Fox News reports today, “Every Senate Republican has signed onto a letter vowing to block all Democratic-backed legislation until the chamber extends the Bush tax cuts and approves a spending bill to keep the government running, Fox News has learned. Throwing down the gauntlet, all 42 members of the GOP caucus are sending the letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warning him that they will bring matters to a standstill unless he swiftly brings those tax-and-spending issues to the floor. That means putting on the backburner a push to repeal the military’s policy banning gays from serving openly in the military, a bill giving illegal immigrant students and military members a pathway to legal status and an extension of long-term unemployment benefits.”

In their letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), all 42 Senate Republicans wrote, “[W]e write to inform you that we will not agree to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to any legislative item until the Senate has acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers.  With little time left in this Congressional session, legislative scheduling should be focused on these critical priorities.  While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate’s attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike. Given our struggling economy, preventing the tax increase and providing economic certainty should be our top priority.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell explained the letter in a speech on the floor this morning, “With just a few weeks to go before the end of the session, Democrats continue to place their own priorities over the priorities of the American people. These are the things Democrats have chosen to do instead of preventing a massive tax hike that economists tell us would stifle the economy. Republicans have pleaded with Democrats to put aside their wish-list — to focus on the things Americans want us to focus on. They’ve ignored us. The voters repudiated their agenda at the polls. They’ve ignored them. Time is running out. They’re ignoring that. The election was a month ago. It’s time to get serious. It’s time to focus on priorities.”

The letter points out, “Our constituents have repeatedly asked us to focus on creating an environment for private-sector job growth; it is time that our constituents’ priorities become the Senate’s priorities.” And Sen. McConnell concluded, “At the moment, every taxpayer in the country stands to get a massive tax increase — and a cut in pay — on December 31^st. We need to show the American people that we care more about them and their ability to pay their bills than we do about the special interests’ legislative Christmas-list. Republicans are united in our opposition to proceeding to any of these things until Democrats make the priorities of the American people their own.”

Related:

Rasmussen Reports: 11% give the current Congress good or excellent marks. Sixty percent (60%) say Congress is doing a poor job.

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