Democrats in the Senate hoped to spend this week creating jobs.  Republicans are doing everything they can to make sure we can’t.

They think that standing in the way like this will hurt Democrats.  They’re wrong.  It hurts all Americans: families, business owners, the middle-class, the unemployed – everyone.

We planned to work this week on debating and reauthorizing the Economic Development Administration, which for more than 45 years has created jobs where they’re most needed: in economically distressed communities.  In just the last five years, it’s created 300,000 jobs.

This was our first bill of this new work period because creating jobs is our first priority.  But Republicans are stopping us from moving to it because creating jobs is the last thing they care to do.

The merits of reauthorizing this job-creating administration are clear.  EDA works with businesses, universities and leaders at the local level, so it creates jobs from the bottom up.  It helps manufacturers and producers compete in the global marketplace.  And it’s a great investment: every dollar from EDA attracts seven dollars in private-sector investment.  That’s an incredible return rate.

The American people demand that we create jobs.  They sent us here to create jobs.  Democrats are ready to work, but we can’t do it alone.

Just last week, Republicans pointed to a new jobs report and demanded the Senate keep our focus on growing the economy.  We agree, and that’s exactly what this bill will do.  But now those same Republicans are standing in the way.

And why are they standing in the way?  Because they demand we end Medicare in order to pay for more tax breaks for millionaires.  Their priorities couldn’t be more backward.

This isn’t the first time Republicans have done everything they can to try to stop us from creating jobs.  Earlier this year we brought a bill to the floor that would help small businesses innovate, invent and invest in new jobs.  Republicans simply said “no.”

I’ve never seen such irresponsible legislating in all my time here.  The American people are watching, and they’re waiting for their leaders to act.  Democrats are waiting for Republicans to drop these charades and finally get to work.

Democrats are ready to create jobs.  We’ve done it before, with programs like the Economic Development Administration, and we’re ready to do it again.  The American people are desperate for stable and secure jobs.  All they ask of us is that we do ours.

Mr. President, I welcome back my colleagues for what I hope will be a productive month.

This new month is not unlike last month, or the month before, or the month before that.  Once again, our constituents are concerned with one thing above all: Jobs.

They’re concerned because of what the economy means for their families and their lives.  They’re worried about paying the bills next month and sending their kids to school next year.  Too many want to go to the bank and once again know the dignity of depositing a paycheck instead of an unemployment check.

Our constituents are also concerned because of what our economic future will mean for our nation.  They’re afraid that ill-informed politicians might lead the country into a default crisis, and they fear all the terrible consequences that would have – consequences that would hurt us as a country, and also hurt families.

I heard these concerns last week in Nevada.  We all heard them in each of our states.  And we hear them loudly and clearly.  So we’re going to focus our attention this week and month on jobs, just as we have all year.

I’m disappointed that our Republican colleagues seem determined to distract that focus.  They want to spend the Senate’s time debating an extreme social agenda that would hurt families, seniors and our economy.  They want to end Medicare in order to pay for more millionaires’ tax breaks.  That’s not good policy, and it isn’t even good politics.  The American people strongly oppose it, and so do Democrats in Congress.

But every day, Republicans prove that they’re not just tone deaf to Americans’ opinions.  They’re also tone deaf to cold, hard economic facts.

Last week we got a discouraging jobs report.  The economy added jobs, but not as many as we’d hoped.  And Moody’s sent a clear warning that a default crisis would send our economy into a tailspin.  There is no time to waste.

The longer Republicans insist on dismantling Medicare as a price for moving forward, the longer the unemployed will wait for good news – and the closer the nation will come to a default crisis.

Republicans’ ideology of obstruction isn’t limited to economics or seniors’ health.  We also see it in their approach to performing the Senate’s Constitutional duty of confirming the President’s nominees for important positions.

A few weeks ago, Republicans blocked a well-qualified, fair-minded and widely respected legal scholar for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Now they’re continuing these partisan antics by threatening to block two more non-controversial nominees.  The first, Peter Diamond, is one of the nation’s top economists.  He’s won the Nobel Prize.  Not long ago, he had bipartisan support for his nomination to the Fed’s Board of Governors.  All of a sudden, for no good reason, Republicans have decided to stand in the way.

The second, Don Verrilli, is the President’s nominee for Solicitor General.  The Judiciary Committee approved him 17-1 – so in addition to being supremely qualified, he’s clearly not controversial.  But now Republicans are threatening to block this nominee over requests for documents totally unrelated to him or his position.  I hope they don’t.

Blocking every nominee, no matter the merits, is no way to govern or to lead.  It is no way to move forward.

Mr. President, if we’re going to keep our economy upright – for families and for our nation as a whole – we have to recognize real problems and propose realistic solutions.  We can’t hold one policy hostage to another, or be bound by ideology.

Every month we play these games guarantees that the following month will bring more of the same avoidable fights.  For families worried about affording the basics, and for our nation’s fundamental economic strength, we need to get serious before it’s too late.

“Today’s news that the economy added 244,000 jobs, including the most private sector jobs in over five years, is more evidence that our economy is headed back on the right track.”

“But many people in Nevada and across America are still facing tough times. That’s why Democrats remain focused on putting Americans back to work. Republicans on the other hand are wasting time on partisan grandstanding, and this week blocked a bill to help small businesses innovate, grow and hire. This is not the time to be distracted by these political games – it’s time they join us in putting middle class families first and help us pass the common-sense measures that will help out economy continue to grow.”

“At every turn, Republicans have blocked us from creating jobs. For nearly two months, they have held up our efforts to help small businesses innovate, grow and put Americans back to work. Now they have blocked this bill altogether, despite our efforts to accommodate their concerns and just a day after paying lip service to the need to create jobs. Republican rhetoric is one thing, but their actions speak louder than words.”

“The bill before us on the Senate floor is the latest in a series of bills we’ve written to help small businesses grow.

“It supports a research and development program – the Small Business Innovation Research program – that has helped tens of thousands of small businesses create jobs and shape the future since President Reagan created it nearly 30 years ago.

“These investments work.  They have helped get great new ideas off the ground – everything from the electric toothbrush, to satellite antennae that helped first responders in Haiti, to technologies that keep our food safe and our military’s tanks from overheating in the desert.  There are success stories in every state and nearly every industry.

“Before the recess we spent days working on an agreement to have votes on three amendments to this bill, so we could move forward and finally pass it.

“Included in this agreement were Senator Cornyn’s amendment, which would establish a commission on government waste, and Senator Hutchison’s amendment, which is related to healthcare reform litigation.  Unfortunately, Senator Snowe objected to this agreement.

“During the course of many weeks debating this bill, we have made significant efforts to accommodate Senator Snowe and the rest of the Republican caucus on amendments.  We even had a vote on another amendment offered by Senator Snowe, as well as many other Republican amendments – nearly all of which had nothing to do with the underlying bill.

“In light of our accommodation of extraneous amendments, it’s difficult for me to understand why we cannot finish debate on this bill.  We have been more than fair.  We should be able to reach agreement on considering some remaining amendments and voting on final passage of the bill.

“But it appears we are unable to do that.  I had  no choice but to file cloture in order to bring this debate to a close – and that’s what I did last night.

“This has been on the floor for far too long, and we need to resolve it so we can move on to other matters.”