Schumer rejects Manchin's 'strategic pause' on $3.5T megabill

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: Politico

Chuck Schumer is brushing off Joe Manchin’s call for a “strategic pause” on Democrats’ spending agenda, vowing that the party will not slow its pursuit of a $3.5 trillion bill tackling climate change, tax policy and beefing up social programs.

“We’re moving full speed ahead,” Schumer told reporters on Wednesday morning. “We want to keep going forward. We think getting this done is so important for the American people.”

The Senate majority leader's remarks signaled little public concern with Manchin’s hardline position against the $3.5 trillion target as Democrats push to finish the bill early this fall. Schumer has set a soft target of Sept. 15 for unveiling draft text, which will surely prompt a more vigorous discussion within the 50-member caucus about what, if anything, Democrats are willing to cut from their plan to satisfy moderates like Manchin.

Manchin last week published an op-ed urging his party to slow down its work on the bill it aims to pass along party lines using the budget reconciliation process, which can evade a GOP filibuster but will need every Democratic vote in a 50-50 Senate. Given his concerns about debt and inflation, Manchin wrote in the Wall Street Journal that he “won’t support a $3.5 trillion bill, or anywhere near that level of additional spending, without greater clarity.” Those comments followed a vow from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) that she would not support $3.5 trilion.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/schumer-rejects-manchin-s-strategic-pause-on-3-5t-megabill/ar-AAOe9gn?li=BBnbfcQ&ocid=DELLDHP

[Marthe48]

1. At least we have a few real Dems elected to office

and that's all I have to say about that.

[Bayard]

2. Chuck says:

Joe Manchin--You're not going to hold us hostage. Neither is Ms. Sinema.

So, which 2 rethuglicans can we swing our way?

The filibuster has got to go. McConnell did it when they wanted to shove something through. Do it, and take no prisoners!

[robbob]

10. What? You can "temporarily" turn off the filibuster?

How did McConnell do that?

[Bayard]

12. Senate Pulls 'Nuclear' Trigger

"This is how the Senate changes — not with a bang, but with a motion to overturn the ruling of the chair.

By a simple majority vote, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., set a new precedent in the Senate that will ease the confirmation for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch on Friday, after 30 more hours of debate on the floor.

"This will be the first, and last, partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court justice," said McConnell in a closing floor speech.

Senate Democrats voted against ending debate on Gorsuch's nomination on a near party-line vote, leaving Republicans shy the 60-vote hurdle required by Senate rules to move on to a final confirmation vote.

Democrats opposed Gorsuch for a variety of reasons, including his conservative judicial philosophy, dissatisfaction with his answers during his confirmation hearings and a simmering resentment towards McConnell's decision to block any consideration of President Obama's nominee Merrick Garland last year.

"We believe that what Republicans did to Merrick Garland was worse than a filibuster," said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

So McConnell then, as promised, used the power of his position and with all of his GOP colleagues lined up behind him, to essentially change the rules of the Senate — to lower that threshold on Supreme Court nominations to end debate from 60 to 51 votes. The change did not affect the legislative filibuster.

McConnell made a point of order that ending debate on the nomination only requires a simple majority. The motion was not sustained by the chair because Senate rules required 60 votes, so McConnell then made a motion to overturn that ruling. And once that motion passed on a party-line vote, the Gorsuch nomination only needed 51 votes to clear the hurdle.

That mild-sounding parliamentary maneuver has the most destructive nickname, "the nuclear option," because it contains sweeping impact on the Senate, President Trump and all of his successors — and the nation as a whole.

By essentially eliminating the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees — an extension of the 2013 nuclear option triggered by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., for all lower court and executive branch nominees — all presidential nominees will now face a far easier path navigating through the Senate confirmation process. It also could make it easier for presidents to appoint more overtly partisan justices to the Supreme Court."

https://www.npr.org/2017/04/06/522847700/senate-pulls-nuclear-trigger-to-ease-gorsuch-confirmation

[FoxNewsSucks]

3. Manchin's just protecting billionaires and corporations.

[FBaggins]

4. How will he "reject" it if Manchin doesn't agree?

That's the second article making it seem like there was a formal request and the person in charge had requested it.

But how would that work in this case?

[JudyM]

5. Someone ought to publish a list of spending items

that Manchin has been in favor of, that are much less important than the items in this bill.

[Snoopy 7]

9. here's a start

This is against a Democratic President:
https://democraticunderground.com/1016301350

[JudyM]

11. That link is about LA police brutality.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

6. With "friends" like Manchin and Sinema, who needs Republicans?

The GQP celebrates their intransigence.

[LiberalFighter]

7. Slow down? Biden introduced it in April. 5 months ago.

[littlemissmartypants]

8. Manchin and his ilk can either get on the bus or be left behind.

And hopefully, they will be run over by the next bus coming through and maybe that will provide some clarity.