You probably hear a lot about the gridlock in Washington.  People say that nothing is getting done in this town.  Yet in the House, we have acted on a number of fronts.

Since the beginning of the year, the House has passed 189 bills that were sent to the Senate for its consideration.  However, of those 189 bills, only 41 of them have been signed into law.  That means that the Senate has refused to even consider a total of 148 House-passed bills.

Many of these bills would have a great impact in improving our economic climate, getting Americans back to work, and helping you and your family save a little extra money.

For instance, the House has passed several bills to increase the availability of various domestic energy supplies, which would help lower costs for consumers and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  We also passed the SKILLS Act and similar bills to both reform as well as improve our nation’s job training programs and reduce our unemployment rate.

These are just a few of the constructive actions the House has taken since January.  But we need the Senate to act too, and it seems that the Senate leadership is by and large unwilling to work with us.

I’ll continue to support bills that make things easier for you and your family – from the cost of your health care to the price you pay at the pump.  In the meantime, I hope the Senate will begin considering some of those 148 bills to help our economy and create new jobs.