For the last two years, Washington has ignored the plight of the American people and job creators. Instead, a Democratic-led Congress saddled them with policies that fostered uncertainty and eliminated jobs. Democrats’ continued pursuit of misguided economic policies and reckless spending have driven our debt to $14 trillion – a level that has cost the U.S. economy as many as 1 million jobs and that continues to undermine our nation’s economic recovery.

In January of 2009, Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, then President Obama’s chief economic advisors, put together an analysis predicting that the Democrats’ stimulus package would “save or create” at least 3 million jobs by the end of 2010. Similarly, Romer and Bernstein claimed that passage of the stimulus package would keep the unemployment rate under 8 percent, falling to 7 percent by the end of 2010. But since that time, the unemployment rate has remained above 9 percent for 20 consecutive months, and there are 6.8 million fewer jobs than Romer and Bernstein predicted in their now-infamous report.

The arrival of 2011 has ended the era of the failed economic policies embraced by the Democratic Administration and advanced by unchecked Democratic Congressional Leaders. Instead, in the 112th Congress, the new Republican House Majority will pursue a contrasting agenda that creates the climate of certainty necessary to usher in a new era of private sector job creation. Congress sent a strong signal of that commitment in December by extending the current tax rates and preventing a massive tax hike on Americans and small businesses. If there is any hope of getting Americans back to work, Washington must get out of the way and let employers do what they do best and what America needs most – create jobs.

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Inside the Beltway, Democrats are touting the achievements of the outgoing Congress.  Historian Alan Brinkley asserted that this is the most productive Congress since the Great Society.  These congratulatory assessments stand in stark contrast to the fact that Democrats, for all their labors, suffered a defeat of such historic proportions that it gave rise to a new word: “refudiation.”  What explains this paradox?

First, much of the legislation passed in the 111^th Congress is not really legislation at all.  For all of its verbosity, and for all the outrage surrounding provisions like the individual mandate, the health care legislation enacted in 2010 makes precious few decisions.  Instead, vast discretionary authority is vested in dozens of different agencies and officials, in particular the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

When confronted with tough decisions, Congress prefers to let someone else make laws.  Congressmen can then claim credit for providing Americans with health care, while evading blame for increased costs and premiums, poorer quality of care, rationing, massive uncertainty, and higher wait times.  The rules that led to those unfortunate consequences were made by regulators, who will give shape to legislation, and who would bear the brunt of public ire.

Second, Washington insiders tend to subscribe to the belief that what Americans expect of Congress is that it produce a certain quantity of legislation.  Outgoing House Rules Committee chairman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) captured this belief when she lamented that “what we did was work, and our reward was, ‘Get out of here.’”  The volume of legislation produced by the Democratic 111^th Congress should have been reason enough for voters to sustain Democrats in office.

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Maybe it is my Catholic upbringing, but I’ve always been cursed with a bit too much empathy. It is often difficult to witness people bearing the full weight of the consequences of their decisions, even when it is richly deserved. (And, in the case of House Democrats few have ever been more deserving of reaping everything they’ve sown.) We’re human, after all, and witnessing people on the cusp of realizing that they’ve lost everything can be difficult.

Last week, Democrat Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-NC2) attended a fundraiser headlined by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He was asked by some students on the street whether he supported the “Obama Agenda.” He didn’t take it well.

Expect more of this. The hard, progressive left captured the Democrat majority in Congress and forced them to enact a fantasy grab-bag of legislation that is increasingly unpopular with the American public. We’re on the cusp of a deeper recession, millions of unemployed Americans have no prospect for work, taxes are about to spike higher and we’ve maxed out the national credit card. The Democrats were given a chance to run government and they’ve only succeeded in running it into the ground.

So, yeah, Democrats who are up for reelection this November are a bit testy.

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This week, I had the privilege to deliver the Weekly Republican Address.  In it, I talk about how Washington Democrats’ continued failure to end their out-of-control spending spree is scaring the hell out of the American people and hurting our economy.  The need for action could not be clearer: a $13 trillion debt, near-10 percent unemployment, and stagnant private sector growth.  Having run a small business, I can tell you that all this deficit spending, coupled with the new health care law’s burdensome mandates and tax hikes, is crushing these engines of our economy.

As bad as things are, Democrats don’t even intend to pass a budget, doing nothing instead of seizing this critical opportunity to provide the fiscal discipline that is sorely needed to create jobs and boost our economy.   Even after presenting President Obama with a statement signed by more than 100 economists that says just that, he still has not pressed leaders in his own party to take action.  Taxpayers have every right to be fed up with this stunning failure of leadership – the kind of leadership President Obama promised to provide.

These and other topics are discussed in the Weekly Republican Address:

“Hello – I’m John Boehner.  In these tough economic times, American families have done their level best to stay afloat – spending less and working more while trying to map out a financially sound future.  They deserve that same degree of discipline and vigilance from their government.

“But instead of bringing fiscal sanity to Washington like he promised, President Obama has spent taxpayer dollars with reckless abandon, refusing to make tough choices and pushing the burden on to future generations.  No price tag has been too high for Washington Democrats, and now we’re all paying the price.

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Florida Congressman Alan Grayson represents everything wrong with politics today. Even fellow Democratic Party/Progressive Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) says that Grayson has issues. Back in October, Weiner commented:

“Is this news to you that this guy’s [Grayson] one fry short of a Happy Meal?”

The Democrat majority isn’t listening, but House Republicans will. That’s why we’re launching America Speaking Out; an unprecedented initiative of engagement with the American people that will lead to a governing policy agenda for America. Through the use of cutting-edge technology, town hall meetings, and old-fashioned conversation, America Speaking Out will surely become one of the largest online conversations ever about how to get back to a smaller, smarter, more accountable government. This initiative will lead to vital communication with the American people about the serious challenges that they’re waiting for Congress to address.

Washington Democrats have been ramming their own one-sided agenda through Congress. And, throughout the past year, they have repeatedly gone behind closed doors and choked off opportunities for honest and transparent debate. But, my Republican colleagues and I are ready for an exchange of ideas that will restore the bonds of trust between Americans and their elected leaders.

We have to show the American people that we know what’s at stake this year. In the face of failed leadership by Congressional Democrats, House Republicans must produce a vision for a better America that will return our national government to the common sense and common values of everyday Americans. And we’re looking to the American people to help us.

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Yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden visited CBS’ “Early Show” for a “wide-ranging interview” during which he said, “We understand why people are angry…We get it.”

Um, no you don’t. Because if you did, Mr. Vice President, we wouldn’t keep hearing stories about the executive branch seeking ways to act unilaterally on domestic issues it can’t seem to get passed in the lopsided, Democrat-controlled Congress.

And we wouldn’t keep reading about SEIU and other bankrollers of the Obama campaign demanding swifter action on agenda items that are in their interest.

Vice Captain Obvious also had this observation: “Washington right now is broken.”  Help me out,  Joe. Your party controls 59 seats in the Senate.  You have a huge majority in the House.  Yet Washington is “broken?” Under whom is it broken, Joe?

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Today, in 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. This will be her last year in that position.