{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=3EA711E4-1F01-4491-97E8-40E7721F73E4", "McConnell on Devastating Kentucky Tornado Damage", "2021-12-13", "2021", "2021-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the tornadoes in Western Kentucky:\n\n\u201cThe tornadoes that hit Kentucky this past weekend were some of the most widespread, severe, and devastating in our state\u2019s history.\n\n\u201cIt is still difficult to comprehend the vast scope of this storm. Nearly forty tornadoes touched down across six states. One tornado in Kentucky stayed on the ground for over 200 miles. This was potentially the longest continuous path of any tornado in U.S. history.\n\n\u201cTowns have been reduced to rubble. Families are picking up pieces of their shattered lives. Most tragically, our Governor announced today that more than 60 Kentuckians are confirmed to have lost their lives. Many more remain unaccounted for.\n\n\u201cThis is the worst storm to hit Kentucky in my lifetime. The tornadoes caused considerable damage in fifteen counties across the Commonwealth. Thousands lost their homes. Tens of thousands are still without power.\n\n\u201cThis was, in the words of one meteorologist, \u2018the worst-case scenario\u2019 for destruction. And it came during the Christmas season. Families are supposed to be gathering soon for rest, relaxation, and reunion. Now so many Kentuckians are facing just the opposite.\n\n***\n\n\u201cThe whole country is becoming acquainted with Mayfield, Kentucky, likely our hardest-hit city.\n\n\u201cMayfield is a town of ten thousand in the Jackson Purchase. It\u2019s been known for the beautiful Greek-revival fa\u00e7ade of the Mayfield First United Methodist Church.\n\n\u201cNow First United is completely gone and the town is leveled to the ground.\n\n\u201cMayfield\u2019s candle factory was operating in full swing this weekend to keep up with Christmas demand. It was once a mainstay of the community, employing hundreds.\n\n\u201cOn Friday night, the factory was turned into a scene of absolute horror. Many of the employees who were working that evening are feared dead. Rescue operations are ongoing. At least forty employees were rescued initially. One was saved after being trapped under five feet of rubble for hours. The devastation there is absolute.\n\n\u201cThe tornado was so powerful that it ripped twenty-seven train cars off their tracks in Earlington and scattered them across a field.\n\n\u201cA family photograph that was picked up by the storm in Dawson Springs, Kentucky was carried nearly 130 miles by the wind and discovered in Indiana.\n\n\u201cAll across Western Kentucky, residents spent their Saturday and Sunday clearing debris and collecting clothes and possessions that had been scattered. Families were left to inspect the cinder blocks where their houses once stood. The cheery lights of Christmastime have been replaced by destruction.\n\n***\n\n\u201cKentucky has been devastated. But we have not been defeated.\n\n\u201cKentuckians are resilient people. We will stay strong and unified through this crisis.\n\n\u201cI am incredibly grateful to the first responders who have been on the ground since the outset of this crisis: Kentucky National Guard, Kentucky State Police, sheriff\u2019s departments, city and local law enforcement, EMS responders, firefighters, doctors, and nurses. Quick thinking and selfless actions saved lives.\n\n\u201cHard-hit communities are receiving an outpouring of support from across the Commonwealth and the country.\n\n\u201cAmericans near and far are coming together to donate food, blood, resources, and shelter to those in need.\n\n\u201cBusinesses and individuals are helping fund relief efforts and donating to assist the storm\u2019s victims.\n\n\u201cLike many of my fellow Kentuckians, I was incredibly touched by the support offered by the University of Kentucky basketball team this weekend.\n\n\u201cWhile visiting the University of Notre Dame, they led a deeply emotional moment of silence before their game on Saturday night. The team visited the school\u2019s Grotto to light candles for storm victims and pray for recovery.\n\n\u201cWe were all praying alongside them.\n\n\u201cMadam President, Kentucky\u2019s state motto is \u2018united we stand, divided we fall.\u2019 In this time of crisis, Kentuckians are standing shoulder to shoulder. And we will not fall.\n\n\u201cAt every level of local, state, and federal government, across both parties, Kentucky\u2019s leaders have come together to coordinate and provide aid.\n\n\u201cToward the end of the week, I will travel back to Kentucky to meet with my constituents and visit the areas affected by this storm. My team has been working non-stop to ensure Kentuckians receive the help they need.\n\n\u201cI have worked closely with President Biden and Governor Beshear to ensure every federal resource possible is deployed to our state.\n\n\u201cKentucky\u2019s congressional delegation has come together to send multiple letters to the President in support of disaster relief. In response, President Biden cut through red tape to approve our requests at an accelerated pace, providing the rapid support we need to recover.\n\n\u201cI am especially grateful for the work of DHS Secretary Mayorkas and FEMA Administrator Criswell, who visited Kentucky yesterday to survey damage and help relief efforts.\n\n\u201cFEMA has already sent two incident management teams, an urban search and rescue team, and an Army Corp temporary power team.\n\n\u201cThey have turned Kentucky\u2019s Fort Campbell into a staging ground for vital relief and supplies.\n\n\u201cI could not be more thankful for their swift and decisive response to this crisis.\n\n\u201cEven in the face of such tragedy, we can be confident that Kentucky will bounce back.\n\n\u201cWe are strong, and we are united.\n\n\u201cWe will come back bigger and better than ever before.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:37:48Z"]], "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"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=3EA711E4-1F01-4491-97E8-40E7721F73E4"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8255660068243742, "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"}