WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor calling on Washington Democrats to focus on job-creation legislation:

“For days now, Republicans have been coming to the floor to ask the Democrat Majority to work with us on jobs.

“This is the issue Americans say they care about most.

“So it’s hard to see why Senate Democrats seem so allergic to the various jobs ideas we’ve been proposing, not to mention the dozens of job-creating bills already passed by the House.

“Look: our constituents want us to work together to rebuild the Middle Class — to help create opportunities for the families struggling out there just to pay the bills. In recent days, we’ve given our Democrat colleagues ample opportunity to do that.

“We’ve offered one innovative proposal after another – proposals that haven’t had much of a problem attracting bipartisan support in the past.

“Ideas like reducing the tax burden on small businesses, freeing them to hire, and grow, and innovate.

“Ideas like approving the Keystone pipeline, which would create thousands of jobs right away.

“Ideas like repealing the medical device tax, which even Democrats acknowledge is killing jobs – although they haven’t acted to fix it yet.

“And ideas like eliminating Obamacare’s 30-hour workweek mandate — a rule that cuts people’s hours against their will, that disproportionally affects women, and that will force too many Americans to look for extra work just to get by.

“But we go even further than just tackling the causes of joblessness.

“Our ideas go beyond just helping Americans secure jobs with a steady paycheck and the hope of a better future.

“Because we’ve also put forward legislation that offers Americans more choices and greater flexibility in the workplace.

“This is something a lot of our constituents are asking for, and we’re responding to those concerns.

“One bill we’ve proposed would let working Moms and Dads take more time off to strike a better work/life balance.

“Another bill would prohibit union bosses from denying pay increases to an employee who works harder than her co-workers.
 
“These are the kinds of practical, common-sense proposals our constituents sent us here to pass.

“These are things that would make jobs more plentiful and life a lot easier for men and women across the country.

“For some reason, Senate Democrats are blocking all of them.

“Maybe it’s because they’re so single-mindedly focused on an election that’s still seven months away.

“I mean, they’ve already conceded that their ‘agenda’ for the rest of the year was drafted by campaign staffers.

“It’s a stunning admission.

“But it does explain their near-total lack of interest in practical solutions to the everyday concerns of our constituents.

“And it explains why the only jobs Senate Democrats seem interested in these days are their own.

Well, this is a big problem. Not only does it reinforce the widespread belief that Democrats aren’t serious about jobs. It also reinforces a growing impression that Democrats are simply out of their depth when it comes to the economy.

“Think about it. Washington Democrats are well into their sixth year of trying to get the economy back on track.

“Yet for many in the Middle Class, things seem only to have gotten worse. Average household income has fallen by nearly $3,600. The number of Americans actually working in the labor force has dropped to its lowest level since the Carter era. Millions are looking for work and can’t find it. And the new rules and regulations just keep on coming.

“They’ve tried all the usual liberal solutions—higher taxes, ‘stimulus,’ more regulations. All the standard stuff.

“It hasn’t worked. And doing more of it won’t work either.

“So this may be difficult for Washington Democrats to hear, but it’s time they switched from their failed ideological approach. It’s time they shelved the political games and worked with us to pass practical, bipartisan legislation for a change – legislation that can finally rescue the Middle Class from so many years of economic failure.

“I’ve laid out a number of common-sense proposals already.

“There’s even more we can do if Senate Democrats are willing to reach across the aisle and help us deliver for the American people. My constituents expect us to do that. I’m sure theirs do too. And there’s no reason we shouldn’t.”