Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York informed fellow Democrats on Saturday that he intends to have Senate clerks read aloud the entire 1,000-page Republican-sponsored spending and tax bill once the GOP initiates a procedural vote to move it forward. This maneuver, aimed at slowing down the legislative process, is expected to consume roughly 12 hours and could stall President Trump’s legislative timeline by at least half a day.
According to a Democratic aide with knowledge of the floor strategy discussions, Schumer told members of his caucus to be ready to demand a full reading of the lengthy bill as soon as Republicans begin formal debate.
One of the pressing questions now facing Senate leadership is whether Republicans will press ahead with the reading through the night and into early Sunday, or allow staff to rest before launching into the next phase of the legislative process — a marathon session of amendment votes known as a vote-a-rama.
Republicans had reportedly anticipated that Schumer might use this tactic as a form of protest against the legislation.
Schumer’s move comes as Senate Republicans work against the clock to pass President Trump’s sweeping tax and spending proposal ahead of the July 4 deadline he set. GOP leaders had initially planned to hold a preliminary vote on Saturday afternoon, then proceed with up to 20 hours of debate, followed by a vote-a-rama involving potentially unlimited amendments.
Now, due to Schumer’s intervention, the anticipated start of the vote-a-rama will be delayed.
Meanwhile, it remains uncertain whether Republicans have secured enough votes to advance their version of the bill. With only a slim margin for defections, GOP leaders can afford to lose no more than three votes — and three Republican senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have publicly committed to voting against it.
{Matzav.com}
But Obamas blll you have to pass it to know what it says and cant read it first accept it blindly. Evil
Good point!
That was Nasty Pelosi and her evil subjects in the demonrat party. Her husband Paul is one murderous crook.
I’m no fan of Schumer but would you rather have him replaced by AOC? When Schumer acted responsibly and agreed to a spending gap bill to avoid a government extension, the Democratic Party turned on him completely and he almost lost his leadership position in the Senate. Since then, Schumer remains deeply unpopular in the Democratic Party and polls show him being trounced by AOC in a potential primary match up. Schumer has no choice, if he doesn’t make petty moves like demanding a reading of the entire bill which will accomplish nothing but a 12 hour delay, his party will accuse him by of being weak against Trump. However, in the end nothing will save Schumer. The Democratic Party has been lost to the radical anti-Semitic left. The Muslims whom he publicly cried for when Trump enacted his travel ban during his first term will not vote for him anyway.