Minimum Wage Fairness Act -- Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. For days now Republicans have been coming to the floor to ask the Democratic majority to work with us on jobs. This is the issue Americans say they care the most about. So it is hard to see why Senate Democrats seem so allergic to various jobs ideas we have been proposing, not to mention 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 have given our Democratic colleagues ample opportunity to do that. We have offered one innovative proposal after another, proposals that haven't had much of a problem attracting bipartisan support in the past, ideas such as reducing the tax burden on small businesses, freeing them to grow, to hire, to innovate, ideas such as approving the Keystone Pipeline, which would create thousands of jobs right away; ideas such as repealing the medical device tax which even Democrats acknowledge is killing jobs--although they haven't acted to fix it yet--and ideas such as eliminating ObamaCare's 30-hour workweek mandate, a rule that cuts people's hours against their will, that disproportionately affects women and is forcing too many Americans to look for extra work 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 have also put forward legislation that offers Americans more choices and greater flexibility in the workforce. This is something a lot of our constituents are asking for, and we are responding to those concerns.

One bill we have 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 coworkers.

These are the kinds of practical, commonsense proposals our constituents sent us here to actually pass. These are the things that would make jobs more plentiful and life a lot easier for men and women across our country. For some reason Senate Democrats are blocking all of these ideas from getting a vote. Maybe it is because they are so single-mindedly focused on an election that is still 7 months away.

I mean, they have already conceded that their ``agenda'' for the rest of the year was drafted by campaign staffers. It is a stunning admission. It explains their near-total lack of interest in practical solutions to the everyday concerns of our constituents. It also explains why the only jobs that Senate Democrats seem to be interested in these days are their own.

This is a big problem. Not only does it reinforce the widespread belief that Democrats are not serious about jobs, it also reinforces a growing impression that Democrats are simply out of their depth when it comes to our economy. Think about it: Washington Democrats are well into their sixth year of trying to get the economy back on track--6 years.

Yet for many in the middle class things only seem 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 have tried all their usual liberal solutions--higher taxes, ``stimulus,'' and more regulations. They have tried all the standard stuff and it has not worked. Doing more of it won't work either.

This may be difficult for Washington Democrats to hear, but it is time they switched from their failed ideological approach. It is time for them to shelve their political games and work with us to pass practical legislation for a change--legislation that can finally rescue the middle class from so many years of economic failure.

I have laid out a number of commonsense proposals already. There is more we can do if Democrats are willing to reach across the aisle and help deliver for the American people. My constituents expect us to do that. I am sure theirs do too. Honestly, there is no reason not to do that.

I yield the floor.

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