The Economy

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. For 5 1/2 years the Obama administration and its allies in Congress have sought cover for their disastrous economic agenda with routine broadsides against an endless procession of straw men. It is hard to recall a single speech from a Democratic leader in Washington that didn't involve some spirited defense of a principle nobody ever challenged or some attack on a villain that doesn't exist. Instead of working with us on ideas that would actually do something to alleviate the concerns and anxieties of the middle class, these Democratic leaders have been blissfully content to play politics year after year after year.

Instead of delivering relief, they have delivered a steady diet of bad political theater day in and day out with the same ridiculous and predictable moral every single time: Democrats care. So vote for them and all will be well.

If you haven't noticed, all is not well for working families in this country. Four years after administration officials trumpeted ``recovery summer'' in June 2010, working men and women in this country are more anxious about work and family and the high cost of living--and that is to say nothing of the millions who can't find work at all.

The White House knows all of this, and that is why they are planning to hold a summit on the topic next week. They want everyone to think they are on the case, that they have a plan, but what they don't seem to realize is nobody believes them anymore and that folks have moved on.

The sad truth is most of the folks I have talked to are convinced government is working against them, not for them. I don't blame them. Whether it is frustration over an absurdly complicated Tax Code that drains people of their time and energy or just a general sense that government programs are rigged to help the well-off and well-connected, an increasing number of our constituents don't even think government is capable--let alone interested--in making their lives any easier these days. It is a shame because while the Obama administration has been playing politics, Republicans have been quietly assembling a lot of good ideas to help Americans deal with the stresses of a modern economy.

All of these ideas are consistent with our party's longstanding commitment to the principles of upward mobility, shared responsibility for the weak, and a strong but limited central government. Every single one of them deserves a vote.

For my part, I have pressed for legislation that addresses a variety of concerns of the people in my State. The Family Friendly and Workplace Flexibility Act, which I introduced with Senator Ayotte, would enable working mothers to enter into a voluntary agreement with their employers whereby they could bank overtime compensation in the form of time off with their families. It would give families the choice, not just the employer.

Another bill I will introduce today will fix a flaw in the Tax Code so men or women who work at home are not prevented from claiming a deduction for a home office if that office includes a baby crib so they can take care of their child while working. The Working Parents Home Office Act would not only help parents save on childcare costs, it would help increase their earning potential by incentivizing them to create new income streams from home.

For parents worried about failing schools for their children, Senator Kirk introduced the Expanding Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Act--a bill that would provide more and better educational choices and some much needed compensation for teachers unions that too often put their own interests above those of our children.

Then there is the National Right to Work Act, a bill I cosponsored with Senator Paul, which will eliminate a Federal rule that requires employees of certain companies to join a union or pay union dues whether they want to or not. Lifting this rule would vastly increase job opportunities in my State for women and men who want to work but can't find it, especially in the area of manufacturing.

The senior Senator from Maine has a proposal that would repeal a senseless provision in ObamaCare that is incentivizing employers all across the country to limit their employees to 30 hours a week.

The junior Senator from Nebraska has a bill--the Workplace Advancement Act--that would further equip women in the workplace with the knowledge and tools they need to fight employer discrimination.

The junior Senator from Florida has a bill--the RAISE Act--that would amend the National Labor Relations Act to allow employers to give merit-based pay increases to employees who are currently prohibited from receiving them because of outdated labor rules, and the junior Senator from Utah has a number of good proposals in a variety of areas.

These are just a few of the very good ideas that Members of my conference have put together to address the concerns and anxieties of working men and women whose wages have remained stubbornly flat during the Obama years, even as the cost of everything from college tuition to health care continues to soar. There are many others, including bills passed by the House that the Democratic majority in the Senate continues to block.

I am very proud of the work so many of my colleagues have done in putting all this legislation together. This morning some of us will present a number of these ideas at a press conference to draw attention to the urgent needs of our constituents and the short-sightedness of the majority leader in blocking our ideas to address them. Every one of these Republican ideas is meant to address some common concern of working families in our country, but none of them ever get a vote because it would not fit the story line Washington Democrats are peddling.

Apparently Senate Democrats would rather people didn't know Republicans have been working overtime behind the scenes to make their lives easier or paychecks bigger for working moms and recent college graduates. They would rather people didn't even know about these or dozens of other ideas we have that are aimed at making life a little easier for middle-class Americans, because if they did, they might realize there is an entirely different approach to the problems that have been plaguing this economy for years now and choose it over theirs.

What Republicans have been saying is that there are a number of things we can do right now to help folks deal with the pressures they face every day in this economy. We have been talking about these ideas for years, and we will be talking about them later today because 5 1/2 years into the Obama economy Americans are eager for some fresh thinking. They are tired of the same old big government solutions that only make life harder and more complicated. They are tired of a Democratically controlled Senate that will not allow a debate or a vote on any of our better proposals.

Most of our constituents are thinking about long commutes, shrinking budgets, obscenely high tuition and health care bills. They think about how nice it would be to have some more flexibility at work. They are frustrated with a Tax Code that seems to punish their efforts to make a little bit more money for their family, and they are not getting anything from the White House but empty rhetoric and more of the same.

Today Republicans are reminding people there is another way. While Democrats have been plotting ways to hold on to their majority, we have been listening to the concerns and anxieties of our constituents and figuring out new, creative ways to address them.

It is long past time we had a real debate in this country, instead of the false choice Democrats constantly present to the public between their own failed ideas and some political villain that doesn't exist. It is time Americans saw the real choice before them, and once they do, I think the choice will be an easy one.

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