The Senate struggle to pass the overwhelmingly popular bill underscores how difficult it is for Congress to unite behind the simplest measure as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle continue to urge the United States to do more to help Ukraine. during the crisis. “Obviously, we’re dealing with – guess what – a process in the United States Senate,” said Senate Finance Minister Ron Weiden, an Oregon Democrat. “Unless you follow it regularly, it ‘s hard to appreciate the fact that sometimes it’ s hard to order a 7-Up here … People say, ‘No! We will have coke. We will have Dr. Peppers! “” “ The bill is almost certain to become law. The only question is when. He could oust the Senate just this week or near the end of April. In the Senate, any senator can block a quick vote, as the rules require all 100 to agree to a one-hour voting schedule. If there is no unanimous agreement, then the leader of the majority of the Senate can take steps to organize a vote to overcome the objection for several days. In this case, Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, refused to vote until changes were made to the language of the bill on how to combat human rights abuses. And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Sumer refused to use the time to overcome opposition, choosing instead to schedule this week’s vote on executive nominations and use next week to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson in Supreme Court. The senators, meanwhile, are likely to return home for the week this Thursday – according to their usual schedule – and begin a two-week Easter break on April 11th. On Tuesday afternoon, there was some optimism that an agreement could be reached. Paul and Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin were in talks to see if they could reach a consensus to facilitate the passage of the bill. These negotiations could change the language of the bill to please Paul. But amending the bill would force Parliament to reconsider Senate changes, further delaying the final vote. “I think there is a possibility,” Paul said of reaching an agreement with his colleagues. “They want to succeed. “They have a lot of other things to do, so it’s time for me to reach a compromise.” Whether this will happen remains to be seen. “Well, I do not like the fact that it is delayed,” said South Dakota Minority Senator John Thun. “I think that if they had taken the bill coming from Parliament and put it on the floor and used a regular order, it would have passed by a large margin.” The bill will allow higher tariff rates on some imports from the country and Belarus, where Russia launched some of its troops. However, Paul blocked a quick vote on it last week, backing provisions that would extend the Global Magnitsky Act, a 2016 law that allows the president to punish human rights abusers. Paul argues that language is too broad and can be used by the US government to impose sanctions on a wide range of actions that have nothing to do with human rights violations. “There is a very easy compromise,” Paul said. “We have to define what serious human rights violations are. Otherwise, we have a definition from which you can drive a truck and you can impose sanctions on anyone in the world.” Democrats have so far resisted calls for Paul’s changes, saying the Magnitsky Act language in law reflects what was enshrined in an executive order under former President Donald Trump. They have offered a simple amendment to Paul, which he has not yet accepted, as they would probably fail. “This is the language of Donald Trump’s executive order that they are protesting,” Cardin said Tuesday. “I do not really understand their problem.”
Democrats in talks with Paul for a possible deal
Republicans were quick to point out that Sumer could have taken matters into his own hands if he had made the bill a higher priority. On Tuesday, Sumer declined to explain to CNN why he did not take the procedural steps to pass the bill this week and instead scheduled ballot papers. “Senator Cardin and Senator Paul are currently negotiating to see if they can reach a compromise,” said Schumer, a sign that Democrats hope an agreement could be reached. While Paul is the only supporter of the bill, some Republicans have blamed Sumer for not putting it on the floor earlier. “Sumer knows how to do it,” said Texas Sen. John Cornin, a member of the GOP leadership. “He can complain about it or he can do something about it.” But other Republicans have expressed frustration with Paul’s objections, which come as the party accuses the Biden administration of not doing enough to counter Russia’s attack on a European democracy. “For some of the Senate proceedings, one person can lock it,” Thune said. “And so things have definitely slowed down, which again, is unfortunate, given that I think the message we are trying to send here.” The Biden government has banned oil imports from Russia, restricted some exports to Russia, imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs, pledged to receive up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and approved more than $ 1 billion in humanitarian aid and $ 1 billion in humanitarian aid. in weapons, ammunition and more “. security »help. Congress has also approved $ 13.6 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. But Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell focused much of his speech Tuesday on hitting Biden for his messages during the conflict. He criticized Biden for saying that Putin “could not stay in power”, only to claim that the White House did not support regime change and did not approve the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine. “The savage alternations between the overly cautious, almost mocking attitude of government officials and the president’s emotionally independent professional are becoming dizzying,” McConnell said. Asked about the expulsion of the Republican colleague from Kentucky, McConnell said they “hope” they can move forward with the original bipartisan plan. “We are not there yet,” McConnell admitted. “But I think there is a widespread feeling that we have to do this and I hope we find a way forward.” Paul is known to have stopped the work of the Senate on his own. It temporarily expires key sections of the PATRIOT Act in 2015, caused a brief partial closure of the government in 2018, delayed a bill in 2020 to make lynching a federal crime, and blocked polls in 2021 to provide Israel with $ 1 billion. . (After negotiations, he finally backed the anti-lynching bill that became law on Tuesday.) Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Treasury Committee, said he was unaware of any concerns about the bill other than those of Paul. Asked if he had spoken to Paul about the rejection of his objection, North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr said, “This does not always work with Senator Paul.” “I think it will pass by an overwhelming majority,” said Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Tumey of the bill. Paul said Monday that the Magnitsky Act narrowly defined human rights abuses in “things we would all understand” compared to the Senate bill, which he said would extend the president’s power to address broader human rights abuses. . “The United Nations believes that the Internet is a right,” said Paul. “So you could impose sanctions on someone for not giving free internet, not having an abortion, not giving free housing?” Asked if he would accept an amendment, Paul said: “I have the power to make them do it”, before attacking the way the Democratic-led Senate operates and admitting that he would “probably” lose that position. “Well, the thing is, they run this place with an iron fist, you never get amendments,” Paul said. “If you receive amendments, you will lose. So it’s like they want to drop you a coupon to get you out of the way.” “We will have a real discussion and I will probably lose at this point,” he added. “But I’ve taken advantage of a few weeks.” CNN’s Ted Barrett and Morgan Reimer contributed to this report.
