Senate

Reid: McConnell pandering with abortion bill

by Jordain Carney - 09/21/15 2:50 PM ET

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is slamming Republicans for holding a procedural vote tied to new abortion restrictions, suggesting that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is playing to “extremists in his own party.”

“The 20-week bill is just a way for Senator McConnell to pander to extremists in his own party who are once again holding the government hostage so they can attack the health of women,” Reid said from the Senate floor on Monday afternoon.

{mosads}The Senate is expected to take a procedural vote Tuesday on ending debate on proceeding to the House-passed abortion legislation, which would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Republicans will need 60 votes to win the vote. Supporters face an uphill battle; a similar Senate bill from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is running for president, only attracted 45 co-sponsors.

Reid suggested Monday that Democrats would block the proposal, saying that “this legislation is going nowhere. The Republican leader knows this. Every senator here knows this.

“The bill is just another box to check for the Republican leader and his senators. It’s a pretense to prove their extreme conservative credentials,” he added. “It’s all about political gamesmanship. It comes at the expense of America’s women’s health.”

Reid and other Senate Democrats have slammed Republicans for focusing on the abortion bill instead of taking up legislation to keep the government funded ahead of an end-of-the-month deadline to avoid a shutdown.

Senators have slightly more than a week — and only a handful of days in session — to pass a short-term funding bill. While lawmakers could get unanimous consent to speed up a spending bill, one senator can force the Senate to go through time-consuming procedures.

The Nevada Democrat added Monday that “we have precious little time” and that Republicans are either “simply ignoring or are in complete denial of the pending fiscal crisis.”

“Instead of coming to grips with the reality of the situation and working with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown, Republicans seem more interested in political theater,” he said.

Tags Harry Reid Lindsey Graham Mitch McConnell