WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Fox News Channel’s America’s Newsroom today, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) discussed the recent attacks on prominent political figures.  Sen. Kennedy expressed his apologies to all of those affected by the threats, and apologized to the American people for having to cope with these despicable attacks.

Click here or the image below to watch Sen. Kennedy’s interview.

Extending Apologies: “I think the responsible thing to say for leadership is how I feel.  I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what happened to the Clintons, and the Obamas, and Mr. Soros, and CNN, and now apparently Vice President Biden.  I’m sorry for America.  We shouldn’t have to go through this.”

Heated Political Rhetoric: “It’s too early to assess blame.  I know that the political rhetoric in this country has been hot on both sides.  Has that contributed to it? I don’t think it’s helped.  We should probably all dial it down a notch.  When you’re civil, it doesn’t mean that you agree with your colleagues; it means that you respect them.  I’m just sorry this happened.  There’s not much else you can say.”

“The rhetoric in our country is hot, and all sides are responsible for it.”

Trust in Our Law Enforcement:  “The FBI is best law enforcement agency in all of human history.  We’ll find this person, but until then it’s all speculation.”

 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump this week thanking him for his proposal to cut spending by 5% across all federal agencies.

“The federal government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “Our federal deficit is astronomically high at $779 billion the past fiscal year.  Congress has lived off the taxpayer’s credit card for far too long, and the only things that have grown are the debt, the federal bureaucracy, and the appetite for more spending.  The President’s initiative to cut federal agency spending is a good first step towards helping get our federal budget back under control.”

October 18, 2018

 

 

President Donald J. Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave

Washington, D.C. 20500

 

Dear President Trump,

 

I want to personally thank you for your strong leadership to save American taxpayer dollars by cutting federal spending across all agencies by 5%.  This is precisely the type of commonsense spending reform that America desperately needs and expects from its leaders. The Congressional Budget Office reports that the $21 trillion national debt is and will continue to slow the growth of productivity and wages, doing considerable harm to our economy in the process.  I am proud to see the Trump Administration taking historic action to put America’s fiscal house in order, and I remain fully supportive of those efforts. 

 

I have recently taken action in the Senate to tackle Washington’s spending problem.  Earlier this year, I supported your proposal to reign in federal agencies by imposing a pay freeze on federal bureaucrats.  I also advocated for a simple 1% spending haircut across federal agencies that, despite being only a drop in the fiscal bucket, would have been an improvement over out of control spending. However, the Washington swamp runs deep as you well know, and Congress couldn’t even agree on these basic reforms.

 

I recognize that making these types of cuts may not be easy for some within the Administration, but I know how necessary they are for the health of our economy. I firmly believe that all three levels of government have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Your new 5% directive is a good start to fixing those problems. Please know that you have my enthusiastic support. Thank you for your service to America.

 

                                                                                                Sincerely,

 

 

 

                                                                                                John Kennedy

                                                                                                United States Senator

 

 

 

 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today, announced the passage of his and U.S. Sen. Doug Jones’s (D-Ala.) legislation, S.2765 - RBIC Advisers Relief Act of 2018.  This bill bolsters Rural Business Investment Companies (RBICs) by removing unnecessary compliance costs that distract from their important mission to provide capital to rural communities.

“Our rural businesses and entrepreneurs play an essential role in Louisiana’s economy.  To ensure long-term stability for those job creators, we have to make sure they have access to capital,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “That’s why the RBIC Advisers Relief Act of 2018 is so important.  This bill reduces unnecessary compliance costs that hinder RBICs from accomplishing their mission.”

RBICs are licensed under the Rural Business Investment Program (RBIP), a venture capital program created as a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration.  The RBIP was designed to promote economic development and job creation in rural communities by investing in companies involved in the production, processing and supply of food and agriculture-related products.

An unintended consequence of Dodd-Frank forced investment advisors to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission if they advised both an RBIC and a venture capital fund. Congress already fixed this burden for Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) in 2015. This bill offers the same crucial relief to RBICs.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Tammy Duckworth’s (D-Ill.) bipartisan Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act, S. 2679, passed favorably out of the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee.  The Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act aims to help veteran-owned small businesses cut costs and grow by giving them access to surplus federal property.

Surplus federal property includes office furniture, computers and other office supplies.  Minority-owned and women-owned small businesses already have access to the federal surplus property program, and this bill will ensure that veteran-owned small businesses receive the same assistance.

“Small business owners are the backbone of our country, and we wouldn’t even have a country if it weren’t for veterans. Our veterans sacrificed so much for our country, and the least we can do is support them,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “This federal surplus property program is already in place, so it only seems right that we should allow veterans to qualify for the program.  ”

In addition to the Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act, Sen. Kennedy’s bill to extend the effective date of the sunset for collateral requirements for Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans,  S. 3554, also passed through the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee today.  This bill will extend a provision of the Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015 (RISE Act) that allowed SBA to increase the unsecured loan limit for physical damage loans under an SBA Agency declaration from $14,000 to $25,000 for one year. This legislation will provide relief to people recovering from disasters by getting them more money to begin the recovery process more quickly.

 

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