The Continuing Resolution

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. On a different matter, today the Senate will consider House legislation to fund the government and address the threats of Ebola and ISIL.

These are important issues. Many Members on both sides plan to support this legislation. I know others have some concerns too. I understand those concerns. I share some of them, but while no bill is perfect, I believe this legislation is worth supporting.

I would like to thank my fellow Kentuckian, Representative Hal Rogers, for his leadership and work on this bill because it does a lot of important things and all without raising discretionary spending. It would reauthorize important counternarcotics operations that help keep our children and communities safe and it would extend the Internet Tax Freedom Act until December, giving us a chance to secure a permanent extension.

It would block some of the administration's discretionary policies against Kentucky coal and help address the administration's veterans crisis by providing more resources to address the backlog and investigations into potential wrongdoing that is a positive step toward the more comprehensive reforms Republicans would like to see.

Critically, the legislation would provide authorization to train and equip a moderate Syrian opposition ground force, a key component of the President's efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat ISIL.

While I am concerned about the ability of the coalition to generate sufficient combat power to defeat ISIL within Syria, I do support the President's proposal to begin the program. The authorization is of limited duration and it now contains important reporting requirements that will allow Congress to assess and oversee this program to measure whether the mission is actually being accomplished.

The Ebola crisis is another area where the President deserves congressional support. As you know, he recently announced several messages to contain the spread of the disease in Africa and prevent it from reaching our shores.

Accordingly, the bill contains additional resources to support research and bolster our Nation's effort in assisting Africa to manage this growing crisis.

In summary, this isn't perfect legislation, but it begins to address many of our constituents' top concerns without raising discretionary spending. It positions us for better solutions in the months to come.

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