Rep. Doug Collins: Americans Want Senate Democrats To 'Do Their Job'

The Democrat-controlled Senate needs to get busy and do its job, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins said in Saturday's GOP address,  pointing out that his constituents and Americans in general think there's "not enough action on real solutions."

"My constituents are frustrated with the status quo," said Collins. "They wish Washington would stop meddling in things that aren’t broken, and start fixing the things that are."

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He said he was in Blue Ridge, Ga., for a meeting with residents, and the people there, like most Americans, wanted to know "why can't our leaders just do their jobs?"

Collins said he understands their feelings, because he's worked with his Republican colleagues in the house to make "the American people’s priorities our priorities."

"We’ve passed bill after bill to help our struggling economy, save taxpayer dollars, lower the cost of gas and groceries, and help every child get a good education," said Collins, "But Democrats in the Senate have essentially decided to do nothing. Our bills are piling up on Harry Reid’s desk, collecting dust."

Collins said that the Senate could not even come together to pass a solution to the crisis on the nation's southern border, even though House Republicans were able to push through a "common-sense solution" before leaving for their August recess. Democrats, though, left town without passing their own.

"That’s just irresponsible — there’s no other word for it," said Collins.

In the meantime, while Senate Democrats are not acting, Republicans have led efforts for job training legislation, given "veterans stuck in an outdated federal bureaucracy timely access to the care they need," and prevented major highway projects from being stopped.

"President [Barack] Obama enjoys complaining about Congress, but the fact is, his own party controls the Senate, and they need to get to work," Collins said. "Of the bills that have been signed into law, more than 75 percent of them have originated in the House."

In addition, Senate Democrats have not taken action on more than 340 bills passed in the House, and many of those bills have bipartisan support, said Collins. Those include most of the 43 jobs bills already passed by the House, he noted.

"If they’re truly interested in making progress, the president and his party have a lot of catching up to do," said Collins. "Republicans aren’t going to slow down; we’re going to keep passing common-sense solutions to help American families, and we’re going to keep the pressure on Senate Democrats to do their job."

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