{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=e0f2b053-ff31-42d6-8ec6-768a838eb704", "Focus Must Be on Essential Tasks in Lame Duck", "2014-11-12", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor regarding his priorities for the remaining session of Congress:\r\n\u201cLast week, the American people sent a strong message to Washington. They voted for a new direction. They called for a change in the way we do things here in the Senate. And they sent a new team to Washington to carry their wishes forward.\r\n\u201cWe plan to do just that.\r\n\u201cBut several items remain for the outgoing Congress to consider.\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s our immediate focus.\r\n\u201cIn the weeks that remain in this Congress, we should work to accomplish the essential tasks of funding the government and preventing retroactive tax hikes.\r\n\u201cWe must address the expiring authority passed earlier this session for the Department of Defense to train and equip a moderate, vetted Syrian opposition.\r\n\u201cAnd we must continue to support efforts to address the Ebola crisis.\r\n\u201cAll of this will require cooperation from both sides of the aisle, from both sides of the Rotunda, and from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.\r\n\u201cThe actions of the next few weeks could help set a positive tone for the work of the next Congress \u2014 it\u2019s a tone that will depend largely on the Administration\u2019s willingness to respect the message sent last Tuesday.\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s one of the things we discussed at the White House on Friday. It was a productive meeting. There\u2019s a lot both parties can accomplish together over the next couple years. I hope that happens. I\u2019m optimistic. But working together requires trust.\r\n\u201cI think President Obama has a duty to help build the trust we all need to move forward together, not to double-down on old ways of doing business.\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s why I think moving forward with the unilateral action on immigration he\u2019s planned would be a big mistake.\r\n\u201cAs was last night\u2019s announcement to essentially give China a free pass on emissions while hurting middle-class families and struggling miners here at home.\r\n\u201cLast Friday, the President said that the American people would like to see more cooperation in Washington.\r\n\u201cHe said he thinks all of us have the responsibility, himself in particular, to try and make that happen.\r\n\u201cThat is the kind of tone the American people are looking for. Now it\u2019s on folks in Washington to calibrate their actions accordingly.\r\n\u201cSo let\u2019s not do things to hurt the possibility of cooperative partnership.\r\n\u201cLet\u2019s step back and focus on what can be accomplished together.\r\n\u201cLet\u2019s listen to the American people.\u201d", 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=e0f2b053-ff31-42d6-8ec6-768a838eb704"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.811027992516756, "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"}