MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in introducing the Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act.
The bill would codify the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy (formerly the Mexico City Policy), which prohibits the funding of foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that perform or promote abortions. The Mexico City Policy was first instituted by Pres. Ronald Reagan and has since been rescinded and reinstated by various presidential administrations.
“This will sound like common sense to most fair-minded people, but the Biden administration should not ship Americans’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars overseas to fund abortions. No matter who occupies the White House, America should support life at home and abroad,” said Kennedy.
“Each human life, born and unborn, has immeasurable dignity and worth. The lives of both an unborn baby and her mother matter; and healthcare should heal, protect, and preserve both their lives. Our laws and use of taxpayer money should reflect that truth, which is why I have introduced these bills,” said Lee.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) also cosponsored the legislation.
Text of the Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act is available here.
Watch Kennedy’s full message here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today released the following message addressing this year’s March for Life in Washington, DC, which many Louisianians and Americans attend:
“When I was a kid growing up in Zachary—I remember it like yesterday—my dad would always say, ‘Son, you will never know love until you have a child. . . . It’s special.’
. . .
“My Dad was right. I found that out when God smiled on Becky and me and we got our son Preston when he was just a few days old.
“That’s why it’s so sad that abortion remains a heartbreaking reality in our own country. Some Americans find it easier to ignore this evil than to work to overcome it, but you, all of you, have chosen to stand together to protect the life, the liberty, the happiness of countless unborn boys and girls.
“Each year, you and your work renew my hope for our country’s future. You do. Few things fill my heart as much as seeing young people travel from every corner of this wonderful country to defend the defenseless and give a voice to the voiceless. America could use more of your moral clarity and your courage.
“We all know that human life is precious, and it doesn’t matter whether that life is 82-years-old or 82-seconds-old. I pray that your voices will continue to bring about pro-life changes in America. . . . God bless you all, and may God bless the millions of unborn babies you’ve done so much to protect.”
View Kennedy’s full remarks here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has earned an “A+” rating for his commitment to protecting the lives of the unborn through his pro-life legislative record during the first session of the 118th Congress.
The Susan B. Anthony List’s national scorecard recognizes lawmakers who have consistently championed life through their voting records and legislative leadership.
“All human life, whether it's 82 years or 82 seconds old, is precious. I will never stop defending America’s defenseless unborn children,” said Kennedy.
During the first session of the 118th Congress, Kennedy cosponsored legislation to prevent the Biden administration’s Department of Defense from facilitating abortions. The senator also cosponsored the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act to permanently stop federal funding for abortions.
In the 117th Congress, Kennedy opposed using taxpayer money to fund abortions and voted against Democrats’ attempt to force states to legalize abortion up to the point of a child’s birth. He also helped lead an effort to defund Planned Parenthood.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Kennedy co-led the pro-life bicameral amicus brief in the case of June Medical Services v. Russo.
In addition, the senator authored the Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act to protect the health of women and children and the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, which would make it a crime to abort a child based on his or her gender.
Kennedy warns DOE Secretary Granholm that new rules will crush U.S. natural gas industry
Jan 18 2024
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), Ranking member of the Senate Energy and Water Subcommittee on Appropriations, today sent a letter to Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, urging the department to not limit U.S. exports of liquified natural gas (LNG) through enforcing unnecessary burdens in the permitting process.
“. . . the Department of Energy, through new guidelines and rulemakings, will crush a burgeoning U.S. industry that employs tens of thousands of Americans, provides cheap and reliable energy to millions, and is a vital instrument in weening the world off of dirty Russian energy,” the senator wrote.
Kennedy raised concerns that any attempt by the Biden administration to implement additional rulemaking in the permitting process would arbitrarily limit the country’s ability to utilize natural gas resources and that such actions would be a mistake.
“The U.S. has a natural gas resource base that conservatively stands at close to 4,000 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas. Let's put that resource to its best use to maintain our energy independence, to help our allies, to reduce emissions and to create good-paying jobs—instead of needlessly sidelining it,” Kennedy concluded.
Background:
- Louisiana’s LNG export terminals account for 63% of all U.S. LNG exports.
- The LNG industry employs 18,000 people in Louisiana.
- LNG contributes $4.4 billion to Louisiana’s economy.
The full letter is available here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Federal Courts, and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Donald J. Trump v. Norma Anderson. The amicus brief outlines the legal support for former President Trump to be restored to the ballot in Colorado.
“Colorado’s Supreme Court has mis-stepped and overstepped. Its ruling reeks of politics and bad faith. Colorado’s court misinterprets the Fourteenth Amendment in an attempt to seize agency from voters. The U.S. Supreme Court must protect our Constitution by correcting Colorado’s move to disenfranchise voters who want to cast their ballots in support of former President Trump,” said Kennedy.
“The radical left consistently does what they claim their opponents are doing. While President Biden and his allies claim they are defending democracy, their supporters are working to undermine democracy by banning Biden’s likely general election opponent from appearing on the ballot. The American people see through this, and I’m confident the Supreme Court will as well. I’m proud to work with Leader Scalise and our fellow legislators to defend the Constitution’s separation of powers, and the ability of the American people to decide who their next president will be,” said Cruz.
“President Biden has based his reelection effort on the notion that he is safeguarding democracy, but he and his radical allies are attempting to undermine the central component of the democratic process – the people’s power to choose their leaders through elections. Not only does the Colorado Supreme Court have no authority to remove President Trump from the ballot in the 2024 presidential election, but the broad and ill-defined justifications they use can easily be abused in the future to block political opponents from assuming office. By taking away people’s choice, the Colorado Supreme Court is setting a dangerous precedent and subverting the will of the American people. I’m proud to lead this amicus effort with Senator Cruz to stand up for American voters and our Constitution, and I urge the Supreme Court to thoughtfully consider our arguments and reverse this disastrous decision,” said Scalise.
The amicus brief highlights several legal errors in the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision. Those errors include the court’s failure to respect Congress’s unique authority to implement Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. They also include the fact that the plain language of Section 3 does not apply to the president. Finally, the amicus brief explains how politicians and activists could weaponize the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to attack their political opponents for any number of activities.
The amicus brief is available here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, penned this op-ed in Newsweek explaining how soft-on-crime policies are driving gun violence in American cities. Kennedy argued that Americans would be safer if local officials supported the police and enforced the laws on the books, rather than passing new gun control measures that only restrict law-abiding citizens.
Key excerpts from Kennedy’s op-ed include:
“Opponents of the Second Amendment seem to have painted themselves into a corner. They want to reduce gun violence, but they think cops are worse than criminals. They want more gun laws, but they don’t want to punish people who break those laws. Instead of reconciling those opposing views, anti-gun activists have taken to blaming conservative governors for the crime that happens in liberal cities.”
. . .
“Either side of the gun debate can cherry-pick numbers that look best for their side. I’m confident that conservative leadership is more effective for one simple reason: Conservatives believe in enforcing the law.
. . .
“Unless you peaked in high school, you understand that more cops will result in less crime. One study on policing found that each officer added to the police force resulted in four fewer violent crimes and 15 fewer property crimes. Another study found that a 10% increase in the police force resulted in a 13% drop in violent crime.”
. . .
“Guns aren’t the problem; criminals who use guns are the problem. Anti-gun activists need to own up to the fact that their policies have left many innocent families defenseless in high-crime areas by demonizing and demoralizing police forces throughout the country. If they want to address gun violence, supporting law enforcement is the first step.”
Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $53,814,713 in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana disaster aid.
“Hurricane Ida damaged Houma’s power plant badly. I’m grateful that this $53.8 million will help make sure Houma and nearby parts of Terrebonne Parish have the energy infrastructure they need,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $53,814,713 to Terrebonne Parish to permanently restore the Houma Power Plant due to damages from Hurricane Ida.
Kennedy, Scott, Banking Republicans renew push for regulators to abandon Basel III Endgame proposal
Jan 17 2024
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and all Senate Banking Republicans in urging regulators to withdraw the Basel III Endgame Proposal, which would raise bank capital requirements.
Kennedy joined colleagues in urging regulators to discard the proposal in November. In the initial letter, senators raised concerns that the proposal would affect affordable housing, mortgage lending, small business lending and consumer lending; limit the availability of access to credit cards and home equity lines of credit; and put U.S. companies at disadvantage to foreign competitors.
“As we noted in our November 12, 2023, letter to each of you, your agencies have still yet to justify the need for this proposal with any sufficient economic analysis or proof that the banking system is currently under capitalized. Since we last wrote to you, our concerns have not been mitigated, and testimony from the November 14 and December 6, 2023, Senate Banking Committee hearings has only deepened our resolve that this proposal is flawed and must be withdrawn,” the senators wrote.
“Following the November 14 hearing, on December 6, 2023, we heard testimony from the CEOs of the eight largest banks in this nation, which largely discussed how the proposal would hinder economic growth and reduce lending to households and businesses . . . During that hearing and since, we continue to hear particularly concerning testimonies about the outsized negative impacts the proposal would have on minority communities, especially LMI and minority borrowers,” they continued.
“As backdrop to all of this, the Federal Reserve seemingly acknowledged that it did not appropriately consider the impacts of the proposal when it began an additional data collection in October 2023 . . . How can we as legislators, or any of the American public, be asked to weigh in on a proposal, the effects of which the proposal’s authors do not yet fully comprehend?” the senators concluded.
Background:
- In July, the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking for revising bank capital requirements, known as Basel III Endgame.
- Revisions to capital requirements in the proposal come from changes to international capital standards, which the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in Switzerland issued in response to the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
- Regulators intend to apply their rule to banks with over $100 billion in assets, which would impact the largest banks in the U.S. and change how they conduct lending and trading.
Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) also signed the letter.
The full letter is available here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $1,181,827 in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana disaster aid.
“Hurricane Ida hit southeast Louisiana hard. I’m thankful to see this $1.2 million allow the people of Jefferson Parish to continue to care for their senior citizens after Hurricane Ida damaged their facilities,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $1,181,827 to Jefferson Parish to replace the Jefferson Golden Age facility due to damages from Hurricane Ida.
Kennedy in New York Post: We can’t let our broken border continue to be a magnet for terrorists
Jan 12 2024
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, penned this op-ed in The New York Post warning that the crisis at our southern border has become a tool for the cartels and other groups that wish the American people harm to enter the country. Kennedy urged President Biden to give the Border Patrol and other federal agencies the resources they need to secure the border.
Key excerpts from Kennedy’s op-ed include:
“I don’t know if cartel thugs or terrorists make New Year’s resolutions, but I have to imagine that they’re struggling to dream up ways they could have a better year than they did while exploiting President Biden’s broken border policies in 2023.
“The Biden administration’s willful incompetence at the border not only created a human rights disaster, but it also provided the perfect cover for terrorist sympathizers, child sex offenders, and cartel associates to enter the United States illegally. These terrorists will have an even better year if Congress doesn’t step up with real legislative solutions.
“The numbers are horrifying. Border Patrol apprehended 169 members of the FBI’s terrorist watchlist attempting to cross the southern border illegally in fiscal year 2023 alone. That’s more than ten times as many potential terrorists than Border Patrol detained in the four years before President Biden took office.
“Individuals land on the FBI’s watchlist by associating with groups that hate America, our values, and our people. These terrorist sympathizers may be evil, but they’re not stupid. They know they can blend into the masses at the border unnoticed.”
. . .
“The Biden administration has made our southern border a magnet for terrorists . . . . It’s both a national embarrassment and the biggest national security threat our country faces, yet President Biden continues to ignore the problem.
“My fellow Republicans and I are doing all we can to bring President Biden to the table. Democrats must agree to enforce the law and provide Border Patrol and other law enforcement organizations the tools they need to secure the border. So far, President Biden has denied the American people both.
“His own FBI Director recently warned that the southern border poses a major threat to homeland security. He’s right, and I hope that admission is a sign that President Biden will start treating our border as the serious threat it is.”
Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.
