Paul Tonko: “This week, it was reported that House Republicans are looking for a legislative plan to close out the year and to move…”

“This week, it was reported that House Republicans are looking for a legislative plan to close out the year and to move forward into 2014 and, as such, passed out a blank sheet of paper as their agenda--a blank sheet. Each month, polls put congressional approval rates at new lows, and more independent organizations rank the 113th Congress as one of the least--if not the least--productive of all time. In response, leadership of the people's House has continued to govern by sound bites and pass messaging bills that simply go nowhere--even painfully shutting down the government for more than 2 weeks in the process. If House leadership is looking for an agenda, they need only to look across the aisle to their friends. We have some suggestions, and chief among them is putting Americans back to work. During our August work period, I participated in some 166 events, meeting with constituents each and every time. At nearly every stop, my friends and neighbors wanted to know what was being done in Washington to help the private sector create jobs. My district is extraordinary, but not in this regard. I have to believe that the people of Albany and Schenectady and Saratoga Springs, New York, my hometown of Amsterdam, New York, in the 20th Congressional District, are thinking what America is thinking. They are asking what myself and our colleagues on both sides of the aisle are doing to grow the economy.…”