Senator McConnell's eNewsletter - - April 27, 2012

Press Release

Kentucky Farmers Win: Administration Withdraws Extreme Farm Labor Proposal

On Thursday, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced its decision to withdraw its proposed regulations to restrict youth under 18 from working on the family farm. Senator McConnell has been an outspoken opponent of DOL's proposed regulations and in March, joined his Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to prevent DOL from enacting them.

Senator McConnell said: "The voices of Kentucky's farmers and their families were heard loud and clear by the Administration. Kentucky farmers said it was insulting to suggest that they would put their kids at risk and that the government is needed to step in to regulate their family life. The informed, common-sense decisions of parents should take precedence over those of unelected bureaucrats thousands of miles away. Family farming is a tradition in Kentucky, and the proposal DOL withdrew today would have set a dangerous precedent for the federal government's intrusion into family matters."

The Obama Economy: Higher Gas Prices, Unemployment

This week, Senator McConnell again spoke on the Senate floor about the President's failed economic policies and unserious approach to rising gas prices.

He said: "At a time when America's corporate income tax is not the highest in the world, we should be looking for ways to make it easier for businesses to hire, not harder. At a time when unemployment is above 13 percent for young people between the ages of 20 to 24 in this country, we should be finding ways to make it more likely they can find work, not harder. But this is the Obama economy. This is President Obama's approach. This is the painful legacy of his failed economic policies."

Working to Keep Student Loan Interest Rates Low

Senator McConnell also spoke about the tough job market college graduates are facing in the Obama economy and spoke out against a plan by Washington Democrats to pay for the student loan freeze by diverting $6 billion from Medicare and through higher taxes on small businesses.

He said: "We don't want the interest rates on these loans to double in this economy. We don't want today's graduates to suffer any more than they already are as result of this President's failure to turn the economy around more than three years into office. The only question is how to pay for it. Democrats want to pay for it by raiding Social Security and Medicare, and by making it even harder for small businesses to hire. We happen to think that at a time when millions of Americans -- and countless college students -- can't even find a decent job, it makes no sense whatsoever to punish the very businesses we're counting on to hire them. It's counterproductive, and it's wrong."

McConnell Visits Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Center

Last Friday, Senator McConnell met with staff at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Center in Lexington. They talked about Obamacare and the impact the law has on Kentucky's hospitals and patients.

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

Drug abuse is a serious problem in all 120 counties of the Commonwealth. Each month, Kentucky loses more than 82 people to drug overdoses. In 2009, more deaths in Kentucky were attributed to drug overdoses than those killed in motor vehicle accidents. And, in 2010, law enforcement responded to 1,100 meth lab sites across our state.

On Saturday, April 28, the DEA will be conducting its 4th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. In coordination with local law enforcement and community partners, prescription drug collection sites have been set up in communities across the nation to provide an opportunity for individuals to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.

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