WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate Floor regarding Republican ideas for help working men and women who are suffering under the Obama economy:

“For five and a half 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’s hard to recall a single speech from a Democrat 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 Democrat leaders have been blissfully content to play politics, years after year after year.

“Instead of delivering relief, they’ve 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,’ they claim, ‘so vote for them, and all will be well.’

“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’s to say nothing of the millions who can’t find work at all.

“The White House knows all this. That’s why they’re planning to hold a summit on the topic next week. They want everyone to think they’re on the case — that they’ve got a plan. But what they don’t seem to realize is that nobody really believes them anymore. That folks have moved on.

“The sad truth is, most of the folks I talk to are convinced government is working against them, not for them.  And I don’t blame them. Because whether it’s frustration over an absurdly complicated tax code that drains people of their time and their 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.

“And that’s a shame. Because while the Obama Administration’s been playing politics, Republicans have been quietly assembling a lot of really good ideas aimed at helping middle class 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. And every single one of them deserves a vote.

“For my part, I’ve 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 along 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 would fix a flaw in the tax code so that men or women who work from home aren’t prevented from claiming a deduction for a home office if that office includes a baby crib so they can care for their child while working. The Working Parents Home Office Act would not only help parents save on child care costs, it would help increase their earning potential by incentivizing them to create new income streams from home.

“For parents worried about failing schools that are underserving 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 competition for teachers’ unions that too often put their own interests over those of our children.

“Then there’s the National Right to Work Act, a bill I’ve co-sponsored with Senator Paul, which would eliminate a federal rule that requires the employees of certain companies to join a union or to 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 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’s 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 really 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 in 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 Democrat Majority in the Senate continues to block.

“But I’m really 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 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 this country. But none of them ever get a vote because it wouldn’t fit the storyline Washington Democrats are peddling.

“Apparently, Senate Democrats would rather people didn’t know that Republicans have been working overtime behind the scenes to help make life easier or paychecks bigger for working moms and recent college graduates.

“They’d 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’s an entirely different approach to the problems that have been plaguing this economy for years now, and choose it over theirs.

“Well, 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’ve been talking about these ideas for years, and we’ll be talking about them later today — because five and a half years into the Obama economy, Americans are eager to for some fresh thinking. They’re tired of the same old big-government solutions that only make life harder and more complicated.

“And they’re tired of a Democrat-controlled Senate that won’t allow a debate, or a vote, on any of our better alternatives.

“Most of our constituents are thinking about long commutes, shrinking budgets, and obscenely high tuition and health care bills. They think about how nice it would be to have some more flexibility at work. They’re frustrated with a tax code that seems to punish their efforts to make a little bit more money for the family. And they’re not getting anything from the White House but empty rhetoric and more of the same. Today, Republicans are reminding people there’s another way. While Democrats have been plotting on ways to hold onto their majority, we’ve been listening to the concerns and anxieties of our constituents, and figuring out new, creative ways to address them.

“It’s 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’s time Americans saw the real choice before them. And once they do, I think that choice will be an easy one.”