Shelby blocks fast track for Darfur bill

Senate Democrats attempted just before recess to fast-track a Darfur divestment bill overwhelmingly approved in the House, but Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) objected on behalf of several anonymous GOP senators, according to advocates supporting the bill.

{mosads}The House’s Darfur bill would empower states to divest their holdings in companies doing business with the Sudanese government, considered by the Bush administration to be complicit in the Darfur genocide. The bill, approved on a 418-1 vote, would also block federal contracts with companies linked to Sudan.

“Congress has had three years too long to take action,” said Allyson Neville, advocacy associate at the Genocide Intervention Network. “The [bill] puts real pressure on Khartoum. Why would the administration or any senator delay its passage?”

While the Senate holdup prevents unanimous passage, the Banking Committee, on which Shelby is the ranking Republican, is likely to hold hearings on the Darfur bill in the fall. Neville echoed Senate GOP aides in describing the objections as driven by process more than substance.

“It’s my understanding that there was widespread objection from Republican senators to this bill being hotlined [for passage] because it hasn’t been fully explored,” one GOP aide said. “We don’t know what the implications would be.”