During August, I logged thousands of miles traveling throughout Western Pennsylvania and I heard from the boss in communities from Ambridge to McCandless to Johnstown and lots of stops in between. A lot of folks are facing the same issues. Gas, grocery and health care bills are all going up but people are not seeing their incomes go up to help pay for those bills. In addition, too many people who want to work cannot find jobs.

Western Pennsylvanians from all walks of life have shared their frustration with a federal government that is controlling an ever-increasing share of their lives. They want the freedom that comes with job security and the ability to keep more of what they earn.

Unfortunately the policies coming out of the Obama Administration focus on a Washington, D.C.-centered approach that empowers the federal city at the expense of the American people. These policies defy common sense and stifle our economy.

We can boom again. Robust economic growth will produce rising wages, more jobs for all Americans and greater opportunities for our kids. Over the past twenty months the House has passed bill after bill that would move our country ahead and empower workers and families.

Unfortunately, these bills have hit a brick wall in the Senate.

Of the 347 House-passed bills stuck in the Senate as of September 1st, 196 passed the House with no opposition and 61 were introduced by Democrats. Many of these 347 bills passed with the support of more than 100 House Democrats.

Here are eight of the commonsense bills that are stuck in the Senate:

The Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency Act (H.R. 2804) reduces the stranglehold of Washington, D.C. regulations on the economy. The legislation also includes an amendment I offered that requires federal bureaucrats to take responsibility for regulations that will have a negative impact on wages or jobs. It forces bureaucrats to think through the costs and burdens these regulations impose on families, businesses, and communities.

The Save American Workers Act (H.R. 2575) restores the traditional forty-hour workweek and helps those who want the opportunity to work more hours and see their wages rise. Workers in Western Pennsylvania and around the nation saw their hours cut and wages reduced due to the employer mandate in President Obama’s health care law.

The Regulations From the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act (H.R. 367) requires elected representatives to vote on regulations that cost the American people more than $50 million.

The North American Energy Infrastructure Act (H.R. 3301) and the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act (H.R. 1900) facilitate the approval of pipelines and other energy infrastructure and move us closer to North American energy independence.

The Energy Consumers Relief Act (H.R. 1582) provides for more rigorous oversight and public disclosure of expensive and job-killing EPA regulations that result in higher energy prices, less reliable energy, and more lost jobs for the American people.

The Electricity Security and Affordability Act (H.R. 3826) directs the EPA to adopt new coal-fired power plant emissions standards that make sense and subject any new regulations on existing power plants to congressional review, where the people’s representatives can be held accountable.

The Lowering Gas Prices to Fuel an America That Works Act (H.R. 4899) will help reduce energy prices and provide relief for Western Pennsylvanians paying upwards of $3.50 for a gallon of gas by increasing domestic energy exploration and production.

All eight of these bills passed with bipartisan support.

This month the House will once again provide Harry Reid with an opportunity to stand with workers and families and approve these positive solutions and others that will get the economy booming again, reduce energy costs, add jobs, and increase wages and incomes.

House Republicans and Democrats have come together and compromised. It is time for Harry Reid and Senate Democrats to come to the table.