Senate
Democrats
2019 In Review: Majority Leader McConnell’s Ever-Expanding Legislative Graveyard
December 31, 2019In 2019, Tweets by senatemajldr McConnell could have brought up legislation to:
— Senate Democrats (@SenateDems)
? Lower health care costs
? Protect pensions
? Address gun violence
Instead, he spent the year blocking over 300 pieces of legislation that could have helped American families. pic.twitter.com/4sIQEpeQrPIn 2019, @SenateMajLdr McConnell could have brought up legislation to:
— Senate Democrats (@SenateDems) December 27, 2019
? Lower health care costs
? Protect pensions
? Address gun violence
Instead, he spent the year blocking over 300 pieces of legislation that could have helped American families. pic.twitter.com/4sIQEpeQrP
In 2019, Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans
transformed the Senate into a legislative graveyard, refusing to take action on
critical legislation to help the American people. This year, more than 300
House-passed bills—including hundreds that have bipartisan support—have been
buried by Leader McConnell in his legislative graveyard. The Senate has spent
significantly more time this year voting on nominations than it has trying to
pass legislation.
“This Republican-led Senate is simply not
functioning for the American people,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck
Schumer. “While the American people cry out for action to lower the price
of their prescription drugs, to protect them from the Trump administration’s
assault on their health care, to safeguard our communities from the gun
violence epidemic and to secure our elections, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
has turned the Senate into a legislative graveyard. It’s past time for Leader
McConnell and Senate Republicans to allow the Senate to get back to work for
the American people.”
Over and over again, Leader McConnell and Senate
Republicans blocked commonsense legislation to secure our elections, protect
Americans’ health care, support workers, enact universal background checks for
gun purchases, and take action on climate change. Democrats are ready and eager
to get to work in the new year, debating and voting on measures to help
American families—but Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans must stop
standing in the way. It’s long past time for the Senate to get work for the
American people.
AGAIN AND AGAIN, LEADER MCCONNELL AND
SENATE REPUBLICANS HAVE BLOCKED CRITICAL LEGISLATION FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans have
blocked efforts by Democrats to pass commonsense bills on the Senate floor,
including:
Election Security
[VIDEO]
S.2238/H.R.2722, Securing America’s Federal
Elections Act,
legislation to help safeguard elections from foreign interference, which passed
the House with bipartisan support. VIDEO
S.2242, Foreign Influence Reporting in Elections
Act, bipartisan legislation to require
presidential candidates to report contact from foreign state actors to the FBI.
VIDEO
S.1247, Duty to Report Act, legislation to require
candidates to report offers of assistance from foreign state actors to the FBI
and FEC. VIDEO
S.1540, Election Security Act, legislation to require
paper ballots and provide election security grants. VIDEO
S.2669, SHIELD Act, legislation to prevent
foreign interference in elections. VIDEO
S.1060, DETER Act, legislation to combat
foreign interference in our elections. VIDEO
S.1356, Honest Ads Act, bipartisan legislation to apply the
existing rules on disclosures in political ads on TV to those on social media
platforms. VIDEO
S.949, 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. VIDEO
S.890, Senate Cybersecurity Protection Act, bipartisan legislation to provide
cybersecurity assistance to the Senate. VIDEO
S.1834, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation
Protection Act, legislation
to stop practices designed to prevent Americans from voting. VIDEO
Health Care
S.1556, No Junk Plans Act, legislation to overturn
the Trump administration’s expansion of junk health insurance plans. VIDEO
H.R.986, Protecting Americans with Preexisting
Conditions Act,
which passed the House with bipartisan support. VIDEO
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. VIDEO
S.Res.94, a resolution asking the Department of Justice to
protect individuals with pre-existing conditions. VIDEO
S.Res.134, a resolution asking the Department of Justice to
defend the Affordable Care Act. VIDEO
S.1905, ENROLL Act, legislation to help
Americans find a quality health care plan.
S.455, MORE Health Education Act, legislation to improve
outreach on health care plan enrollment options.
S.916, MOMMA’s Act, legislation to reduce the
maternal and infant mortality rate.
S.1573, Veterans Preventive Health Coverage
Fairness Act, legislation
to provide veterans with coverage for preventive medication. VIDEO
S.Res.420, a resolution encouraging the President to expand
the list of medical conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange. VIDEO
Supporting and Protecting American Workers
H.R.7, Paycheck Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation to empower
women to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace, which passed the House
with bipartisan support. VIDEO
S.2254, Butch Lewis Act, legislation to protect
workers’ and retirees’ pensions. VIDEO
S.3104, Federal Employee Parental Leave Technical
Correction Act,
legislation to make a technical fix so that over 100,000 federal
employees—including at FAA and TSA—can receive the same paid family leave
benefits being provided to all other federal employees. VIDEO
Climate Change
S.1743, International Climate Accountability Act, bipartisan legislation to direct the
president to develop a plan for the US to meet its contributions under the
Paris Agreement.
S.J.Res.9, bipartisan legislation calling on
the United States and Congress to take immediate action on climate change.
S.Res.97, legislation to establish a Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis.
Other Critical Issues
H.R.8, Bipartisan Background Checks Act, bipartisan legislation to enact the
common sense, widely-supported expansion of background checks for gun
purchases, which passed the House with bipartisan support. VIDEO
S.2843, Violence Against Women Reauthorization
Act.
H.R.1644, Save the Internet Act, legislation to restore
net neutrality, which passed the House with bipartisan support. VIDEO
H.J.Res.77, a bipartisan resolution opposing
President Trump’s removal of US troops from northern Syria, which passed the
House with bipartisan support. VIDEO
S.2755, legislation to require a report on the
administration’s plan to defeat ISIS. VIDEO
S.2625, Syrian Allies Protection Act, legislation to make
special immigrant visas available to Syrian Kurds that fought U.S. forces in
the fight against ISIS.
H.R.549, Venezuela TPS Act, bipartisan legislation to protect
Venezuelans from deportation, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
S.2603, RELIEF Act, legislation to eliminate
the green card backlog.
S.Res.408, a resolution that recognizes the duty of Congress,
the Executive Branch, and the President to protect whistleblowers who stand up
for the Constitution. VIDEO
LEADER MCCONNELL HAS BURIED COMMONSENSE,
BIPARTISAN PROPOSALS PASSED BY THE HOUSE IN HIS LEGISLATIVE GRAVEYARD.
More than 300 bills passed by the House are
awaiting legislative action in the Senate, including:
Health Care
H.R.3, Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now
Act, legislation
to lower to prescription drug prices, 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.
Guns
H.R.8, Bipartisan Background Checks Act, bipartisan legislation to enact the
common sense, widely-supported expansion of background checks for gun
purchases, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.1112, Enhanced Background Checks Act, bipartisan legislation to close the
“Charleston Loophole” for gun purchases, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
Election Security and Voting Rights
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.2722, Securing America’s Federal Elections
Act,
legislation to help safeguard elections from foreign interference, which passed
the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.4617, SHIELD Act, legislation to prevent
foreign interference in elections.
H.R.4, Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation to combat
voter discrimination by restoring the strength of the Voting Rights Act, which
passed the House with bipartisan support.
Supporting and Protecting American Workers
H.R.582, Raise the Wage Act, legislation to increase
the federal minimum wage, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.7, Paycheck Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation to empower
women to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace, which passed the House
with bipartisan support.
H.R.397, Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions
Act, bipartisan legislation to protect
workers’ and retirees’ pensions, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.1500, Consumers First Act, legislation to strengthen
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
H.R.1423, Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act,
bipartisan legislation to eliminate
forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, and civil rights cases,
which passed the House with bipartisan support.
National Security
H.J.Res.77, a bipartisan resolution opposing
President Trump’s removal of US troops from northern Syria, which passed the
House with bipartisan support.
H.R.4695, Protect Against Conflict by Turkey Act, bipartisan legislation to impose sanctions
on Turkey for its military invasion of northern Syria, which passed the House
with bipartisan support.
H.R.2513, Corporate Transparency Act, bipartisan legislation to crack down
on money laundering by Russian oligarchs, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
Immigration
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.549, Venezuela TPS Act, bipartisan legislation to protect
Venezuelans from deportation, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.3239, Humanitarian Standards for Individuals
in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act, legislation to establish basic standards
of care for the children and families in the custody of US Customs and Border
Protection, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.2203, Homeland Security Improvement Act, legislation to establish
an ombudsman for border and immigration related concerns.
H.R.3525, U.S. Border Patrol Medical Screening
Standards Act, legislation
to ensure that migrant children and families receive basic medical screenings,
which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.2615, United States-Northern Triangle Enhanced
Engagement Act,
bipartisan legislation to promote
greater security and economic opportunity in El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras, which passed the House on a bipartisan voice vote.
H.R.5038, Farm Workforce Modernization Act, bipartisan legislation to improve the
H-2A guestworker program, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
Climate and Public Lands
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.1146, Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain
Protection Act, bipartisan legislation to block oil
and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which passed the House
with bipartisan support.
H.R.1941, Coastal and Marine Economies Protection
Act, bipartisan legislation to ban
offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, which passed the House
with bipartisan support.
H.R.205, Protecting and Securing Florida’s
Coastline Act, Republican-sponsored legislation to ban
offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.1373, Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, legislation to prevent
new uranium mining claims near the Grand Canyon, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.2181, Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection
Act, bipartisan legislation to prevent
future mineral leasing on near Chaco Canyon, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.823, Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy
Act, legislation
to designate wilderness areas in Colorado, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
Other Critical Issues
H.R.1644, Save the Internet Act, legislation to restore
net neutrality, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.840, Veterans' Access to Child Care Act, legislation to provide
child care assistance to veterans receiving medical services from the VA, which
passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.3224, Deborah Sampson Act, bipartisan legislation to improve
women veterans’ car, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.1585, Violence Against Women Reauthorization
Act, bipartisan legislation that passed
the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.5, Equality Act, bipartisan legislation to prevent
discrimination against the LGBTQ community, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
H.R.2534, Insider Trading Prohibition Act, legislation to establish a
statutory prohibition on insider trading, which passed the House with bipartisan support.
LEADER MCCONNELL HAS PROUDLY PROCLAIMED
HIMSELF THE “GRIM REAPER” FOR LEGISLATION TO HELP THE MIDDLE CLASS.
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “The one thing I
get to do that the other 99 don’t get it do, is decide what we’re going to do.”
[Remarks at Susan B. Anthony List, 6/3/19]
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “Donald Trump still
in the White House, and as long as I'm Majority Leader of the Senate, I
get to set the agenda, that's why I call myself the Grim Reaper.” [Fox
News Hannity, 5/9/19]
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “If I'm still the
majority leader of the Senate, think of me as the Grim Reaper. None of that
stuff is going to pass. None of it.” [Remarks in Owensboro, KY via CNN, 4/22/19]
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