While American Families Demand Action, Senator Mitch McConnell Has Turned The Senate Into A Legislative Graveyard
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans have turned the Senate into a legislative graveyard, refusing to take action on critical bipartisan legislation. More than 150 bills passed this year by the House are buried in Senator McConnell’s legislative graveyard, and the number continues to grow. On the Senate floor, Republicans have blocked legislation to protect Americans’ health care, take action on climate change, secure our elections, and ensure paycheck fairness for women. Republicans continue to block action on the bipartisan House-passed Violence Against Women Act and commonsense gun safety reforms. Working Americans deserve better.
LEADER MCCONNELL HAS BURIED COMMONSENSE, BIPARTISAN PROPOSALS PASSED BY THE HOUSE IN HIS LEGISLATIVE GRAVEYARD.
More than 150 bills passed by the House are awaiting legislative action in the Senate, including:
H.R.1, For the People Act, a sweeping package of pro-democracy reforms that aims to make it easier, not harder, to vote; end the dominance of big money in politics; and ensure that public officials work for the public interest.
H.R.5, Equality Act, legislation to prevent discrimination against the LGBTQ community, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.6, American Dream and Promise Act, legislation to protect Dreamers and those with Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure by ensuring they have a path to citizenship, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.7, Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation to empower women to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.8, Bipartisan Background Checks Act, legislation to enact the common sense, widely-supported expansion of background checks for gun purchases, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.9, Climate Action Now Act, legislation to hold the administration to the United States’ commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.986, Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.987, Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act, legislation to counteract the Trump administration’s efforts to sabotage the healthcare system, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.1500, Consumers First Act, legislation to strengthen the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
H.R.1585, Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.1644, Save the Internet Act, legislation to restore net neutrality, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.1994, SECURE Act, legislation to help workers save for retirement, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
LEADER MCCONNELL AND SENATE REPUBLICANS HAVE REPEATEDLY BLOCKED BILLS TO HELP AMERICANS ON THE SENATE FLOOR.
Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans have blocked efforts by Democrats to pass commonsense bills on the Senate floor, including:
S.1562, Foreign Influence Reporting in Elections Act, legislation to require presidential candidates to report contact from foreign state actors to the FBI.
H.R.7, Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation to empower women to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
S.J.Res.9, bipartisan legislation calling on the United States and Congress to take immediate action on climate change.
S.Res.18, a resolution authorizing the Senate Legal Counsel to intervene in the federal court case that would undermine protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions.
S.Res.94, a resolution asking the Department of Justice to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions.
BY REFUSING TO CONSIDER BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION AND AMENDMENTS, LEADER MCCONNELL HAS FAILED TO LIVE UP TO HIS PROMISES ABOUT HOW REPUBLICANS WOULD RUN THE SENATE.
When he made his case for a Republican Senate Majority, then-Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promised that he would open the Senate so that ideas with bipartisan support could come to the floor, and said that he would allow a free and open amendment process to foster bipartisanship and deliver real legislation to the president’s desk. But as Majority Leader, Senator McConnell has failed to honor these commitments. Instead, he has filled the amendment tree – a process that denies senators of both parties the ability to offer amendments – more than all other Republican majority leaders in the history of the Senate combined. Only eight amendments have received floor votes this year.
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “If Republicans were fortunate enough to reclaim the Majority in November, I assure you, my friends, all of this would change. A Senate majority under my leadership would break sharply from the practices of the Reid era in favor of a far more free-wheeling approach to problem solving. I would work to restore its traditional role as a place where good ideas are generated, debated and voted upon. We’d fire up the committee process. And, by the way, when I say that, I mean Democratic ideas, too. […] I guarantee you these are things that can and will change because one person can change most of the problems in the Senate and that’s whoever the majority leader is, the person who gets to set the agenda has the right of prior recognition and has the opportunity to decide whether you’re going to apply a gag rule to everybody or whether you’re going to use tactics that create a greater level of comity and, of course, get more results. [Remarks at the American Enterprise Institute, 5/22/14]
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “Voting on amendments is good for the Senate, and it’s good for the country. Our constituents should have greater voice in the process. They should also know where we stand on the issues of the day, regardless of whether the majority party thinks those issues are worth debating or voting on. And if Republicans are fortunate enough to be in the Majority next year, they would.” [Press Release, 1/8/14]
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “There is a desire to get this institution back to the way it used to function, which honors and respects all the members and allows everybody to participate and offer their ideas, regardless of party. And I intend to do that," said McConnell, the minority leader for eight years. "That's something that the majority leader can do and I intend to do it." [Louisville Courier Journal, 12/23/14]
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