Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, today spoke on the Senate floor regarding Majority Leader Harry Reid’s refusal to consider Republican proposals that would directly lead to job creation and economic growth. Excerpts are below and a video of his full remarks can be accessed here.
“You would think that at a time when there is a bipartisan consensus that we need to get the economy moving again, we need to get people back to work so they can provide for their families, that there would be bipartisan agreement here in the Senate that anybody with a good idea ought to offer it, debate it and let’s vote on it. Well, unfortunately the Majority Leader has a different point of view. He’s refusing to let anyone on this side of the aisle offer any suggestions in the form of amendments that actually might have a chance of improving the situation for people who are out of work or people looking for jobs.”
“For example, the senior Senator from Maine has a bill that would relieve the burden of Obamacare on workers and businesses alike and restore the traditional 40-hour work week…To avoid the penalties that go along with Obamacare, many employers are moving people from full-time work to part-time work. Well, the amendment from the senior Senator from Maine, Senator Collins, would address that problem and fix it.
“The senior Senator from Utah, Senator Hatch, has a bill that would abolish the job-killing tax on medical innovation. The junior Senator from Missouri has a bill that would exempt military veterans from Obamacare’s employer mandate. The junior Senator from Kentucky has a bill that would make it easier for Congress to block regulations that don’t pass a simple cost-benefit test. The junior Senator from South Carolina has a bill that would modernize workforce training and eliminate duplicative government programs, something I was just talking about a moment ago. And the Senior senator from North Dakota has a bill that would single-handedly create thousands of jobs by approving the Keystone XL Pipeline.
“If and when these bills are offered as amendments to the pending legislation, they deserve a vote. If the Majority Leader denies them a vote, he’s effectively denying us a chance to expand our economy, create more jobs and get people back to work.”
Senator Cornyn serves on the Finance and Judiciary Committees. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.
