WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor regarding the NLRB's latest assault on small businesses:

“The Democrats who run Washington have had almost six years to fix the economy.

“They’ve already tried just about everything their ideology will allow to fix it.

“They’ve raised taxes on everything from life-saving medical devices to personal medical expenses.

“They’ve piled up record debt and shoveled billions in subsidies to the well-connected.

“And they’ve empowered bureaucrats to cancel health plans for the Middle Class, declare war on the jobs of vulnerable Kentucky families, and – through EPA’s Waters of the U.S. proposed rule – regulate every last pond and ditch in this country.

“It hasn’t worked.

“According to a recent Gallup survey, a solid majority of Americans believe the economy is actually getting worse, not better.

“And let’s not forget: For several years, Democrats had super-majority control of Washington and could have passed anything they wanted—and too often, they did.

“Since then, a Republican-led House of Representatives has tried to advance solutions of its own by passing dozens of jobs bills — many with strong bipartisan support in the House.

“But the Democrat Majority in the Senate refuses to take them up.

“It’s hard to understand why.

“It’s hard to know if today’s Washington Democrat party is really that blinded by ideology, or if they’re just so obsessed with the never-ending campaign that they can’t be bothered to govern.

“Whatever the reason, the simple truth is this: Washington Democrats had a choice between helping the Middle Class and bowing to campaign pollsters and the Left. It’s obvious who they chose.

“The American people are worried about ISIL and the continuing threat of terrorism. They see a humanitarian crisis at the border. Many struggle every month to pay the bills. Millions still can’t find work.

“And how do Senate Democrats respond? They bring up a bill that would take an eraser to the First Amendment.

“So the Hard Left is clearly in the driver’s seat on the other side. That’s clear every time the Democrat Majority ignores the concerns of our constituents to turn to yet another one of their so-called ‘messaging bills,’ like the recent one on eroding free speech. And it’s a shame.

“That’s not why the American people sent us here.

“It’s long past time for Democrats to drop all the designed-to-fail bills and turn to serious job-creation ideas instead.

“There are dozens of House-passed jobs bills collecting dust on the Majority Leader’s desk.

“Let’s pick those up and pass them. Let’s get them to the President.

“Let’s work together on serious energy policy.

“Let’s join hands to ease the strain on working moms and dads.

“Let’s work towards sensible health reform that doesn’t hurt the Middle Class like Obamacare does.

“And let’s reach across the aisle to help college graduates find full-time work and start marching toward the careers they’ve always dreamed of.

“That’s just a start.

“Because if the Democrat Majority is truly interested in getting serious, then they should take a look at the many common-sense policy ideas advocated by Senators on my side of the aisle.

“My friend, the Senior Senator from Tennessee, has always been a strong advocate of smart reform policies. He’ll discuss another one in just a moment.

“It’s a bill that would go a long way toward remedying a serious problem that’s been caused by the politics-at-all-costs mentality I just described.

“Here’s the issue.

“Everybody’s familiar with the President’s unconstitutional effort to pack the National Labor Relations Board with liberal partisans in early 2012.

“Some people are also familiar with the NLRB’s more recent efforts to do things like undermine secret ballots for union elections, allow labor bosses access to sensitive employee information without their consent, and prevent companies from building factories in states with laws the President’s picks don’t like.

“Now, the NLRB is even trying to destroy the very franchisee model that’s allowed so many Americans to own and operate their own businesses. They want to take away independence from small businessmen and women – like decisions on who to hire, how much to pay them, and how to run their business – and put it in the hands of corporate bosses.

“This so-called ‘joint-employer’ standard is all about politics and appeasing the Left.

“Big Labor bosses want it because it helps them expand and acquire more dues at the expense of small business owners, who employ so many Americans.

“It’s not right.

“For many in the Middle Class, franchising represents a ticket to the dream of opening their own business.

“For many, it may be their only chance to live that dream.

“Here’s how one single mom and second generation franchisee from Kentucky put it: ‘To have my franchisor take over greater control of my daily operations would not only change my relationship with them, but it would ruin the dream of small business ownership for many hardworking Americans.’

“And this is what a hotel franchisee in Lexington had to say.

“‘My family came to the United States in search of the American Dream and we found it as hoteliers and franchisees,’ he said. ‘The current franchise model has been instrumental in providing my family and me with opportunities for entrepreneurship and the ability to employ over 300 hardworking Kentuckians.’

“But this Kentuckian warned that this action by the NLRB could end his independence as a small business owner by ceding decisions to a far-off corporate headquarters.

“The NLRB action could have “devastating impacts on my ability to create jobs, grow my businesses and support my community,” he said.

“Extreme, politically-motivated proposals like these hurt our constituents.

“So it’s time to restore balance to the National Labor Relations Board. Let’s take the politics out of it.

“That’s just what my friend from Tennessee’s legislation seeks to do. I’ll let him explain it, but here’s the key: it would restore the NLRB to its proper role as an umpire, instead of an advocate for the Right or the Left.

“It’s the kind of thing our constituents want to see us doing: standing up for reform and against entrenched political interests.

“So I’m asking our Democrat friends to please shelve the designed-to-fail playbook and work with Republicans on a designed-to-succeed agenda instead.

“Six years of failure is enough.”