This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/26/senate-sunday-ted-cruz-lie-mitch-mcconnell
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Mitch McConnell denies Ted Cruz's claim of 'special deal' behind Senate vote | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| The Senate was on Sunday set to meet in a rare session. On the agenda were efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s healthcare law and reviving the federal Export-Import Bank. | The Senate was on Sunday set to meet in a rare session. On the agenda were efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s healthcare law and reviving the federal Export-Import Bank. |
| Related: Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz could face off in debate – under Senate rules | Related: Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz could face off in debate – under Senate rules |
| Both are amendments to a must-pass highway bill the Senate is trying to complete ahead of a 31 July deadline. If Congress doesn’t act by then, states will lose money for highway and transit projects in the middle of summer construction season. | Both are amendments to a must-pass highway bill the Senate is trying to complete ahead of a 31 July deadline. If Congress doesn’t act by then, states will lose money for highway and transit projects in the middle of summer construction season. |
| Republicans have voted numerous times to repeal all or part of Obama’s health law, the Affordable Care Act, and their latest effort is not expected to attract the 60 votes needed to move forward. But Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said he was bringing it to a vote as a sweetener for Republicans, who also will have to vote on renewing the Export-Import Bank. | Republicans have voted numerous times to repeal all or part of Obama’s health law, the Affordable Care Act, and their latest effort is not expected to attract the 60 votes needed to move forward. But Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said he was bringing it to a vote as a sweetener for Republicans, who also will have to vote on renewing the Export-Import Bank. |
| The little-known federal agency makes and guarantees loans to help foreign customers buy US goods. The bank has become a rallying cry for conservatives, who oppose it as corporate welfare. But the bank commands the votes to prevail in the Senate, thanks to support from Democrats and some Republicans whose states are home to large employers such as Boeing and Caterpillar that sell worldwide. | The little-known federal agency makes and guarantees loans to help foreign customers buy US goods. The bank has become a rallying cry for conservatives, who oppose it as corporate welfare. But the bank commands the votes to prevail in the Senate, thanks to support from Democrats and some Republicans whose states are home to large employers such as Boeing and Caterpillar that sell worldwide. |
| McConnell committed several weeks ago to allowing the bank to come to a vote on the highway bill. | McConnell committed several weeks ago to allowing the bank to come to a vote on the highway bill. |
| “Ex-Im shouldn’t be the only vote we take on this bill, and under the compromise I just filed, it won’t be,” McConnell said on Friday as he set up the votes. “First, it allows a vote on an amendment to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, something nearly every Democrat wants. Second, it allows a vote on an amendment that would repeal Obamacare, something nearly every Republican wants, and something we will continue to fight for. | “Ex-Im shouldn’t be the only vote we take on this bill, and under the compromise I just filed, it won’t be,” McConnell said on Friday as he set up the votes. “First, it allows a vote on an amendment to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, something nearly every Democrat wants. Second, it allows a vote on an amendment that would repeal Obamacare, something nearly every Republican wants, and something we will continue to fight for. |
| “That’s a much fairer way forward,” said McConnell. | “That’s a much fairer way forward,” said McConnell. |
| But McConnell’s move drew an extraordinary denunciation from fellow Republican senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a presidential candidate. Cruz dismissed the healthcare vote as a meaningless “show vote” and accused McConnell of lying to him in denying that the leader had made a deal to bring the Export-Import Bank to a vote. | But McConnell’s move drew an extraordinary denunciation from fellow Republican senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a presidential candidate. Cruz dismissed the healthcare vote as a meaningless “show vote” and accused McConnell of lying to him in denying that the leader had made a deal to bring the Export-Import Bank to a vote. |
| Related: Ted Cruz accuses Mitch McConnell of 'flat-out lie' in rare Senate floor attack | Related: Ted Cruz accuses Mitch McConnell of 'flat-out lie' in rare Senate floor attack |
| Cruz’s inflammatory comments on the Senate floor on Friday, which McConnell ignored, suggested that bank opponents will not go down without a fight. | Cruz’s inflammatory comments on the Senate floor on Friday, which McConnell ignored, suggested that bank opponents will not go down without a fight. |
| Even if supporters prevail in adding the bank to the highway bill in the Senate, the legislation faces an uncertain future in the House, where there is strong opposition to the bank as well as to the underlying highway measure. | Even if supporters prevail in adding the bank to the highway bill in the Senate, the legislation faces an uncertain future in the House, where there is strong opposition to the bank as well as to the underlying highway measure. |
| The Senate’s version of the highway bill, which is on track to pass later in the week, sets policy and authorises transportation programmes for six years. | The Senate’s version of the highway bill, which is on track to pass later in the week, sets policy and authorises transportation programmes for six years. |
| The House has passed a five-month extension of transportation programmes without the Export-Import Bank attached, and House leaders of both parties are reluctant to take up the Senate’s version. | The House has passed a five-month extension of transportation programmes without the Export-Import Bank attached, and House leaders of both parties are reluctant to take up the Senate’s version. |
| Complicating matters, Congress is entering its final days of legislative work before its annual August vacation, raising the prospect of unpredictable last-minute moves to resolve the disputes on the highway bill and the Export-Import Bank. | Complicating matters, Congress is entering its final days of legislative work before its annual August vacation, raising the prospect of unpredictable last-minute moves to resolve the disputes on the highway bill and the Export-Import Bank. |