Tag: Senate Republicans

Senate Republicans tiptoe around Acosta, largely defer on his future

Labor secretary’s role in cutting deal with Jeffrey Epstein

Some Republicans in Congress are looking for more answers about Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta’s conduct as U.S. attorney, but they’re  not joining calls by Democrats that he step down because of a generous plea deal he cut with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

One Republican member of the Judiciary Committee said Tuesday that Acosta should explain his handling of the plea agreement with Epstein.

Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said he would get out ahead of whatever may emerge from any inquiry from the Justice Department, but Senate Republicans more broadly are taking a wait-and-see approach.

View the complete July 9 article by Katherine Tully-McManus and Niels Lesniewski on The Roll Call website here.

Senate Republicans running away from Alabama abortion law

Senate Republicans are scrambling to distance themselves from a harsh new Alabama law that bans nearly all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, and carries a penalty of up to 99 years in prison for anyone performing the procedure.

Most GOP senators are trying their best to steer clear of the firestorm, arguing it’s a state-level issue that doesn’t involve Congress.

But the controversial law will undoubtedly stoke the abortion debate heading into the 2020 elections.

View the complete May 16 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.

Final Farm Bill Rejects GOP Attempts to Dismantle Nutrition Programs

Thanks to Senator Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) and Rep. Collin Peterson’s (MN-07) leadership, lawmakers passed a final Farm Bill that invests in rural communities, provides needed certainty to farmers and producers, creates new opportunities for beginning and underserved farmers, and gives struggling families access to healthy foods. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate worked across the aisle to negotiate a final bill that includes critical support for farmers, rural communities, and working families and rejects conservative proposals like cutting access to food stamps after Republicans held up the bill for months to make these poison-pill demands.
The final Farm Bill protects food stamps, rejecting Republican efforts to cut access to nutrition assistance.
Politico: “The deal is a win for Democrats, who unanimously opposed the House plan to impose stricter work requirements on millions of participants in SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. SNAP helps nearly 40 million low-income Americans buy groceries and accounts for more than 75 percent of the farm bill’s total price tag.”
CNBC: “The massive bill left out the controversial stricter work requirements sought by House Republicans for people getting food stamps, or participants in the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Democrats opposed adding the tougher work requirements that would have cut or reduced benefits for more than 2 million people.”

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