{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=d193ee1d-6b1e-477f-bdfe-566a419f0dc6", "Veterans Day", "2015-11-10", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding Veterans Day:\r\nLike many of my colleagues, I plan to commemorate Veterans Day with the people Im honored to represent here in the Senate. Ill join Kentuckians at a ceremony in Shelbyvilles Veterans Memorial Park.\r\nHands will be put to heart as the Star Spangled Banner is played. Heads will bow in reverence as 106 names are read aloud.\nEach, a Kentuckian who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of others. \nEach, a reminder of our enduring debt to Americas men and women in uniform.\r\nIm proud to represent the nearly 330,000 Kentuckians whove served in the Armed Forces. Im also proud to represent the many thousands of soldiers and their families who reside in or hail from our great commonwealth  whether at Fort Knox, Fort Campbell, the Blue Grass Army Depot, or beyond.\r\nI recently had the chance to meet some of Kentuckys brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who currently serve in Afghanistan and Iraq. \nSadly, a NATO helicopter had just crashed in Kabul, killing five people, including two American servicemembers. I was honored to take part in a prayer service led by a chaplain from Lexington.\r\nWhat an incredibly humbling moment it was. The tragic crash, a stark reminder of the incredible danger our servicemen and women face every day  and a stark reminder of what all Americans owe them.\nVeterans should know that they have many champions fighting for them here in the Senate.\r\nOne of them is Senator Isakson, the Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee.\r\nUnder his leadership, the committee has actively sought to do right by the men and women who never hesitate to do right by us. Hes sent important legislation to the Senate floor that weve been able to pass on a bipartisan basis  and that the President has signed into law.\nOne law we passed would improve the Veterans Choice Program for instance, while another  the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act  would help reduce the tragedies that befall too many of our heroes and the heartbreak that befalls too many of their families.\r\nImportant Veterans Affairs Committee oversight has also been brought to bear on an agency thats lost the trust of many it serves: the V.A.\nOf course theres much more to be done. Veterans deserve the very best, and the V.A. crisis will not be resolved easily or quickly. But working together, theres a lot we can do for the men and women who risk their all for their country.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=d193ee1d-6b1e-477f-bdfe-566a419f0dc6"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4447588473558426, "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"}