Jackson Purchase News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered remarks today on the Senate floor highlighting the opportunity to challenge two short-sighted Biden Administration policies that could have significant consequences for small businesses and landowners across America.

"This week, the Senate will have the opportunity to push back one more time on a pair of short-sighted Biden Administration policies with major consequences for small businesses and landowners across America," said McConnell.

Earlier this year, the Senate passed two resolutions disapproving of President Biden's decision to 'up-list' two creatures - the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the Northern Long-Eared Bat - as endangered species, thanks to the leadership of Senator Marshall and Senator Mullin, the junior Senators for Kansas and Oklahoma respectively.

McConnell explained that these policies, implemented under the Endangered Species Act, could encroach on private property rights and hinder infrastructure and economic development in the name of preserving habitat. The designation of the Lesser Prairie Chicken as endangered could affect nearly $14 billion in agricultural production, while the designation of the Northern Long-Eared Bat could impact as many as 37 states.

"Now in reality, aerial estimates show that numbers of Lesser Prairie Chickens have grown from less than 17,000 in 2013 to over 26,000 in 2022. And the President's own experts admit that the declining population of Northern Long-Eared Bats is mostly explained by disease, not humans," stated McConnell.

Despite these facts, the Biden Administration has continued to move forward with its plan to infringe on property rights, hinder urgent infrastructure projects, and limit access to America's energy resources.

McConnell expressed his gratitude to Senator Marshall and Senator Mullin for their leadership on these resolutions and urged his colleagues to join him in voting to override the President's veto.