Schumer, McConnell spar over Dems’ S1 election bill during rare committee appearance: ‘Shame!’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Wednesday launched broadsides in opposition to one another in a listening to on S.1, the controversial Democratic-backed elections bill that would make sweeping adjustments to how Americans elect their leaders. 

“Shame, shame, shame,” Schumer, D-N.Y., stated whereas referring to GOP efforts to tighten voting guidelines on the state degree within the wake of the 2020 election. He stated these efforts are a key purpose why the bill, formally titled the For the People Act, is required. 

McConnell, R-Ky., and Schumer are members of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which is holding the listening to. It’s rare for Senate leaders to take part in a legislative listening to in the way in which each are Wednesday. 

“Our move to equality, our move to fairness has been inexorable. But it didn’t happen on its own, it took mighty movements and decades of fraught” political fights, Schumer stated. “I would like to ask my Republican colleagues, why are you so afraid of democracy?”

SENATE SET FOR CLASH ON HOT-BUTTON BILL DEMS SAY BOOSTS VOTING RIGHTS, GOP DECRIES AS POWER GRAB

He stated if Republicans get their approach on “these vicious and often racist actions, third-world autocracy like Erdogan’s Turkey” is “on its way.”

McConnell shot again, saying it’s Democrats who ought to be ashamed over how they’ve dealt with the voting bill. He cited a provision within the bill that may change the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from a physique with three Republicans and three Democrats to at least one with two members from every occasion and a 3rd unaffiliated member appointed by the president. 

“Talk about shame. If anybody ought to be feeling any shame around here, it’s turning the FEC into a partisan prosecutor, the majority controlled by the president’s party, to harass and intimidate the other side,” McConnell stated. “That’s what you ought to be ashamed about.”

He additionally warned the bill is “an invitation to chaos” that state officers wouldn’t be capable of implement earlier than the 2022 midterms, with mandates on all the pieces from how they will run early voting to the kind of adhesive allowed for poll envelopes. 

“This is clearly an effort by one party to rewrite the rules of our political system, but even more immediately it would create an implementation nightmare … that would drown state and local officials,” McConnell stated. 

He additionally stated there’s cash within the bill that may find yourself going to marketing campaign spending on “attack ads, bumper stickers, buttons and balloons.”

MCCONNELL SAYS DEMS TRYING TO USE POWER TO HELP ‘WIN ELECTIONS IN PERPETUITY’ WITH HR1, DC STATEHOOD

The listening to additionally featured a conflict between committee Chair Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Ranking Member Sen. Roy Blount, R-Mo., over “fair play” and talking time. 

At the outset of the listening to, Blount stated that Democrats modified the foundations for witnesses on the final second and blindsided them with the textual content of the bill. 

“This committee has a long tradition of respect for the minority party,” Blount stated. He stated he hoped it will likely be “restored.” Klobuchar responded by noting related payments had been launched in Congress up to now and that S.1 “closely tracks” with a House bill launched in January. 

Then later within the listening to, Blount minimize off Brennan Center for Justice President Michael Waldman as he answered a query, to which Klobuchar objected. She gave Waldman further time after Blount accomplished his questioning, to which Blount objected.

“The five minutes is mine. It is not Mr. Waldman’s,” he stated. 

Klobuchar responded by saying she’d given Blount further time as he spoke and that it’s her “prerogative as chair” to present the witness further time. 

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., then took time to slam Klobuchar over her dealing with of the alternate for a number of moments, although most of his feedback weren’t audible as his microphone was not on. 

“Senator Blount was well within his rights to cut that off, to move on to other matter,” he stated. “But if the chair in this committee on this important day… is going to run this committee in a way that I’ve never seen in 13 years then I wil l point out that this is quite irregular.”

Klobuchar then dedicated to being “nothing but more than fair as we go forward” whereas nonetheless reserving the appropriate to increase talking time if she desires to. 

S.1 and its companion laws, H.R.1, which handed the House with solely Democratic votes, would additionally ban states from requiring picture ID to vote; elevate boundaries for states to clear voter rolls; require states to supply drop bins for 45 days earlier than an election and far more. 

A bunch of 14 different Senate Republicans is taking part in a information convention later Wednesday railing in opposition to S.1, the equal of greater than 20% of their caucus. 

“That’s another kind of metric that tells you how fired up they are,” a GOP aide stated of the sentiment amongst GOP senators on S.1.

20 STATE AGS DENOUNCE DEMOCRATS HR1 AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Republicans out of Congress have extensively panned the bill as effectively. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in an interview with Fox News Wednesday slammed the bill as “crisis opportunism” on behalf of Democrats. 

“They are using the justification of the 2020 experience — pandemic and challenges that some states had — as an excuse to push through on a completely party-line vote, a list of agenda items that they’ve wanted to do for a long time,” LaRose stated. He added that as Americans be taught extra in regards to the bill within the listening to Wednesday they may “start to realize that it is a left-wing activist dream list.” 

One of the provisions he listed to assist that assertion is the change within the make-up of the FEC. LaRose and different Republicans have stated this might make the FEC “partisan.” LaRose additionally raised constitutional considerations in regards to the federal authorities dictating how states run their elections.

LaRose additionally famous that the bill consists of broad statements supporting statehood for Washington, D.C.

“What the heck that has to do with improving elections?” he stated. 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on the listening to Wednesday raised his voice for many of his feedback as he accused Democrats of pushing the “single most dangerous bill this committee has ever” thought-about. 

He stated that the bill would promote “widespread fraud and illegal voting” particularly by registering all individuals who get driver’s licenses and attend public universities, which many unlawful immigrants do. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita agreed. 

“It would dilute the votes of every citizen who is supposed to be voting,” he stated. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, nonetheless, stated below questioning from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., that her state’s automated voter registration system is ready to maintain unlawful immigrants from being registered to vote. 

“We actually have six checks in place … to ensure that only valid citizens are being registered,” she stated. The system has not been a “big burden” on the state, she stated, and was “enormously successful.” 

Merkley stated that Cruz’s warning was simply “hyperbolic speech” that ought to be discounted. 

Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in the meantime lauded S.1 in her opening assertion Wednesday. 

“Efforts have been made to suppress the vote. Efforts have been made to introduce bills that would suppress the vote,” Klobuchar stated of GOP-backed payments on the state degree. “A dozen states including Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania, have introduced legislation to limit access to vote by mail.” 

“These are real threats to our democracy and the For The People Act takes them head on in a common sense way,” she stated.