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Toomey, Casey on board with electorate’s mandate to work cooperatively

By Patty Yauger pyauger@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read
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On Tuesday, voters weary of the Washington gridlock returned the Senate leadership to the Republican Party hoping to advance economic, health care and other legislation that has languished for the past two years.

While U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s GOP seat was not up for re-election, he is well aware of the intent of the message and plans to carry out its directive.

Republicans won Senate races in Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina on Tuesday to shift the balance of power from the Democratic Party to the GOP.

During a telephone conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Toomey said he welcomes the opportunity being presented to the GOP and declared that unlike the past two years, the doors to the congressional body will be “open for business.”

“It was a very big night,” said Toomey of the six seat gain. “It is a huge opportunity.”

Toomey laid the lack of productivity at the feet of current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has held the post since 2007.

“My greatest frustration has been (Reid’s) choosing to shut down the Senate and forbidding legislative action,” he said. “I think the American people spoke (Tuesday) about their frustration with their government (and) their loss of confidence with their government.

“They want us to get to work.”

While unclear what may or may not be accomplished during the lame duck session, Toomey said that

when the new members join with the veteran lawmakers in January, the Senate will be proactive.

“With Republicans controlling the Senate, I’m determined that we are going to reopen the Senate,” he said. “We are going to become productive; we are going to allow the Senate to be the functioning, deliberative body that it once was and should be.”

Toomey said that his focus will be economic growth.

“We should approve the Keystone pipeline; the exporting of LNG (liquified natural gas) and rollback the ethanol mandate,” he said of his priorities.

While he favors the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, Toomey said it is more likely the Senate will seek to dismantle some of its components, including the medical device excise tax.

Any new legislation will need the signature of Democratic President Barack Obama and Toomey is optimistic that there will be less confrontation and more compromise from the White House over the next two years.

“We need to look for opportunities to make progress,” he said. “The Keystone pipeline has brought bipartisan support in the House and the Senate.

“If there is broad bipartisan support for something, then I think we should send it to the President and find out (if he is in support).

“It will be up to the President to decide if he wants to be a part of a constructive, bipartisan effort to encourage economic growth or whether he wants to obstruct it.”

Another matter of business for the GOP-led Senate will be to choose a new majority leader.

Toomey said that he anticipates that current Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will take the reins from Reid. McConnell, of Kentucky, won reelection on Tuesday.

While some in the Senate have questioned his promotion to the leadership, Toomey said that no one has stepped forward to challenge him.

“I doubt that he will have an opponent,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, meanwhile, said that he will continue working with his Republican counterparts.

“He believes that we need to put election partisanship behind us and focus on reaching common ground,” said Alex Miller, spokeswoman for the Democratic senator. “He will continue to work with his colleagues to create jobs, strengthen the middle class and fight everyday for Pennsylvania families.”

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