WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell released the following statement today regarding the good-faith effort in the House of Representatives to find common ground and a realistic approach to solving the economic problems facing our country:

“While the President hasn’t moved an inch away from his efforts to please his radical left-wing base, the Speaker has consistently shown a good-faith effort to find common ground and a realistic approach to solving the very real economic problems facing our country. These problems have only grown worse with the President’s refusal to lead and we’re running out of time—the country can't wait another three weeks for the White House to respond substantively or seriously to this House proposal. The House Republican leadership put forward a Bowles framework that, unlike the unserious bait-and-switch proposal the President floated last week, is ground from which to build toward significant deficit reduction while beginning to reform and strengthen our entitlement programs—without harming jobs and economic growth. If the President is serious about joining us in an effort to reduce the deficit and protect the economy, he’ll get off the campaign trail, drop the left-wing talking points, and instruct his staff to negotiate a solution in good faith based on actual written proposals. In short, he'll begin doing what leaders do: Lead.”