May 18, 2019

Senate refuses to consider bills protecting elections from foreign interference

https://thinkprogress.org/senate-wont-consider-legislation-protect-elections-interference-dc608486a9f6/?fbclid=IwAR1sLH6PvaYk8FBDyXDDCQn76gvRKxICAgHN1Re_djn-aOxRCoccNLOJAN0
"The second sentence of the Mueller report states clearly that “the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.” The Senate, however, doesn’t plan to do anything about it. According to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), election security legislation is not on the agenda. “At this point I don’t see any likelihood that those bills would get to the floor if we mark them up,” Blunt said in a Senate Rules Committee meeting Wednesday. “I think the majority leader is of the view that this debate reaches no conclusion. And frankly, I think the extreme nature of H.R. 1 from the House makes it even less likely we are going to have that debate.” H.R. 1, known as the “For the People Act,” is a massive election reform bill that House Democrats passed earlier this year. Republican lawmakers and their conservative supporters have opposed the legislation, in part because it would add a lot of transparency to campaign funding, and in part because its crackdowns on voter suppression and partisan gerrymandering would dismantle the unfair advantages Republicans hold in many parts of the country. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has insisted that he won’t even allow a vote on the bill in the Senate, describing it as a “radical, half-baked socialist proposal.” But McConnell isn’t allowing votes on any legislation."