AOC slams filibuster: Nations around globe ‘pass legislation with majorities, and they’re fine’
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed the Senate filibuster on Sunday and insisted nations around the globe are “fine” with using simple majorities.
Debate over the use of the filibuster has intensified with Democrats in recent weeks after stiff challenges to H.R. 1, a Democratic bill to overhaul the nation’s election system, by Republicans have left the legislation doomed to die in Congress. Ocasio-Cortez took aim at a recent op-ed by Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, which defended the filibuster process as a way to counter Republican majorities in the future.
“To those who want to eliminate the legislative filibuster to expand health-care access or retirement benefits: Would it be good for our country if we did, only to later see that legislation replaced by legislation dividing Medicaid into block grants, slashing earned Social Security and Medicare benefits, or defunding women’s reproductive health services?” Sinema’s op-ed read in part.
BIDEN INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN REIGNITES TENSIONS WITH THE LEFT
Ocasio-Cortez slammed her colleague's reasoning and indicated that it’s “saying, ‘Well, why do anything at all in case something in the future may change it?’”
“Political systems all across the country — I mean, all across the world — pass legislation with majorities, and they’re fine, and frankly, here’s the thing ... Democratic legislation, once enacted, is popular,” the New York Democrat said on a segment of NBC’s Meet the Press. “Republicans have tried to gut Social Security, they’ve tried to reverse the ACA, they’ve tried to claw back on legislation that has passed by simple majorities in the Senate.”
She also took aim at the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold and insisted the presence of 50 Republican senators, who represent a smaller population of people than their Democratic counterparts, is “filibuster-esque.”
“Beyond that, then the argument is, OK, why 60 votes? Why not stop at 70 votes? Why not need 80 votes to pass any legislation. Why defend a 60-vote filibuster when the Senate already amplifies minority power so that the 50 Democratic senators already represent millions and millions and millions more Americans than 50 Republican senators.”
“I would argue that 50 Republican senators is already a built-in, kind of filibuster-esque, firewall,” Ocasio-Cortez added.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Democrat's comments are a departure from the views of some of her more centrist allies, including West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who has been one of the most outspoken proponents of the filibuster since President Joe Biden assumed office on Jan. 20.
Washington Examiner Videos
Tags: News, Filibuster, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congress, Infrastructure
Original Author: Jake Dima
Original Location: AOC slams filibuster: Nations around globe ‘pass legislation with majorities, and they’re fine’
