Watch Kennedy’s comments here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today urged his colleagues not to break centuries of Senate precedent by burying the articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas without a trial.  

Kennedy encouraged his colleagues to adopt his resolution, S. Res. 623, which would establish fair and efficient trial procedures for this impeachment according to longstanding Senate precedent.

Key excerpts from Kennedy’s speech are below:

“I fear, though, that Senate Democrats are going to try to take the articles of impeachment that our colleagues in the United States House of Representatives thoughtfully crafted and passed with a majority vote and toss them into the trash without hearing from either side.

“They don’t want to let the House impeachment managers make their case. They don’t want to let Secretary Mayorkas make his case. They just want to ignore the House’s evidence summarily, sweep it under the rug and move on. And that is wrong.

“The Senate has never in its history tabled an impeachment. Never. In the more than 200 years that this body has existed, the House of Representatives has impeached an official 21 times, and we have never once tabled the impeachment. Not once.

“Now, Senator Schumer may also try to dismiss these charges instead of tabling them, but that’s never been done before either. If the Senate dismisses these charges without a trial, it will be the first time in the Senate’s long history that it has dismissed impeachment charges against an official it has jurisdiction over without that official first resigning—and that’s a fact.”

. . .

“Americans need to hear what I’m about to say, even if my Democrat colleagues won’t listen. Let me say it again: A majority of the duly elected members of the United States House of Representatives—who represent all the different communities across America—spent months investigating the allegations against Secretary Mayorkas. They spent months crafting the articles of impeachment, and a majority of the House then voted ‘yes’ to bring two very serious charges. The Senate Democrats are now treating those charges—those articles of impeachment—like spam that landed in their inbox.

“Americans, however, are not nearly so sanguine about the border crisis that has brought death, drugs, violence, chaos, criminals and mayhem into their neighborhoods. The Biden administration’s border crisis is as unprecedented as the majority leader’s move to bury the evidence of who could be to blame here.

“I, for one, want to hear the House’s evidence, and so do the American people.”

. . .

“I’m going to have a resolution—if I’m allowed to present it, Madam President—that will give us the procedures we need to conduct this trial fairly and efficiently . . . It’ll be efficient. It’ll be fair. It’ll be honest. It won’t uproot the longstanding precedent we have to give articles of impeachment in the past.

“If the majority leader and my Democratic colleagues table or dismiss these charges and destroy Senate precedent, a precedent we’ve established to conduct full and fair impeachment trials, they will regret it. They will regret it. Senate Democrats, if they do that, will show the world that their proclamations about protecting democracy and upholding the rule of law are just tools of their own political expedience and arrogance.

“Senate Democrats will let people, the American people, know that they endorse the lawlessness and misery the Biden administration’s broken border has brought to this country.”

Read Kennedy’s impeachment resolution here.

View Kennedy’s full speech here.

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $42,941,394 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana disaster aid.

“Hurricane Ida left great damage to Terrebonne Parish schools, and Hurricane Delta caused destruction to many of Louisiana’s state buildings. This $43 million will help Louisianians rebuild their communities,” said Kennedy.

The FEMA aid will fund the following:

• $41,138,167 to the Terrebonne Parish School Board for damages to the Ellender Memorial High School as a result of Hurricane Ida.   

• $1,803,227 to the Office of Risk Management for repairs to various state buildings and equipment as a result of Hurricane Delta.

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $15,010,476 in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana disaster aid.

“Hurricane Laura hit southwest Louisiana and damaged Louisianians’ electrical network. This $15 million will help the Jefferson Davis Electric system get repairs so that power can run smoothly in our communities,” said Kennedy.

The FEMA aid will fund the following:

• $15,010,476 to Jefferson Davis Electric Cooperative, Inc. for system-wide electrical infrastructure repairs as a result of Hurricane Laura.

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and colleagues in introducing the bipartisan North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) to reauthorize $65 million in funding to protect America’s wetlands. 

“Louisiana’s wetlands are a big part of our state’s outdoor sportsman culture and geographical beauty. The North American Wetlands Conservation Act is an important step to preserve our wildlife and protect our environment’s natural defense system,” said Kennedy.

“We owe it to our kids and grandkids to ensure they can inherit the full breadth of American wildlife and the wetlands that sustain them. I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to bolster our nation’s most successful wetlands restoration program. By reauthorizing the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, this legislation will improve access to clean drinking water, invest in our thriving multi-billion-dollar outdoor recreation economy, and conserve New Mexico’s wildlife and the habitats they depend on for future generations,” said Heinrich.

Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) cosponsored the legislation. 

Background:

• Congress first passed the NAWCA in 1989 to provide federal cost-share funding to projects that conserve North America’s waterfowl, fish and wildlife resources.

• NAWCA funding helps support activities such as hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing and photography across all states. 

• NAWCA funding generates an average of two additional dollars for every federal dollar. Over the program’s history, federal grants totaling more than $2.1 billion have spurred $4.3 billion for NAWCA projects through matching and non-matching funds. 

• NAWCA funding also supports an average of 7,500 jobs each year and more than $5 billion in annual economic activity.

Full text of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act is available here.