Danville Christian Academy v. Beshear.\r\nIn the brief, Senators McConnell, Paul, Loeffler (R-GA), Perdue (R-GA), and their colleagues explain that the Constitution cannot permit the selective and overzealous targeting of religious institutions by local officials who seek to impose stricter restrictions in the name of public health than the restrictions enforced against similar but non-religious establishments. In this case, Governor Beshear in Kentucky has unconstitutionally ordered K-12 schools including religious schools to shut their doors while permitting preschools, colleges, business offices, entertainment venues, and many other secular institutions to remain open.\r\nEveryone understands this has been a challenging time for local leaders, but pandemics don't erase our First Amendment rights, said McConnell. Courts have repeatedly had to defend Americans of faith from overzealous officials who have tried to treat religious institutions in a uniquely disfavored way relative to other parts of society. Enough is enough. I am proud that Kentucky's own Attorney General Daniel Cameron is leading the way to defend the religious liberty of Kentuckians and all Americans.\r\nI'm proud to co-lead this brief on behalf of all Kentuckians, whose fundamental right to religious liberty is guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and stand up to our power-hungry Governor who continues to overstep his authority with yet another unconstitutional shutdown of the free exercise of religion,\" said Paul.\r\nAcross the country, Democrat governors are using the pandemic as an excuse to trample Americans' Constitutional rights, most especially their religious freedom, said Loeffler. Governor Beshear's order is a complete disgrace to both common sense and the Constitution, and I am proud to join Majority Leader McConnell and Senator Paul in standing up for religious freedom.\r\nDemocrats across the country have shown that they are willing to shut down houses of worship and religious schools, said Perdue. These decisions trample on the Constitutional rights of their citizens and are a disturbing overreach by the government. Religious schools are at the forefront of innovation in finding ways to keep their doors open and mitigate the effects of the coronavirus. Rather than using the heavy hand of government to trample on the constitutional rights of parents and these schools, we should be looking to their example as we work to get all kids safely back in the classroom, reopen the economy, and lead our country through this crisis.\r\nWhen imposing coronavirus restrictions, lawmakers and other government officials need to exercise the greatest respect for our first freedom  the free exercise of religion  and ensure that churches and other religious institutions are not subjected to disproportionately severe measures, said Thune. I'm hopeful that the Supreme Court will continue to safeguard religious freedom.\r\nReligious liberty is a first freedom. Parents have a right to send their kids to religious schools, said Barrasso. For families, for parents, for kids, this case is crucial.\r\nIt is completely unconstitutional to ban in-person religious activities when many other in-person secular activities face no similar restrictions, said Blunt. There are precautions we need to take to protect public health and safety. Those precautions do not require Americans to arbitrarily give up their constitutionally protected rights.\r\nIf people are permitted to congregate in casinos and shopping centers, folks can safely and responsibly go to church and kids to school, said Ernst. These orders are fundamentally unfair and in violation of basic constitutional rights, and that's why we're urging the Supreme Court to step in and uphold the freedoms of these institutions and individuals.\r\nIrresponsible governors and mayors have exploited the pandemic to target religious schools and even church services for burdensome lockdowns. These politicians claim they're acting impartially in the interest of public health, said Cotton. But there's nothing impartial about shutting down religious institutions while allowing gambling parlors and entertainment venues to operate unimpeded. The Supreme Court should defend the free exercise of religion by striking down Kentucky's unconstitutional and arbitrary lockdown.\r\nAmericans from all walks of life have made enormous and unprecedented sacrifices to curb the spread of this virus. But elected Democrats have continually exploited this crisis to abuse their power and impose authoritarian restrictions on Americans, said Cruz. According to Governor Beshear, during this pandemic Kentuckians can gamble, go to college, or shop in stores, all while sending their children to preschool, but not to religious K-12 schools. Governor Beshear's orders not only subvert the Bill of Rights and our constitutional liberties, they will be profoundly destructive to students and families across the state who choose to send attend religious institutions. I'm proud to join my colleagues in asking the Sixth Circuit to consider the full scope of these orders and their violation of Kentuckians' religious liberty.\r\nReligious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution, and this amicus brief is in support of this foundational freedom, said Hoeven.\r\nWe all want COVID-19 defeated, but governors, mayors, and other leaders must not use this fight to violate constitutionally-protected rights like religious liberty, said Hyde-Smith. This amicus brief serves as a reminder that religious-based schools and other activities cannot be illegally restricted while other nonreligious activities are open for business.\r\nThere is nothing neutral' about an order that allows numerous secular entities, including preschools and universities, to continue operations while shutting down K-12 schools, including religious ones, said Inhofe. While liberal governors and mayors may abuse COVID restrictions in an effort to squash religious expression, I will continue to fight to ensure our First Amendment rights are protected.\r\nAmid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our states and nation must continue to balance health, safety, and the protection of our constitutional rights, said Lankford. I am grateful Americans like those at Danville Christian Academy continue to press that our freedoms to live our faith and attend religious services and other faith-based activities should not be treated differently than secular activities and subjected to different restrictions. I urge the Court to preserve the First Amendment free exercise of faith for Kentuckians and all Americans.\r\nInfringing on the First Amendment's right to religious practice and education cannot be arbitrary, even in the midst of a pandemic, said Moran. In light of the facts, the Supreme Court should uphold this constitutional freedom.\r\nKentucky's Governor wants to keep gambling parlors open and Christian schools shut. This is textbook nonsense that gets handed down by ignoramuses who can only get jobs in government. Bureaucrats don't get to add except during a pandemic' to the First Amendment, and they cannot disregard religious liberty and due process during a public health crisis, said Sasse. The Supreme Court should rule again in favor of the First Amendment and slap down this nonsense from governors like Cuomo and Beshear.\r\nI've said all along that students need to go to school. You can't close down schools while allowing other establishments to open. It's wrong, said Rick Scott. Parents need to have the option to decide what makes the most sense for their families.\r\nAttempts by Democratic Governors, such as Governor Beshear, to treat Americans' freedom of religion as a second class right must be stopped. Governor Beshear's order is clearly not neutral and discriminates against faith-based schools which are prohibited from holding in-person classes, said Tillis. Faith based schools are a fundamental part of religious expression and Governor Beshear's order must be enjoined.\r\nThe free exercise of religion is an inalienable right of all Americans, said Wicker. I am glad to join Leader McConnell and Sen. Paul in this effort to ensure religious freedom does not become a casualty of the pandemic.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/mcconnell-paul-and-36-senate-republicans-file-brief-urging-supreme-court-to-reaffirm-religious-liberty-still-exists-in-a-pandemic", "McConnell, Paul, and 36 Senate Republicans File Brief Urging Supreme Court to Reaffirm Religious Liberty Still Exists in a Pandemic", "2020-12-04", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.republicanleader.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.04.20\n\t\t\t McConnell, Paul, and 36 Senate Republicans File Brief Urging Supreme Court to Reaffirm Religious Liberty Still Exists in a Pandemic \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tLOUISVILLE, KY- U.S. Senators McConnell (R-KY), Rand Paul (R-KY), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), David Perdue (R-GA), John Thune (R-SD) ,John Barasso (R-WY), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Todd Young (R-IN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AZ), Mike Braun (R-IN), Richard Burr (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS), issued the following statement Friday regarding the amicus brief they are submitting to the Supreme Court concerning Danville Christian Academy v. Beshear:\r\nU.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), and 36 of their fellow Republican Senators announced Friday they are submitting an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's religious liberty lawsuit, Danville Christian Academy v. Beshear.\r\nIn the brief, Senators McConnell, Paul, Loeffler (R-GA), Perdue (R-GA), and their colleagues explain that the Constitution cannot permit the selective and overzealous targeting of religious institutions by local officials who seek to impose stricter restrictions in the name of public health than the restrictions enforced against similar but non-religious establishments. In this case, Governor Beshear in Kentucky has unconstitutionally ordered K-12 schools including religious schools to shut their doors while permitting preschools, colleges, business offices, entertainment venues, and many other secular institutions to remain open.\r\nEveryone understands this has been a challenging time for local leaders, but pandemics don't erase our First Amendment rights, said McConnell. Courts have repeatedly had to defend Americans of faith from overzealous officials who have tried to treat religious institutions in a uniquely disfavored way relative to other parts of society. Enough is enough. I am proud that Kentucky's own Attorney General Daniel Cameron is leading the way to defend the religious liberty of Kentuckians and all Americans.\r\nI'm proud to co-lead this brief on behalf of all Kentuckians, whose fundamental right to religious liberty is guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and stand up to our power-hungry Governor who continues to overstep his authority with yet another unconstitutional shutdown of the free exercise of religion,\" said Paul.\r\nAcross the country, Democrat governors are using the pandemic as an excuse to trample Americans' Constitutional rights, most especially their religious freedom, said Loeffler. Governor Beshear's order is a complete disgrace to both common sense and the Constitution, and I am proud to join Majority Leader McConnell and Senator Paul in standing up for religious freedom.\r\nDemocrats across the country have shown that they are willing to shut down houses of worship and religious schools, said Perdue. These decisions trample on the Constitutional rights of their citizens and are a disturbing overreach by the government. Religious schools are at the forefront of innovation in finding ways to keep their doors open and mitigate the effects of the coronavirus. Rather than using the heavy hand of government to trample on the constitutional rights of parents and these schools, we should be looking to their example as we work to get all kids safely back in the classroom, reopen the economy, and lead our country through this crisis.\r\nWhen imposing coronavirus restrictions, lawmakers and other government officials need to exercise the greatest respect for our first freedom  the free exercise of religion  and ensure that churches and other religious institutions are not subjected to disproportionately severe measures, said Thune. I'm hopeful that the Supreme Court will continue to safeguard religious freedom.\r\nReligious liberty is a first freedom. Parents have a right to send their kids to religious schools, said Barrasso. For families, for parents, for kids, this case is crucial.\r\nIt is completely unconstitutional to ban in-person religious activities when many other in-person secular activities face no similar restrictions, said Blunt. There are precautions we need to take to protect public health and safety. Those precautions do not require Americans to arbitrarily give up their constitutionally protected rights.\r\nIf people are permitted to congregate in casinos and shopping centers, folks can safely and responsibly go to church and kids to school, said Ernst. These orders are fundamentally unfair and in violation of basic constitutional rights, and that's why we're urging the Supreme Court to step in and uphold the freedoms of these institutions and individuals.\r\nIrresponsible governors and mayors have exploited the pandemic to target religious schools and even church services for burdensome lockdowns. These politicians claim they're acting impartially in the interest of public health, said Cotton. But there's nothing impartial about shutting down religious institutions while allowing gambling parlors and entertainment venues to operate unimpeded. The Supreme Court should defend the free exercise of religion by striking down Kentucky's unconstitutional and arbitrary lockdown.\r\nAmericans from all walks of life have made enormous and unprecedented sacrifices to curb the spread of this virus. But elected Democrats have continually exploited this crisis to abuse their power and impose authoritarian restrictions on Americans, said Cruz. According to Governor Beshear, during this pandemic Kentuckians can gamble, go to college, or shop in stores, all while sending their children to preschool, but not to religious K-12 schools. Governor Beshear's orders not only subvert the Bill of Rights and our constitutional liberties, they will be profoundly destructive to students and families across the state who choose to send attend religious institutions. I'm proud to join my colleagues in asking the Sixth Circuit to consider the full scope of these orders and their violation of Kentuckians' religious liberty.\r\nReligious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution, and this amicus brief is in support of this foundational freedom, said Hoeven.\r\nWe all want COVID-19 defeated, but governors, mayors, and other leaders must not use this fight to violate constitutionally-protected rights like religious liberty, said Hyde-Smith. This amicus brief serves as a reminder that religious-based schools and other activities cannot be illegally restricted while other nonreligious activities are open for business.\r\nThere is nothing neutral' about an order that allows numerous secular entities, including preschools and universities, to continue operations while shutting down K-12 schools, including religious ones, said Inhofe. While liberal governors and mayors may abuse COVID restrictions in an effort to squash religious expression, I will continue to fight to ensure our First Amendment rights are protected.\r\nAmid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our states and nation must continue to balance health, safety, and the protection of our constitutional rights, said Lankford. I am grateful Americans like those at Danville Christian Academy continue to press that our freedoms to live our faith and attend religious services and other faith-based activities should not be treated differently than secular activities and subjected to different restrictions. I urge the Court to preserve the First Amendment free exercise of faith for Kentuckians and all Americans.\r\nInfringing on the First Amendment's right to religious practice and education cannot be arbitrary, even in the midst of a pandemic, said Moran. In light of the facts, the Supreme Court should uphold this constitutional freedom.\r\nKentucky's Governor wants to keep gambling parlors open and Christian schools shut. This is textbook nonsense that gets handed down by ignoramuses who can only get jobs in government. Bureaucrats don't get to add except during a pandemic' to the First Amendment, and they cannot disregard religious liberty and due process during a public health crisis, said Sasse. The Supreme Court should rule again in favor of the First Amendment and slap down this nonsense from governors like Cuomo and Beshear.\r\nI've said all along that students need to go to school. You can't close down schools while allowing other establishments to open. It's wrong, said Rick Scott. Parents need to have the option to decide what makes the most sense for their families.\r\nAttempts by Democratic Governors, such as Governor Beshear, to treat Americans' freedom of religion as a second class right must be stopped. Governor Beshear's order is clearly not neutral and discriminates against faith-based schools which are prohibited from holding in-person classes, said Tillis. Faith based schools are a fundamental part of religious expression and Governor Beshear's order must be enjoined.\r\nThe free exercise of religion is an inalienable right of all Americans, said Wicker. I am glad to join Leader McConnell and Sen. Paul in this effort to ensure religious freedom does not become a casualty of the pandemic.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=18A6653F-A80E-4E8A-9BAD-5CCD72961B4A", "Senator McConnell Comments on Former Kentucky State House Republican Caucus Chair Bob DeWeese", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement today regarding the passing of former Rep. Bob DeWeese of Louisville:\r\nFor more than two decades, Bob DeWeese's leadership in Frankfort helped chart the course for a stronger Kentucky. His team laid the foundation for the Commonwealth's first Republican House Majority in nearly a century. Today, that Majority stands as a testament to Bob's vision and determination to fight for our families and values.\r\nBob poured himself into his work, both as a legislator and a surgeon. But Angie and their children always remained at the center of his life. Elaine and I are grateful they shared him with us for so many years.\r\nWith Bob's former colleagues and his many friends, our sincere condolences are with Angie and the entire family.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=F2B76DA0-EED7-4597-8C84-67E3E9C6F0AF", "Congress Should Deliver Consensus COVID-19 Relief Right Away", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nAnyone who's heard me speak about coronavirus relief going back months has heard one central principle: Let's deliver right away on all the subjects where everybody agrees, and argue over the rest later.\r\nThat solution to this impasse has been in plain sight for anyone willing to see it. Agree where we agree, bank that progress, make law, take a whole lot of pressure off struggling people, and then keep debating the areas where we don't agree.\r\nThere is no actual reason why the fates of common-sense policies like a second round of the job-saving Paycheck Protection Program had to be linked to the fates of fringe proposals like stimulus checks for illegal immigrants.\r\nThere's no reason why the fate of funding for vaccine distribution, or extending unemployment aid, or legal certainty for universities, should have been tied to radical ideas like paying people more not to work than essential workers earn on the job.\r\nThose linkages have been totally arbitrary. Just a political decision that Democratic leaders made many months back.\r\nDemocratic leaders have tried to create a narrative where it's taken for granted that the most bipartisan, commonsensical relief policies would live or die with their side's most outlandish ideas. But that isn't so.\r\nThey have tried to create a dynamic where they move from one made-up number to a second, slightly smaller arbitrary number and call it a meaningful concession.\r\nThe truth is simple. This has always been about policy differences. We have two sides with different visions for the best way to support our nation through what we hope will be the last chapter of the pandemic.\r\nThat's not new. We have disagreements all the time. Our system can handle it. But both sides have to be willing to compile their commonalities and make law there.\r\nAnd up to now, our Democratic colleagues have declined to do that.\r\nRemember, their side said in March this pandemic was, quote, a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.'\r\nSo when Republicans tried to pass common-ground relief measures in July and in September and in October our Democratic colleagues actually blocked policies they do not even claim to oppose.\r\n***\r\nNow, it's been heartening to see a few hopeful signs in the past few days.\r\nAfter months of arbitrary attachment to sky-high dollar amounts that the Speaker of the House claimed were essential -- that it would be an insult to settle for a nickel less -- those baseless claims have suddenly evaporated.\r\nThat is at least movement in the right direction.\r\nBut the underlying reality is still with us:\r\nThere are many important policies that have strong bipartisan support; there are many others that do not; and the way to help the country is for our Democratic colleagues to finally let the former group be signed into law while we keep arguing over the latter.\r\nThe targeted second round of the Paycheck Protection Program that we've been trying to establish since July would help a huge number of small businesses survive to the finish line and help huge numbers of workers keep their jobs. And it could pass the Senate today, probably with 95 votes.\r\nWith the apparent success of Operation Warp Speed, it makes no sense to skimp on the systems to distribute and deliver vaccines around the country. Those funds could pass the Senate today, possibly unanimously.\r\nUniversity presidents have made it clear they need legal certainty for their re-openings.\r\nThat shouldn't be partisan. Liability protections should be able to pass the Senate today.\r\nA number of our Democratic colleagues have focused especially on several of the unemployment relief programs that are set to expire in a matter of days. I specifically made sure to include those programs in my framework a few days ago.\r\nThat extension could pass the Senate today.\r\nThe House of Representatives is spending this week on pressing issues like marijuana. You know, serious and important legislation befitting this national crisis.\r\nBut here in the Senate, I put forward a serious and highly targeted relief proposal including the elements which we know the President is ready and willing to sign into law.\r\nWhy should these impactful and non-controversial life preservers be delayed one second longer?\r\nAt long last, let's do what Congress does when we want an outcome. Let's make law on all the subjects where we agree, on all the areas where President Trump is ready to sign bipartisan relief into law.\r\nI promise, our deep differences will still be here to debate. Our disagreements will be right where we left them.\r\nBut you know what can't wait?\r\nAmerican workers. American small businesses. K-12 schools. The vulnerable Americans and frontline healthcare workers for whom speedy vaccine distribution will literally be a life or death matter.\r\nYesterday, my home state of Kentucky experienced yet another dreadful record-setting day.\r\nBut Kentuckians also know hope is in sight. Our state's workers are standing by at the UPS Worldport in Louisville and the DHL Express Americas Hub in northern Kentucky, key logistics centers that will play crucial roles in sending vaccines across the country.\r\nOur people are hurting, but they are ready to finish this fight. Congress should not keep them waiting for reinforcements that should have arrived months ago.\r\nCompromise is within reach. We know where we agree.\r\nWe can do this. We need to do this.\r\nLet's make law.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://comer.house.gov/2020/12/comer-named-ranking-member-house-oversight-and-reform-committee-117th-congress", "Comer Named Ranking Member of House Oversight and Reform Committee for 117th Congress", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "James Comer", "C001108", "comer.house.gov", "comer", "https://comer.house.gov/media", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) today issued the following statement after he was selected to continue serving as Ranking Member in the 117th Congress.\n\n\u201cI am honored to continue serving Kentucky\u2019s 1st Congressional District and the American people as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. Throughout my time in public service, I have been committed to holding accountable those who misuse taxpayer dollars and engage in corruption. Oversight Republicans will continue working on behalf of Americans to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and provide a check and balance on the role and power of Washington.\n\n\u201cUnfortunately, Democrats have failed to conduct credible oversight of government waste, fraud, and abuse and have instead launched partisan attacks against President Trump. As Ranking Member, Oversight Republicans will keep their eye on the ball, knowing that we ultimately report to hard working taxpayers to ensure their investment in government is spent wisely. We will work to identify problems, hold the federal government accountable, propose common-sense reforms, and ensure the federal government is transparent, effective, and efficient.\u201d\n\nThe Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate \u201cany matter\u201d at \u201cany time\u201d under House Rule X.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-icymi-dr-rand-paul-holds-hearing-state-and-local-cybersecurity-during-pandemic/", "ICYMI: Dr. Rand Paul Holds Hearing on State and Local Cybersecurity During the Pandemic", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), chairman of the Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management (FSO) Subcommittee for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), held a hearing on \u201cState and Local Cybersecurity: Defending Our Communities from Cyber Threats Amid COVID-19.\u201d\n\n\u201cEffective cybersecurity is an ongoing, everyday line of effort. The threat landscape is diverse. The best practices are constantly changing. The information you get may not always be reliable. The maintenance tasks can seem overwhelming, and, most importantly, the stakes are high. And in this context, I have often found myself thinking: effective cybersecurity cannot move at quote \u2018the speed of government,'\u201d Dr. Paul said in his opening statement.\n\nAs Americans continue to conduct more of their activities online due to the pandemic, including going virtual for school and sensitive needs such as consultations with physicians, the subcommittee hearing examined cybersecurity threats faced by state and local governments, with a focus on concerns about ransomware attacks/cyber extortion in critical sectors such as health care and public education.\n\nOver the past several months, a number of school districts around the country have been victims of ransomware attacks, including Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia \u2014 one of the largest public school districts in the country. Unfortunately, Fairfax County Public Schools declined to appear at the hearing or to give a reason for turning down the opportunity.\n\nEarlier this year, the first day of school for Hartford Public Schools in Connecticut had to be postponed due to a ransomware attack, and, just this week, Baltimore County Public Schools were forced to close for multiple days for the same reason.\n\nOn September 17, the Associated Press reported that a D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany, woman died en route to a hospital in a neighboring city because the hospital in D\u00fcsseldorf had been taken off-line by a ransomware attack.\n\nWhile this hearing was originally scheduled for September 22, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) forced its postponement by blocking the Senate from conducting committee business in protest of President Donald Trump\u2019s then-upcoming selection of future Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.\n\nIn an example of how Washington should function, Dr. Paul worked in close cooperation with subcommittee Ranking Member Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) to craft the hearing.\n\nYou can find Dr. Paul\u2019s opening statement HERE, and you can watch the entire hearing HERE.\n\nWITNESSES:\n\nPanel I\n\nBrandon Wales\n\nActing Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency\n\nU.S. Department of Homeland Security\n\nPanel II\n\nDenis Goulet\n\nCommissioner\n\nNew Hampshire Department of Information Technology\n\nLeslie Torres-Rodriguez, Ed.D.\n\nSuperintendent of Schools\n\nHartford Public Schools\n\nJohn Riggi\n\nSenior Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk\n\nAmerican Hospital Association\n\nBill Siegel\n\nChief Executive Officer and Co-Founder\n\nCoveware, Inc.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"], ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/icymi-dr-rand-paul-holds-hearing-state-and-local-cybersecurity-during-pandemic", "ICYMI: Dr. Rand Paul Holds Hearing on State and Local Cybersecurity During the Pandemic", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY),chairman of the Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management (FSO) Subcommittee for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), held a hearing on State and Local Cybersecurity: Defending Our Communities from Cyber Threats Amid COVID-19.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tEffective cybersecurity is an ongoing, everyday line of effort. The threat landscape is diverse. The best practices are constantly changing. The information you get may not always be reliable. The maintenance tasks can seem overwhelming, and, most importantly, the stakes are high. And in this context, I have often found myself thinking: effective cybersecurity cannot move at quote the speed of government,'Dr. Paul said in his opening statement.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tAs Americans continue to conduct more of their activities online due to the pandemic, including going virtual for school and sensitive needs such as consultations with physicians, the subcommittee hearing examinedcybersecuritythreats faced by state and local governments, with a focus on concerns about ransomware attacks/cyber extortion in critical sectors such as health care and public education.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tOver the past several months, a number of school districts around the country have been victims of ransomware attacks, including Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia  one of the largest public school districts in the country. Unfortunately, Fairfax County Public Schools declined to appear at the hearing or to give a reason for turning down the opportunity.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tEarlier this year, the first day of school for Hartford Public Schools in Connecticut had to be postponed due to a ransomware attack, and,justthisweek, Baltimore County Public Schools were forced to close for multiple days for the same reason.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tOn September 17, the Associated Press reported that a Dsseldorf, Germany, woman died en route to a hospital in a neighboring city because the hospital in Dsseldorf had been taken off-line by a ransomware attack.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tWhile this hearing was originally scheduled for September 22,U.S. Senate Minority Leader ChuckSchumer(D-NY)forced its postponement byblocking the Senate from conducting committee business in protest of President Donald Trump's then-upcoming selection of future Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tIn an example of how Washington should function,Dr. Paul worked in close cooperation with subcommittee Ranking Member Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) to craft the hearing.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  \r\n\t\t\t\tYou can find Dr. Paul's opening statementHERE, and you can watch the entire hearingHERE.  \r\n\t\t\t\t  WITNESSES:  \r\n\t\t\t\t  Panel I  \r\n\t\t\t\t  Brandon Wales  \r\n\t\t\t\tActing Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency  \r\n\t\t\t\tU.S. Department of Homeland Security  \r\n\t\t\t\t  Panel II  \r\n\t\t\t\t  Denis Goulet  \r\n\t\t\t\tCommissioner  \r\n\t\t\t\tNew Hampshire Department of Information Technology  \r\n\t\t\t\t  Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, Ed.D.  \r\n\t\t\t\tSuperintendent of Schools  \r\n\t\t\t\tHartford Public Schools  \r\n\t\t\t\t  John Riggi  \r\n\t\t\t\tSenior Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk  \r\n\t\t\t\tAmerican Hospital Association  \r\n\t\t\t\t  Bill Siegel  \r\n\t\t\t\tChief Executive Officer and Co-Founder  \r\n\t\t\t\tCoveware, Inc.\r\n\r\n\t\t\t  ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=2CA21114-BE97-4C4B-9669-3B0D92F88DF7", "Leader McConnell Pays Tribute to Friend and Colleague Chairman Lamar Alexander", "2020-12-02", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN):\r\nThe Senate revolves around people.\r\nThe body consists of 100 individuals. One of our key duties concerns the personnel whom we examine and confirm. And there are all the dedicated staff professionals who make this place go.\r\nToday, it is both my great honor and my regrettable task to honor someone who secured all three parts of that senatorial Triple Crown.\r\nThe senior Senator for Tennessee  the Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions  Lamar Alexander.\r\nLamar first set foot here as a talented young staffer. Decades later, he appeared before us as a super-successful former Governor and university president with a nomination to the Cabinet.\r\nAnd for the past 18 years, the other 99 of us have gotten to serve alongside one of the most impactful Senators in modern history.\r\nI've known Lamar for more than 50 years. We first met in 1969, when I was working for the freshman Senator Marlow Cook and he worked in the executive branch.\r\nWe met at the suggestion of his previous boss and mentor, Senator Howard Baker, Jr. Either he suspected our paths might cross again later, or he just saw two serious young guys in need of some livelier social lives.\r\nNow this may shock you, but I'm afraid young Lamar Alexander and young Mitch McConnell did not exactly go crazy and paint the town red.\r\nBut I'll take a five-decade friendship any day.\r\nBoth of us headed back home to continue our careers. It was already clear that a bright future in elected office likely lay in store for him.\r\nLamar's reverence for public service started early. I believe he was about 10 years old when his father, himself a long-time local official, took him to meet his hometown congressman, Howard Baker, Sr. The father of his future boss shook the boy's hand and handed him a dime. I think Lamar was hooked, then and there.\r\n***\r\nDecades later, when Lamar announced his 1996 presidential run, he was in his hometown of Maryville. His speech began with a story about his mother. She'd read where he'd lovingly described his upbringing aslower-middle-class, and she'd taken umbrage at that.\r\nAfter all, Lamar had had a library card, and music lessons. In her words  everything you needed that was important.' And I'd certainly add loving parents to that list.\r\nThis son of two educators grew up steeped in the importance of schooling. He'd later reference his mother's work in early childhood education by saying he is probably the only Secretary of Education in history who spent five years in kindergarten.\r\nThat passion would remain throughout Lamar's career. His cutting-edge focus on improving opportunities and reforming education benefitted Tennessee hugely in the 1980s, and our whole nation during his time in President Bush's Cabinet.\r\nBut that isn't the only way Lamar has honored his roots.\r\nYou couldn't walk across the entire state of Tennessee in a plaid shirt, get elected Governor before the age of 40, and serve more combined years as Governor and Senator than anyone else in the history of the Volunteer State without becoming entirely intertwined with the place.\r\nEvery corner of the state is better for his service. His groundbreaking work to bring home good-paying auto jobs has paid dividends. So has his major focus on infrastructure and better roads.\r\nBut alas, even building a statewide and then national reputation does not always translate into honest-to-goodness celebrity status.\r\nI understand that following Lamar's governorship, a stretch of highway in Maryville was fittingly named the Lamar Alexander Parkway to honor him.\r\nI further understand that some time later, Lamar was driving on that very road and stopped for breakfast. When it was time to pay for his food, he handed over his credit card.\r\nThe woman on the other side of the counter glanced at the name on the card... then back at Lamar.\r\nHey!she said. Were you named after this road?!'\r\nNow, as a man of faith, I'm certain Lamar knowsLuke, chapter 4: No prophet is accepted in his hometown. Apparently neither are statesmen to be recognized on their own highway!\r\n***\r\nHere in the Senate, too, Lamar's impact has been massive. And the convictions that fueled it have been straightforward.\r\nHe starts with a firm framework: The right-of-center principles that Ronald Reagan used to rebuild a confident, prosperous America and beat communism. The federal government isn't meant to take over our states, neighborhoods, or lives.\r\nBut Lamar's career has also confirmed that conservative governance is not a contradiction in terms.\r\nThere are genuine public goods it is government's job to secure: Public roads, public lands, public education, certain aspects of public health.\r\nHe's dedicated himself to making those things better and stronger, especially for those who need opportunity most.\r\nThis vision aligns with the greatest traditions of the Republican Party and indeed of American history. Government that is limited, but effective and smart. A system where power stays close to the people and working families can thrive and prosper.\r\nThese principles made our colleague a nationally-known leader long before he was sworn in as a Senator. But I'd say they've reached full flourishing with Chairman Alexander's astonishingly effective leadership here in this body.\r\nStudents, families, and teachers benefit every day from the Every Student Succeeds Act, Chairman Alexander's historic bipartisan makeover following No Child Left Behind. One report called it the largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter-century.'\r\nMillions of medically vulnerable Americans also have their champion in our friend from Tennessee. The overwhelmingly bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act was the single most important law of the entire 114th Congress.\r\nIt's paving the way for more innovation and faster innovation to benefit patients who have no time to waste. Another Lamar Alexander production.\r\nHis leadership was instrumental in the landmark legislation we passed two years ago to combat the opioid epidemic.\r\nJust this year, he was a driving force behind the Great American Outdoors Act, the Senate's historic project to secure our parks and public lands for generations to come.\r\nThe list doesn't end there. There have been other education wins, like permanent funding for historically Black colleges and universities and simplifying the student loan process.\r\nThere have been laws like the Music Modernization Act, which Lamar hammered out with our former colleague Senator Hatch. A legislative duet from two musical virtuosos in their own rights.\r\nSenator Alexander knows about 50 different issues as well as most Senators know three or four. He is hands-down one of the most brilliant, most thoughtful, and most effective legislators any of us have ever seen.\r\nHe likes to say this about the Senate:it's hard to get here; it's hard to stay here; so while you're here, you might as well try to accomplish something.'\r\nWell  mission accomplished and then some.\r\n***\r\nIf you reviewed Senator Alexander's resume and results without knowing the man, you might suspect he arrived as an established hot shot and threw his weight around.\r\nBut even as Lamar has mastered the levers of power here, his character has never been captured by Washington. Lamar's remained clear that he's just been on loan from Tennessee this whole time.\r\nSo we've had more than just a master legislator to call upon.\r\nWe've been blessed with a sober, honest, deliberate statesman. Someone who cares as much about preserving this institution as the near-term results he can wring out of it.\r\nFrom daily conversations to committee business to the most dramatic moments on the floor, whether in the minority or in the majority, Lamar has taken pains to treat his colleagues exactly as he'd hope to be treated in their shoes. He has worked to build consensus in a consensus-based body.\r\nHe has cherished and defended the Senate the framers designed.\r\nAnd it's no exaggeration to say Lamar Alexander is one of the most brilliant people I've met in my life. His mind is a steel trap.\r\nI understand he likes to keep his staff experts locked around a conference table for long sessions, turning a complex issue over and over, until they've arrived at the best path forward for the country and the most precise, concise way to communicate it.\r\nMastery of policy. Mastery of the English language. And I can't forget to mention my friend's good cheer.\r\nLamar really does live by the motto he inherited from his good friend and fellow Tennessean, the late author Alex Haley: Find the good and praise it.'\r\nI've leaned on Lamar's wisdom for many years. But I think I've leaned just as much on his optimism. His can-do spirit. His ability to look on the bright side and then discern how some more hard work could make it brighter still.\r\nI will badly miss our regular dinners  even with our weeknight scheduling and official one-drink limit.Like I said, we weren't exactly party animals in our twenties, either.\r\nBut here's something else that never changes:\r\nHow reassuring it is to be weighing a thorny question and see Lamar Alexander sitting across the table.\r\n***\r\nThe Senate can be all-consuming. It's not only our colleagues, but their spouses and loved ones, that all get folded into the extended family around here.\r\nSo I am extremely grateful that it turned out Mitch McConnell was not the most important young person that Lamar Alexander met during his first stint in Washington. Not by a mile.\r\nHoney Alexander is a remarkable woman. She is a force of nature and an incredible partner for Lamar. She raised a young family in the Governor's mansion for eight years.\r\nShe charmed and impressed more voters during Lamar's various campaigns than Lamar himself. And she's devoted her own career to public health and philanthropy.\r\nTheir shared love and mutual respect inspire everyone. Honey is just about the finest in-law the U.S. Senate could have ever had. Elaine and I are grateful to call her our friend.\r\nSo, as much as I am dreading life in the Senate without my brilliant friend, even I cannot begrudge him the silver lining.\r\nThis most distinguished public servant has more than earned the right to spend more days fly-fishing or walking trails in the Smokies more mornings waking up on Blackberry Farm and a much larger share of his time with Honey and their family.\r\nAbout six years ago, it fell to Lamar to eulogize his friend and mentor Howard Baker. Here on the floor, he quoted another Senator who'd said that when it came to the Senate,there was Howard Baker, and there was the rest of us.\r\nWell, my friend  for 18 years, there has been Lamar Alexander, and there's been the rest of us.\r\nI am sorry that, in a few more weeks, it'll just bethe rest of usleft.But you are leaving this body... and those of us in it... and the nation it exists to serve... stronger and better because you were here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=5163BA71-647F-4080-AA05-BD88B0B6DAC3", "We Need to get More Bipartisan, Targeted Coronavirus Relief out to the American People", "2020-12-02", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding COVID-19 relief:\r\nWhen I opened the Senate on Monday, I repeated something Republicans have stated for months now: We need to put partisanship aside and get more bipartisan, targeted coronavirus relief out to the American people.\r\nDating back to the summer, and all fall, Senate Republicans tried repeatedly to advance hundreds of billions of dollars to prevent layoffs, protect small businesses, fund vaccine distribution, and continue assisting workers who've already lost their jobs due to this crisis.\r\nEvery time, the Speaker of the House and the Democratic Leader blocked our efforts. It had to be the entirety of their left-wing wish list or nothing at all.\r\nBut finally, this week, we are seeing cracks starting to form in the Democratic leaders' stone wall. And thank goodness for the country that is happening.\r\nIn the last several days, the Democrats' leaders have signaled a new willingness to engage in good faith. And yesterday, a number of Senate Democrats proposed a different compromise.\r\nBut at the risk of repeating something we all know, making law will require not just the Senate's approval, but also the signature of the President of the United States.\r\nSo, after several conversations with the Secretary of the Treasury and the White House Chief of Staff, I put forward yesterday another proposal reflecting what the President is ready to sign into law.\r\nWhat we've proposed would give universities and nonprofits the legal certainty they need. It would create a second draw of the job-saving Paycheck Protection Program to prevent more layoffs.\r\nAnd it would extend two important emergency unemployment benefit programs that were created by the CARES Act and which will expire in December without action. These programs have been championed by our Democratic colleagues, particularly the senior Senator for Virginia, and we made sure they were included in this framework.\r\nI hope our Democratic colleagues will finally let Congress pass a bipartisan bill that the President will sign into law  and do so soon.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "truncated": false, "filtered_table_rows_count": 1025, "expanded_columns": [], "expandable_columns": [], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "units": {}, "query": {"sql": "select url, title, date, year, month, party, chamber, state, member_name, bioguide_id, domain, scraper, source, date_source, text, has_text, collected_at, updated_at from releases where \"state\" = :p0 and \"year\" = :p1 order by date desc limit 101", "params": {"p0": "KY", "p1": "2020"}}, "facet_results": {"party": {"name": "party", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=KY&year=2020", "results": [{"value": "Republican", "label": "Republican", "count": 993, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=KY&year=2020&party=Republican", "selected": false}, {"value": "Democrat", "label": "Democrat", "count": 32, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=KY&year=2020&party=Democrat", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "chamber": {"name": "chamber", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=KY&year=2020", "results": [{"value": "House", "label": "House", "count": 839, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=KY&year=2020&chamber=House", "selected": false}, {"value": "Senate", "label": "Senate", "count": 186, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=KY&year=2020&chamber=Senate", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "state": {"name": "state", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=KY&year=2020", "results": [{"value": "KY", "label": "KY", "count": 1025, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?year=2020", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "year": {"name": "year", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=KY&year=2020", "results": [{"value": "2020", "label": "2020", "count": 1025, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=KY", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}}, "suggested_facets": [], "next": "2020-12-02,http~3A~2F~2Fwww~2Emcconnell~2Esenate~2Egov~2F~2Fpublic~2Findex~2Ecfm~2Fpressreleases~3FContentRecord_id~3D5163BA71-647F-4080-AA05-BD88B0B6DAC3", "next_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=KY&year=2020&_next=2020-12-02%2Chttp~3A~2F~2Fwww~2Emcconnell~2Esenate~2Egov~2F~2Fpublic~2Findex~2Ecfm~2Fpressreleases~3FContentRecord_id~3D5163BA71-647F-4080-AA05-BD88B0B6DAC3&_sort_desc=date", "private": false, "allow_execute_sql": true, "query_ms": 342.50542102381587, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}