[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 749-750]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  WORKING TOGETHER FOR POSITIVE CHANGE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, tonight we will welcome President Obama 
to the Capitol. We look forward to hearing what he has to say.
  We are looking forward to Senator Ernst's address, as well. Joni 
Ernst understands the concerns of hard-working families in a way much 
of Washington has not. That is why the people of her State sent her 
here--to fight for them. She will explain the commitment of this new 
Congress to work for policies aimed at the good jobs and better wages 
Americans deserve.
  Tonight is a big moment for the President--and for our country. The 
tone he strikes and the issues he highlights will tell us a lot about 
what to expect in his Presidency's final act. There is a lot riding on 
it, and we will be listening closely.
  One option is the path he has been on for so many years. I sincerely 
hope he makes a different choice. The American people just spoke in 
clear terms about this direction. They called for a new one. We should 
work together to make Washington focus on their concerns.
  Working with the new Congress for positive change--that is the second 
option for President Obama. It is the one struggling families and 
serious policymakers urge him to choose. The new Congress has already 
started to take up smart, bipartisan ideas focused on jobs and reform. 
But when we have asked the White House for constructive engagement, 
what we have seen, at least so far, has been pretty discouraging. We 
need to change this dynamic. We need to turn the page. The State of the 
Union offers that opportunity.
  The American people aren't demanding talking point proposals designed 
to excite the base but not designed to pass. What they said they are 
hungry for is substance and accomplishment. They want Washington to get 
back to work and focus on a serious jobs and reform agenda. They said 
they are ready to see more constructive cooperation, especially on 
bipartisan jobs initiatives--bipartisan jobs initiatives such as the 
Keystone infrastructure bill. Keystone has support in both parties. It 
is an important piece of infrastructure for our country. According to 
what the Obama administration's own State Department has said 
previously, constructing a pipeline would support literally thousands 
of jobs. It has already passed the House. We are currently working to 
pass it through the Senate. It will be on the President's desk before 
long. We see no reason for him to veto these jobs.
  But whatever he decides, we are going to keep working for positive, 
middle-class jobs ideas here in Congress. As I have said before, we are 
not here to protect the President from a good idea. If the President is 
willing to work with us, there is much we can get accomplished for the 
American people.
  We have already identified several areas of potential cooperation, 
such as tearing down trade barriers in places such as Europe and the 
Pacific, building jobs with comprehensive progrowth tax simplification, 
and working to prevent cyber attacks. On each of these issues, the 
President has previously sent some positive signals. Now we need some 
constructive engagement.
  We will be looking for signs of that in the speech he delivers 
tonight.
  What I hope is that he presents some positive, bipartisan ideas of 
his own that can pass the Congress Americans just voted for. Give us 
new ideas to prevent Iran from becoming a country with nuclear weapons 
or to confront the threats posed by terrorism or to remove regulations 
that hurt struggling coal families. Challenge us with truly serious, 
realistic reforms that focus on growth and raising middle-class 
incomes--reforms that don't just spend more money we don't have. And if 
the President is ready for a new beginning beyond canceled health plans 
and partisan executive overreach, work with us to pursue an achievement 
that history will actually remember. Reach across the aisle to allow us 
to save and strengthen Medicare. Cooperate with both parties to save 
Social Security. The President should tell America his plan for 
responsible reforms that aim to balance the budget and not just more 
tired tax hikes.
  Achieving important reforms such as these would represent a win for 
hard-working families. It would deliver the kind of commonsense 
progress Americans deserve.
  So we welcome the President tonight. We look to his address with 
interest. If the President is ready to play offense, then we urge him 
to join the

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new Congress in playing offense on behalf of the American people.

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