Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement on the Senate Floor Tuesday regarding the need for the Senate to pass the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, which would extend temporary tax relief to working Americans, prevent more job losses by blocking new regulations on U.S. manufacturers, and facilitate the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs through the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline:
“Today, the House of Representatives will vote on a bill that extends the temporary payroll tax cut as well as unemployment insurance, and which won’t add a dime to the federal deficit.
“In other words, the House bill would do both of the things the President and Senate Democrats have described as their top legislative priorities before the close of the year.
“So it was surprising to say the least to read this morning that President Obama and Majority Leader Reid are now plotting to block this very legislation — even to the point of forcing a government shutdown — over the inclusion of a job-creating measure that the President thinks will complicate his reelection chances next year.
“That’s what’s happening in Washington this week — and the American people need to know about it. So let me repeat what’s unfolding right now here in the Capitol.
“Yesterday, the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee — Democrats and Republicans alike — agreed to a spending bill that would fund that government through the end of the fiscal year. And today, Republicans in the House will pass a bill that contains the President’s top priorities: an extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance.
“But here’s the problem: the House bill also includes a provision to accelerate construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a project that’s been described as the biggest shovel-ready project in America. And evidently the President doesn’t want this project approved before November of next year — because a small faction of very liberal voters he’s counting on to help him get reelected doesn’t like it.
“Here’s a project that would create tens of thousands of jobs right away, wouldn’t cost the taxpayers a dime to build, would reduce the share of energy that we import from unfriendly countries overseas, and which everybody from the labor unions to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says they support because it would create tens of thousands of jobs right away. Here’s the kind of project that Democrats themselves — including the President — say they want.
“But the presidential campaign is getting in the way, to the point that the Senate Majority Leader now says he’s willing to hold up a bipartisan bill to fund our troops, border security and other federal responsibilities, rather than let the President decide if this pipeline project should move forward.
“Let me say that again: the President and the Democratic Majority Leader of the Senate are now saying they’d rather shut down the government than allow this job-creating legislation to become law. That’s what would happen if they succeed in blocking this bipartisan funding bill from coming to the floor for a vote.
“House Republicans are giving the President everything he asked for today. They just think that instead of simply providing more relief to those who continue to struggle in this economy that we should also help prevent future job loss and incentivize the creation of new private-sector jobs.
“That’s what the House bill does: it goes beyond government benefits and takes a step toward addressing the jobs crisis at hand.
“Most people would view this proposal as evidence that the two parties are putting their best ideas on the table and addressing both sides of this jobs crisis — the relief side and the incentives side. Most people would call it a balanced approach.
“Unfortunately, the President just doesn’t seem to be happy these days unless he’s got an issue to divide us over. If the Republicans are proposing it, he’s against it, regardless of how many job losses it prevents or how many private-sector jobs it would help create. And he’s not even trying to hide it.
“The Majority Leader signaled yesterday that he and the President are so determined to turn even the most bipartisan job-creating legislation into a political issue that he’ll ask his members to hold off on signing the government-funding legislation they’ve already agreed to — just to hand the President what they view as a political victory this week.
“This isn’t just irresponsible, it’s reckless.
“The House is about to pass a bill that would help working Americans by extending the temporary payroll tax cut, help unemployed Americans by extending unemployment insurance, and which would help Americans looking for work by accelerating construction of the single-biggest shovel ready project in America. It deserves to pass, with strong bipartisan support.
“So I would suggest that our friends put the political games aside and give the American people the certainty and the jobs that they deserve. Take up the House bill, pass it here in the Senate, and send it to the President for a signature—without theatrics and without delay.”
