Senate Set To Finally Pass Anti-Trafficking Bill; In Return GOP Caves On Voting for AG Nominee
Today in Washington, D.C. - April 22, 2015
The House reconvened today at 10 AM. Potential bills to be considered:
H.R. 1560 - "To improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats, and for other purposes.
H.R. 1731 - "To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance multi-directional sharing of information related to cybersecurity risks and strengthen privacy and civil liberties protections, and for other purposes."
H.R. 1195 — "To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish advisory boards, and for other purposes."
Yesterday the House passed:
H.R. 471 (Voice Vote) — "To improve enforcement efforts related to prescription drug diversion and abuse, and for other purposes."
S. 535 (Voice Vote) — "To promote energy efficiency."
The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today and resumed consideration of S. 178, the bipartisan Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
At 11 AM, the Senate voted 43-55 to reject an amendment from Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) which would have stripped the Hyde amendment language from the bill. The Senate then voted 98-0 to adopt the amendment from Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) which changes funding details but still prevents funds collected by this legislation from being spent on abortions.
At 2 PM, the Senate will begin a series of votes on amendments offered to the bill by Sens. Cornyn, Leahy, Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Mark Kirk (R-IL).
Following votes on those amendments, and additional 11 amendments will be considered by voice vote. Upon completion of all the amendments, the Senate will then vote on final passage of S. 178.
Last night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General. A cloture vote is scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act will finally pass this afternoon after weeks of delay due to multiple filibusters by Senate Democrats.
“We’re relieved we can finally say it will pass today, and that the Senate won’t violate longstanding, bipartisan Hyde precedent in doing so. But let me be as clear as possible: there was never a logically consistent rationale for the filibuster that held this bill up, and the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service explicitly backed up what Republicans had long said when it confirmed that there are no private funds in this bill.
“Thankfully, the filibuster is finally at an end. Today is a new day. Today we’ll finally vote to deliver much-needed resources for the victims of modern slavery, with Hyde expressly applying to all funds used for health and medical services just as it was in the original bill. That’s nothing new, it’s simply a reaffirmation of the status quo,” he said.
Believe it or not, Vox actually has the best summary of what happened: “In a sense, it's a compromise. In another, more accurate sense, Republicans won.”
Politico provides some key details noting, “It took six weeks, but Democratic leaders ended up cutting a face-saving deal Tuesday that will clear the way for the trafficking bill . . . .”
According to Politico, “Amy Klobuchar suffered weeks of grief for an error that sparked a battle over abortion in the Senate and prolonged Loretta Lynch’s wait to become attorney general. . . . [W]hen she and fellow Democrats failed to notice an anti-abortion provision in the bill, the legislation ended up prompting weeks of partisan bickering and tension within the Senate Democratic Caucus. . . . The strain of the episode took a toll on Democrats. At one point, Klobuchar — along with Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Maria Cantwell of Washington — got in a heated discussion during a closed-door lunch over how the anti-abortion provision had been overlooked. . . .
“The cause of the standoff was a provision in the trafficking bill to bar money from a restitution fund for victims from a privately funded restitution account being used to pay for abortions. The bill sailed through the Senate Judiciary Committee — of which Klobuchar is a member and Leahy the top Democrat — with no opposition on Feb. 26. It came to the Senate floor with no dissent on March 9. It was only then that Democrats noticed the abortion language. But it was too late for them to block the bill from coming to the Senate floor, leaving them the choice of swallowing their mistake and voting for the bill or opposing a measure to help sympathetic crime victims. Democrats chose to vote it down five times on the Senate floor . . . .”
Politico explains the solution that was agreed on this week: “The restitution fund now has two revenue streams, one from traffickers and another from the federal government’s general fund. The money from traffickers can’t be used for medical procedures, while the general fund money is subject to Hyde Amendment restrictions on abortion, like all other federal spending.”
The Dallas Morning News breaks it down a bit more. <>“The deal creates two different streams of revenue for trafficking victims . . . . One made up of fines from convicted traffickers will cover victims’ legal fees and aid, while money already approved for community health centers covers medical costs. Any money used for medical purposes is still subject to Hyde Amendment restrictions, which ban taxpayer-funded abortions except in cases of rape, incest or life-threatening danger to the mother. The fund collected from trafficking fines isn’t subject to the Hyde Amendment, but cannot be used for medical purposes. While Democrats fought off expanding what the Hyde Amendment covers, they ultimately agreed to a bill with abortion restrictions, which is why they blocked the bill originally.”
In other words, as Vox put it, “In a sense, it's a compromise. In another, more accurate sense, Republicans won.”
Leader McConnell concluded his remarks saying, “We know that today’s outcome would not have been possible without the herculean efforts of my colleague Senator Cornyn. He was determined to see justice for victims. He negotiated across the aisle in good faith. He never gave up, not even in the bleakest hour. And today, the real focus of all our efforts — the victims of trafficking and modern slavery — can see that help is finally on the way. . . . We look forward to this bill’s passage in the House and its signature by the president.”
Tags: Senate, sex trafficking bill, Loretta Lynch To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
The House reconvened today at 10 AM. Potential bills to be considered:
H.R. 1560 - "To improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats, and for other purposes.
H.R. 1731 - "To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance multi-directional sharing of information related to cybersecurity risks and strengthen privacy and civil liberties protections, and for other purposes."
H.R. 1195 — "To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish advisory boards, and for other purposes."
Yesterday the House passed:
H.R. 471 (Voice Vote) — "To improve enforcement efforts related to prescription drug diversion and abuse, and for other purposes."
S. 535 (Voice Vote) — "To promote energy efficiency."
The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today and resumed consideration of S. 178, the bipartisan Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
At 11 AM, the Senate voted 43-55 to reject an amendment from Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) which would have stripped the Hyde amendment language from the bill. The Senate then voted 98-0 to adopt the amendment from Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) which changes funding details but still prevents funds collected by this legislation from being spent on abortions.
At 2 PM, the Senate will begin a series of votes on amendments offered to the bill by Sens. Cornyn, Leahy, Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Mark Kirk (R-IL).
Following votes on those amendments, and additional 11 amendments will be considered by voice vote. Upon completion of all the amendments, the Senate will then vote on final passage of S. 178.
Last night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General. A cloture vote is scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act will finally pass this afternoon after weeks of delay due to multiple filibusters by Senate Democrats.
“We’re relieved we can finally say it will pass today, and that the Senate won’t violate longstanding, bipartisan Hyde precedent in doing so. But let me be as clear as possible: there was never a logically consistent rationale for the filibuster that held this bill up, and the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service explicitly backed up what Republicans had long said when it confirmed that there are no private funds in this bill.
“Thankfully, the filibuster is finally at an end. Today is a new day. Today we’ll finally vote to deliver much-needed resources for the victims of modern slavery, with Hyde expressly applying to all funds used for health and medical services just as it was in the original bill. That’s nothing new, it’s simply a reaffirmation of the status quo,” he said.
Believe it or not, Vox actually has the best summary of what happened: “In a sense, it's a compromise. In another, more accurate sense, Republicans won.”
Politico provides some key details noting, “It took six weeks, but Democratic leaders ended up cutting a face-saving deal Tuesday that will clear the way for the trafficking bill . . . .”
According to Politico, “Amy Klobuchar suffered weeks of grief for an error that sparked a battle over abortion in the Senate and prolonged Loretta Lynch’s wait to become attorney general. . . . [W]hen she and fellow Democrats failed to notice an anti-abortion provision in the bill, the legislation ended up prompting weeks of partisan bickering and tension within the Senate Democratic Caucus. . . . The strain of the episode took a toll on Democrats. At one point, Klobuchar — along with Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Maria Cantwell of Washington — got in a heated discussion during a closed-door lunch over how the anti-abortion provision had been overlooked. . . .
“The cause of the standoff was a provision in the trafficking bill to bar money from a restitution fund for victims from a privately funded restitution account being used to pay for abortions. The bill sailed through the Senate Judiciary Committee — of which Klobuchar is a member and Leahy the top Democrat — with no opposition on Feb. 26. It came to the Senate floor with no dissent on March 9. It was only then that Democrats noticed the abortion language. But it was too late for them to block the bill from coming to the Senate floor, leaving them the choice of swallowing their mistake and voting for the bill or opposing a measure to help sympathetic crime victims. Democrats chose to vote it down five times on the Senate floor . . . .”
Politico explains the solution that was agreed on this week: “The restitution fund now has two revenue streams, one from traffickers and another from the federal government’s general fund. The money from traffickers can’t be used for medical procedures, while the general fund money is subject to Hyde Amendment restrictions on abortion, like all other federal spending.”
The Dallas Morning News breaks it down a bit more. <>“The deal creates two different streams of revenue for trafficking victims . . . . One made up of fines from convicted traffickers will cover victims’ legal fees and aid, while money already approved for community health centers covers medical costs. Any money used for medical purposes is still subject to Hyde Amendment restrictions, which ban taxpayer-funded abortions except in cases of rape, incest or life-threatening danger to the mother. The fund collected from trafficking fines isn’t subject to the Hyde Amendment, but cannot be used for medical purposes. While Democrats fought off expanding what the Hyde Amendment covers, they ultimately agreed to a bill with abortion restrictions, which is why they blocked the bill originally.”
In other words, as Vox put it, “In a sense, it's a compromise. In another, more accurate sense, Republicans won.”
Leader McConnell concluded his remarks saying, “We know that today’s outcome would not have been possible without the herculean efforts of my colleague Senator Cornyn. He was determined to see justice for victims. He negotiated across the aisle in good faith. He never gave up, not even in the bleakest hour. And today, the real focus of all our efforts — the victims of trafficking and modern slavery — can see that help is finally on the way. . . . We look forward to this bill’s passage in the House and its signature by the president.”
Tags: Senate, sex trafficking bill, Loretta Lynch To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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