As we pivot into a new Congress, our No. 1 priority will continue to be putting people to work. And we will measure each proposal by a simple test: Will it create jobs? Will it strengthen our middle class? Will it reduce the deficit?

The Democratic Congress and President Obama acted to lay a strong foundation for our nation’s prosperity. We took action to create and save millions of jobs, and cut taxes for every worker. Our historic health insurance reform enacted a Patient’s Bill of Rights, and Wall Street reform brought the greatest consumer protections in history…

As we congratulate Speaker Boehner and our Republican colleagues, we stand ready to solve problems and to find common ground on behalf of all Americans. And as we take the oath of office today to support and defend the Constitution, we must be ever mindful that it “makes us … all trustees for the American people, custodians of the American heritage.”