Last night, the Rankin County Republican Executive Committee hosted its annual banquet. This year’s honoree was Senator Thad Cochran. The speakers included Governor Phil Bryant, Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, Congressman Gregg Harper, and Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall. All of these conservative leaders strongly support Senator Cochran’s reelection. Governor Bryant introduced Senator Cochran to a standing ovation from the crowd of close to 1,000 by saying:

“This great gentleman from Mississippi will put himself in a political race where people may say things about him that aren’t true. They may run ads and spend lots of money to defeat him in the political area. They will try to convince you that somehow we need a change from Thad Cochran. Thad Cochran will weather that storm and come through. Not because he is seeking fame, not because he needs a station in life, not because he needs a legacy. Thad Cochran will do that for you, he will do that for Mississippi.”

A video of Governor Bryant’s remarks can be seen .

“I am honored by the support of so many conservative leaders from Rankin County,” said Senator Cochran. “Everybody who lives in Rankin should be proud of their vibrant economy, impressive job growth, and an excellent quality of life. My pledge is to continue to fight in the Senate for our shared conservative values of limited government, free markets, and personal responsibility.”

PASCAGOULA, Mississippi — Ingalls Shipbuilding hosted U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran at its Pascagoula Shipyard Monday. Cochran visited various areas of the shipyard and toured the National Security Cutter Hamilton.

“Ingalls Shipbuilding employs thousands of Mississippians building ships that are essential to our national defense,” Cochran said. “The Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard are all stronger because of the high-quality, modern vessels constructed here by Mississippians.

“One of the most important responsibilities of the federal government is ensuring America remains the strongest military power in the world. The people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast play a critical role in that mission, and I’m honored to serve in the U.S. Senate to help support their work.”

Ingalls Vice President Brian Cuccias, who will assume duties as president of Ingalls Shipbuilding on April 1, said Cochran’s support of the shipyard is appreciated.

“It’s always a welcome occasion to have Senator Cochran visit Mississippi’s largest manufacturing employer,” Cuccias said. “We were able to give him a tour of the yard and brief him on the four different classes of ships Ingalls is currently building for our U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. We appreciate the time the senator spent visiting with the men and women of Ingalls who build the finest warships in the world.”

U.S. Senator Thad Cochran has been endorsed for reelection by the Mississippi Manufacturers Association (MMA) through a unanimous vote of its Board of Directors.

Jay Moon, the President and CEO of MMA announced the group’s endorsement of Senator Cochran saying, “We applaud and appreciate your voting record on issues which support a strong manufacturing environment in Mississippi and the United States.”

“I’m grateful for the endorsement from MMA because I know how much good work they do creating jobs and opportunities for Mississippians,” Senator Cochran said. “Hundreds of thousands of Mississippians are employed in manufacturing and the industry contributes billions of dollars to our state’s economy. I am proud to work with them on issues important to our state such as lower taxes, smarter regulation, and a commitment to the free market.”

MMA listed several issues Senator Cochran has championed during his service in the Senate including the Senator’s work to cut wasteful spending and to help make American manufacturers more competitive in the world economy by opposing tax increases and over-burdensome regulations.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Republican Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker are asking the U.S. commerce secretary to uphold a decision reached last summer that determined U.S. catfish producers have been harmed by unfairly-priced frozen fish fillets from Vietnam.

The Commerce Department continues to review an ongoing antidumping action on fillet imports from Vietnam.

Other senators from catfish-producing states who signed the letter to Secretary Penny Pritzker were Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.; John Boozman, R-Ark.; Mark Pryor, D-Ark.; David Vitter, R-La.; and Mary Landrieu D-La.

“Since 2008, as a direct result of decisions that have been made by your department, imports of frozen fish filets from Vietnam more than tripled. Significant portions of U.S. Production have already been destroyed by the very low prices and large volumes of unfairly traded Vietnamese product.

“Over the past several months, however, your department has issued some decisions which should help accomplish the goal of our antidumping laws — to encourage fair pricing of these Vietnamese imports,” the letter said.

The letter said the department review of markets last year included an evaluation Vietnamese dumping and “many Vietnamese exporters became subject to appropriate antidumping duty deposit rates.”

“We now have some hope for recovery in American catfish production,” the senators said.

The letter also encourages the Commerce Department to resist pressure from the government of Vietnam regarding the antidumping duties applied to its products.

“While our trading relationship with Vietnam is important, the same can be said for our trading relationship with virtually every country whose products are the subjects of U.S. antidumping proceedings. We urge you to insist upon the full, fair and vigorous application of our trade laws, and to appreciate the critical importance to our industry and our states of ensuring fair trade in Vietnamese imports of frozen fish fillets.

“We ask that you ensure that pressure from the Vietnamese Government is not a factor in your Department’s decision-making in this proceeding,” the senators wrote.

The catfish industry has experienced steep declines since 2008. U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics that indicate the market share maintained by U.S. catfish producers dropped from 80 percent to 20 percent since an antidumping case against Vietnam was filed.

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U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch, Lamar Alexander, John Thune and 22 of their Republican colleagues yesterday called on the Obama administration to immediately rescind its rule creating an unwarranted special carveout for some unions from Obamacare fees.

In a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Burwell, the senators expressed deep disappointment that her agency approved a final rule “creating an unwarranted special carveout benefitting certain unions over other Americans,” and demanded the rule be immediately rescinded or they would consider using options such as the Congressional Review Act to stop the rule from going into effect.

The administration released a rule on March 5 exempting some self-insured health plans, such as those commonly run by unions, from Obamacare’s reinsurance fee

The administration released a rule on March 5 exempting some self-insured health plans, such as those commonly run by unions, from Obamacare’s reinsurance fee in 2015 and 2016. The three-year, $25 billion reinsurance fee is meant to stabilize the individual market if too many sick customers sign up for insurance between 2014 and 2016. Prior to last week’s final rule, the fee applied equally to everyone with a private health insurance plan or a health plan administered by a private insurer. Those who did not receive a special carveout will now likely have to pay a bigger share of the fee.

The senators led 18 of their colleagues in sending letters on September 18 and on November 13 asking that the administration not authorize the release of any regulation that would create a special exemption from Obamacare for labor unions.

Thursday’s letter to Burwell was signed by Hatch, Alexander, Thune, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Sens. John Barrasso, John Boozman, Richard Burr, Saxby Chambliss, Tom Coburn, Thad Cochran, John Cornyn, Mike Enzi, Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, Charles Grassley, James Inhofe, Johnny Isakson, Mike Johanns, Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, Pat Roberts, Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, David Vitter, and Roger Wicker. Following is the text of the letter:

RE: Final Rule No. RIN 0938-AR89

Dear Director Burwell:

We write to express deep disappointment that your agency has approved a final rule creating an unwarranted special carveout benefitting certain unions over other Americans. We demand that the rule be immediately rescinded or we will consider using options such as the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) to stop the rule from going into effect. The CRA is an important backstop against executive branch excess and overreach. It is regulations such as this one that demonstrate why a Republican-led Congress enacted this law in 1996.

On September 18 and November 13, 2013, 21 U.S. Senators wrote to ask that you not authorize the release of any regulation that would create any special exemptions from Obamacare for labor unions who are now unhappy with a law they once supported. Those letters not only went unanswered, they were blatantly ignored. The American people deserve answers when their own government proposes to undermine their right to equal treatment under law. Carving out some unions from a multi-billion dollar reinsurance fee, the cost of which will ultimately be borne by every other American with private health insurance, is unacceptable.

Obamacare is not working. This regulation is the most recent in a long line of confusing delays, exemptions, and politically motivated crony rewards. Obamacare should be repealed and replaced with step-by-step, patient-centered reforms that drive down costs and that Americans actually want. We reiterate what we communicated to you in September: We stand willing to work with anyone who will help enact common-sense laws that could actually lower premiums and insure more people.

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