Senate Democrats sent a strong message to Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell by refusing to back down on their demand
that anti-abortion language be removed from the human trafficking bill.
In remarks on the Senate floor, Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) said:
The most important question for a party in power
is simply: “Can you govern?” Or in other words, “Can you steer this
ship? Can you pilot this great nation of ours?” We are just over 100
days into this Republican-controlled Congress, and it is already clear
that the Republican Leader and his side are not up to the task.
For evidence, look no further than Republican’s
botched handling of the human trafficking bill before the Senate. The
Majority Leader and the Assistant Majority Leader took a good,
bipartisan piece of legislation and steered it right into the rocks.
….
What has taken place on the direction of human
trafficking is an effort to obfuscate, to hide the real purpose of the
legislation. We all agree that human trafficking should stop. With this
legislation we have before us is a step in the right direction and we
want to support that legislation and our friend the republican leader
says all ire complaining about is a sentence or so. That’s why people
spend all these years going to law school and taking these contracts
courses. That’s why my friend, Assistant Republican Leader who served as
a trial court judge, a Texas Supreme Court justice, he dealt during his
entire career with lawyers coming to him talking about sentences in a
contract or sentences on a piece of legislation. That’s what this is all
about. And we should eliminate those sentences that here allow Hyde to
be expanded to non-taxpayer money. We cannot allow that to happen.
It’s over 100 days into this Congress, we should
move forward and get this bill done and it’s time on this legislation
Republicans right the ship. If human trafficking legislation is any
indication, Republicans haven’t a desire to govern dependably and I
think that’s unfair. I hope, I hope that this cloture vote will be
defeated. Perhaps at that time people will finally come to the
realization we’re willing to do whatever needs to be done to change this
language so that Hyde language does not apply to taxpayer dollars.
Like I said, we’re just over 100 days into
this Congress. It’s not too late. There is time for Republicans to right
this ship, if they want to. But if the human trafficking legislation is
any indication, Republicans haven’t any desire to dependably govern.
Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans are
trying to prove that they can strong arm their agenda past the
Democrats. For Republicans, this legislative battle is about
demonstrating their power. Democrats don’t want to set the precedent of
agreeing to anti-choice language that gets unnecessarily attached to
legislation. Senate Democrats have a legitimate complaint about what
Sen. McConnell has done to this piece of legislation.
Reid pointed out in his remarks that Democrats have
offered four different potential solutions, but Republicans have
rejected them all. Senate Republicans are tanking their own legislation
by turning it into a partisan power play, Republicans have demonstrated
that they aren’t interested in coming to the middle and governing. The
difference is that it is Mitch McConnell’s job as Majority Leader that
is on the line.
McConnell has grown increasingly desperate to
demonstrate that he can lead a majority that is capable of governing.
Democrats are well aware of McConnell’s desperation, which is why they
aren’t backing down. Pushing is coming to shove for Sen. McConnell, and
he has to make a decision. Either he is going to come to the middle and
govern, or he is going to go down with the sinking Republican ship.
One thing is certain. Democrats aren’t going to be strong-armed, and they are not going to back down.
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