Senators take action to assist the nation’s 12 million military spouses
U.S. military spouses, one of the highest unemployed demographics, could receive new support to start and operate small businesses under legislation pending in the Senate. U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., recently introduced the Military Spouse Entrepreneurship Act of 2023 to develop a training program at the Small Business Administration to help military spouses launch small businesses. Tillis is in his second term serving North Carolina, home to nine military installations, including the nation’s largest at Fort Liberty. The Old North State has the fourth-highest number of active-duty military members among states at nearly 100,000, according to a 2021 Department of Defense demographics report released in December. Data from the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce says there are more than 12 million military spouses nationally – about 1 million with active duty and 11.2 million veteran spouses – with an unemployment rate “statistically unchanged from 2012-2019 at rates of 22-24% before the pandemic with estimates as high as 38% during COVID-19.” A survey of 4,118 military spouses conducted last year on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation found 88% of respondents agree or strongly agree that the military lifestyle impacts their ability to find jobs at their experience or education level, while 90% agree military service negatively impacted their careers. “I have always been a strong advocate for increasing employment opportunities for military spouses who serve our country by supporting their husband or wife, including those who hope to start their own small business,” Tillis said. “I am proud to co-introduce this legislation to create a training program to expand career opportunities wherever military families are stationed.” The Military Spouse Entrepreneurship Act would build on resources currently available to military spouses through the Small Business Administration that include free counseling, training, and education, as well as a variety of loan programs and online services. The bill, which follows other efforts by the House and Biden administration to address the high rate of unemployment among military spouses, is backed by the Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs, the Center for American Entrepreneurship, Instant Teams, VetsinTech, and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council. “We applaud the leadership of Senator Klobuchar and Senator Tillis for acting to provide critically needed resources to military spouses to better enable them to start companies and become entrepreneurs,” said Erica McMannes, co-founder of Instant Teams, a North Carolina-based employment agency for military spouses. “As trailblazers and industry leaders in connecting military spouses with opportunity we know first-hand about the many challenges confronting military spouses who wish to start businesses and begin careers,” McMannes said. “This legislation will provide real support to our military families and in so doing will not only strengthen our military but also our national economy.” Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Tommy Tuberville and colleagues introduce bipartisan legislation to encourage Americans to pursue skills training and credentialing programs
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) joined a group of bipartisan colleagues to reintroduce the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act. The legislation would support economic growth and workforce development by allowing Americans to use ‘529’ education savings accounts for skills training, credentialing, and certification programs. Under current law, workers and their families can only use ‘529’ accounts to pay for college, university, and vocational school expenses. “During my four decades as a coach and educator, I met many students with unique skills they learned and applied outside of a traditional classroom setting,” said Sen. Tuberville. “Our economy cannot grow without skilled workers, and it’s important we incentivize Americans to pursue careers that both align with their interests and fill crucial gaps in our workforce. Not all of those valuable careers require college degrees. This legislation allows savings accounts set aside for education to be applied to other forms of training and certification.” The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), Mike Braun (R-Indiana), Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dianne Feinstein (D-California), Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico), and Peter Welch (D-Vermont). “Skills training and development programs help provide people with the tools and resources they need to succeed in our economy,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “By allowing workers to use their ‘529’ educational savings to pay for additional training and certification, our bipartisan legislation will enable more Americans to access and benefit from these valuable programs.” “Every high school student in America needs to know that you don’t necessarily have to go to college to have a great career,” said Braun. “By expanding opportunities and access to skills training programs, and letting Americans use their ‘529’ education savings to pay for it, we can address the nationwide skills shortage and fill American jobs,” said Braun. Tuberville spent four decades working with young adults as a coach and educator. Now he is a vocal advocate for improving workforce development and skills training throughout the United States. Tuberville has argued that career and technical education programs like dual enrollment and apprenticeships should be considered respectable paths to opportunity, not second-rate. As the baby boomers leave the workforce, many industries, including trades, are struggling to fill the void. According to a study by the American Action Forum, over the next decade, the USA could face a shortage of about 765,000 needed workers with the skills that come from an associate degree or some college. The figure for workers needing a bachelor’s degree or higher is about 8.62 million. This translates to about 5.6 percent of the estimated 2029 labor force. According to their report, Alabama has a projected shortage of 43,000 credentialed/associate degree workers and 129,000 four-year college graduates and higher. The health sector is already feeling shortages of 2-year nursing graduates (ADNs), 4-year nursing graduates (RNs), doctors, and specialists. Tommy Tuberville is in his first term representing Alabama in the United States Senate following a successful coaching career. He is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, and HELP Committees. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Terri Sewell says Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Bill provides billions in federal funds for Alabama projects
On Wednesday, Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) celebrated the inclusion of billions in federal funding for the state of Alabama in the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus funding bill, which passed the House and Senate last week. Sewell holds a senior leadership role in the Democratic leadership team in the outgoing Democratic leadership in the House. U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby was the lead Republican negotiator on the Omnibus in the Senate. This bill was most likely his last vote in Congress after 44 years of service to the State of Alabama. “I was thrilled to vote in favor of the FY23 funding bill because I know that it will be a game changer for the people of Alabama,” Rep. Sewell said in a press release. “I would also like to thank Senator Richard Shelby for his work to ensure that Alabama received a historic amount of funding during his last year as a United States Senator. His leadership, his pragmatic approach to governing, and his fierce advocacy for the people of Alabama will be missed.” President Joe Biden announced that he would sign the bill after it passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives. “This bill is good for our economy, our competitiveness, and our communities – and I will sign it into law as soon as it reaches my desk,” Biden said in a statement. “This bill will advance cutting-edge research on cancer and other diseases through my ARPA-H initiative. It will put more cops on the beat, invest in community policing, and provide the highest funding level for the Violence Against Women Act in history. It will help us meet our sacred obligation to America’s veterans and deliver on the promise of the PACT Act, my bipartisan legislation to expand health care benefits to veterans. It will provide additional assistance to Ukraine, another demonstration of our bipartisan support for Ukraine after President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy’s visit. It will help communities recovering from devastating natural disasters get back on their feet. And it’ll strengthen worker protections for pregnant women.” President Biden also thanked Shelby for his leadership in the passage of the bipartisan Year-End Omnibus. “I want to thank Senator Leahy, Senator Shelby, and Chairwoman DeLauro for their tireless work to get this done. Neither side got everything it wanted in this agreement – that’s what happens in a negotiation. And bipartisan members of Congress passed the Electoral Count Act and took long overdue steps to protect the integrity of our elections. This is critical bipartisan action that will help ensure that the will of the people is preserved. I want to thank Senators [Susan] Collins and [Joe] Manchin, as well as Senators [Amy] Klobuchar and [Roy]Blunt, for finding compromise to strengthen our democracy in the face of election denialism and assaults on our bedrock constitutional values.” “This bill is further proof that Republicans and Democrats can come together to deliver for the American people, and I’m looking forward to continued bipartisan progress in the year ahead,” Biden concluded. Shelby has retired from public service, so there will be a new Vice Chair of the Senate appropriations committee in January. Democrats no longer control the House of Representatives. There is a strong likelihood that when House Republicans finally figure out their leadership conundrum that Congressman Robert Aderholt will be the new Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Sewell shared the list of funding items for Alabama in the FY23 Omnibus funding bill. The list includes: $76 million for the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine to build a new biomedical research building. $55 million for the Secret Service’s National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI), located in Hoover, to expand training opportunities for state and local law enforcement and legal and judicial professionals in computer forensics and cyber investigations. $5 million for the Secret Service’s Cyber Fraud Task Forces to increase mission effectiveness and provide modern investigative capabilities to combat transnational crimes. $23 million to repurpose and renovate NCFI facilities to accommodate for the ongoing growth of the program. $30 million in funding for Alabama’s Northern Beltline of the Appalachian Development Highway System. $47.5 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of nearly $2.5 billion above FY22 funding level. $7.32 billion for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), an increase of $407.6 million from FY22. $923 million for the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). $629 million for Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs), which continues funding for a CTSA award at UAB. $25 million in grant funding for the Regional Pediatric Pandemic Network, a network of ten Children’s hospitals, including Children’s of Alabama. $52 million in targeted funds for Regional Biocontainment Laboratories (RBLs) to test FDA-approved drugs at research institutions across the country, including UAB. $280.295 million for the NIH, Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative, to address addiction and develop alternative opioids for safe and effective pain management. $520.163 million for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and continued support of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network, founded and hosted at UAB. $47 million for Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), which supports the Alabama Statewide AHEC Program that is hosted within the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine. $119 million for the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), which supports the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Recreational Technologies (RERC Rec-Tech) in Birmingham. $8 million in Emerging Infectious Diseases for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to utilize its clinical trial partners and the Mycoses Study Group, which is affiliated with UAB. Funding consistent with a cooperative agreement to support the Department of Energy’s National Carbon Capture Center in Wilsonville, Alabama. $4.5 million, $1.5 million above the FY22 enacted level, for the NIST Cybersecurity of Genomic Data program, which supports ongoing research in cybersecurity for genomic and biomedical-based systems at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. $15 million military construction project building a Commercial Vehicle Inspection Gate at Maxwell Air Force Base. $6+ million military construction project building an F-35 Weapons Load Crew
Democrats kept the Senate this year, but 2024 may be harder
Democrats celebrating a successful effort to keep control of the U.S. Senate this year will soon confront a 2024 campaign that could prove more challenging. The party enters the next cycle defending 23 seats, including two held by independents who caucus with Democrats. That’s compared with just 10 seats that Republicans hope to keep in their column. Adding to the potential hurdles is that some 2024 contests are in states that have become increasingly hostile to Democrats, including Montana, Ohio, and West Virginia. Other Democratic-held seats are in some of the same hotly contested states that were at the center of this year’s midterms, such as Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada. And while Democrats carried each of those races, they did so at great cost and with sometimes narrow margins. In Nevada, for instance, Democratic incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto won by less than 1 percentage point, or about 9,000 votes. For now, both parties insist they’re laser-focused on coming out on top in the December 6 Senate runoff in Georgia. But Democrats who are on the ballot in 2024 know that they could face fierce headwinds and are studying the results of this year’s election when the party outperformed expectations. For Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat facing her first reelection campaign, that means staying focused on kitchen table issues and touting legislation like the infrastructure law and gun violence legislation signed by President Joe Biden. “We know that races are always close,” Rosen said in an interview. “We never take anything for granted.” The dynamics of the next Senate campaign could be influenced by a variety of outside factors, particularly the presidential election and the attention it generates. Biden, who turned 80 this month, has said his “intention” is to run for reelection and that he will make a final decision early next year. Former President Donald Trump has already announced a third White House bid, and multiple other Republicans are lining up to launch campaigns. The eventual nominee in each party could have a profound impact on down-ballot races, including those for Senate. But perhaps the biggest question for Senate Democrats seeking reelection will be who Republicans nominate as their opponents. The GOP lost several Senate elections this year, including those in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, after Trump-backed candidates struggled to raise money and connect with a broader, more moderate range of voters during the general election. In Nevada, the Republican field to challenge Rosen has not begun to shape up but is expected to attract several contenders. One name receiving attention is Sam Brown, a former U.S. Army captain who was awarded a Purple Heart after being severely wounded in Afghanistan. Brown ran for Senate this year and put up a strong challenge in the Republican primary before losing to Adam Laxalt, who lost in the general election to Cortez Masto. Richard Hernandez, who was Brown’s campaign adviser, said, “He has committed to his supporters that he will never stop fighting for their issues, but he has not made any decisions as to whether that involves a future run for office.” Also in the southwest, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a centrist Democrat, will be up for reelection. The race, like other recent statewide contests in Arizona, is expected to be very competitive. But Sinema is likely to first face a well-funded primary challenger after angering much of the Democratic base by blocking or watering down progressive priorities like a minimum wage increase or Biden’s big social spending initiatives. She has not said whether she plans to run for reelection. Sinema’s most prominent potential primary challenger is U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, who has a long history of feuding with Sinema. Gallego has not announced his plans for 2024 but has made it no secret that he’s thinking about challenging Sinema. He even raised money on the prospect he might oppose Sinema. An independent expenditure group is also raising money, saying it will support grassroots organizations committed to defeating Sinema in a Democratic primary. Republicans hope a bruising Democratic primary might give them an opening to win the seat after losing Senate races in Arizona in three consecutive elections. Sinema is among a trio of moderate Senate Democrats who have sometimes used their leverage in an evenly divided chamber to block or blunt some of Biden’s plans and nominees. They will also be among the party’s most vulnerable incumbents in 2024. The other two senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana, will be running as Democrats in states that Trump handily carried in 2020. Manchin has already drawn a GOP challenger in U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, who declared a week after winning reelection that he was setting his sights on higher office. Manchin has not yet said whether he’ll run for reelection. Republicans see Tester, a three-term senator, as vulnerable, and the opportunity to run for the seat could draw a fierce primary contest between former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Rep. Matt Rosendale. Zinke, who won a House seat in this year’s midterm elections, said he will decide whether to run next year, and Rosendale declined to answer. Tester has not announced if he will seek another term but has said he anticipates 2024 will be just as tough as his last race in 2018, when he beat Rosendale in a close contest. In Pennsylvania, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has not said whether he intends to run for a fourth term. Casey easily won reelection in 2018, but Pennsylvania has been competitive for Republicans, including in this year’s Senate race won by Democrat John Fetterman. One potential Republican challenger whose name has been floated in Pennsylvania is former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, who narrowly lost the Republican primary in this year’s race to celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz. McCormick advisers declined to comment on that prospect. Conservative activist Kathy Barnette, who finished a close third in the Republican primary, didn’t respond to messages about whether she’s considering a 2024 campaign. Wisconsin, which saw Republican Sen. Ron Johnson narrowly win reelection this year, is also expected to have
Tommy Tuberville praises Hoover’s National Computer Forensics Institute
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville praised Hoover’s National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) in a speech on the floor of the Senate, highlighting the importance of the NCFI and its impact on officers and public safety. Tuberville helped pass the reauthorization bill to support the NCFI, where law enforcement officers come to Alabama from across the country to receive cybercrime training. The Senate passed bipartisan legislation, the National Computer Forensics Institute Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes the operation of the Alabama-based NCFI. The bill also approves resources for federal officers to attend the law enforcement training center, which has previously only been available for local and state officials. Sens. Tuberville and Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) cosponsored the legislation along with Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-California), Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island). “Cybercriminals can hack pipelines and other key infrastructure systems that are crucial to our daily lives and pertains to our national security,” Sen. Tuberville said. “Officials trained at NCFI are a part of our front line of defense against these attacks. That front line — our local police officers, district attorneys, and state officials — know the people they serve best. I want those protecting my home and my state trained to identify and combat the latest threats — and I’m sure you do as well.” “Earlier this year, after a madman terrorized shoppers at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, NCFI-trained graduates were able to act quickly and support the police response,” Tuberville continued. “They used what they learned to conduct a forensic exam of a Go-Pro camera and a cell phone used by the shooter. That crucial video evidence is currently being used in the prosecution.” “Brave men and women in law enforcement across the country are willing and able to protect Americans from all crime, including cybercrime, but they need the tools and resources to continue to do so effectively,” Tuberville added. “While some in Congress and the current administration have worked to shrink the size and strength of our law enforcement, I am unapologetic with my support for the men and women in blue. We must continue to provide specialized resources that all of them need to do their jobs. That’s why I joined a group of colleagues from both sides of the aisle to introduce the National Computer Forensics Institute Reauthorization Act.” “The National Computer Forensics Institute is an example of a state’s ingenuity and foresight — a group of individuals identifying a gap that needed to be filled and providing a service with national benefits,” Tuberville explained. “The success of the Institute represents the impact state leaders, and Congress can have on the entire country when we work together to support innovative and pragmatic solutions to our biggest problems. Alabama is proud of the National Computer Forensics Institute, and we’re proud to provide cutting-edge training to many Americans and our brave law enforcement.” In 2006, the Alabama Office of Prosecution Services and the Alabama District Attorneys Association saw the need for a more coordinated effort to train law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges in digital evidence. Those agencies outlined a plan to bring that training to more of our law enforcement officials — and formed a unique and important partnership with the U.S. Secret Service to create a center for forensics education for state and local law enforcement officials. NCFI opened in 2008 under a roof provided by the City of Hoover. The NCFI opened with a $4 million budget and just 264 students. The 40,000 square-foot NCFI facility now taps into a $13 million annual budget to train more than 4,000 students from across the country annually. To date, more than 19,000 state and local officers, prosecutors, and judges representing all 50 states have been trained at the institute in the heart of Alabama. The NCFI focuses on teaching officials how to investigate cyber and electronic crime — always accounting for emerging tech and novel digital capabilities — to prepare graduates to combat cyber-attacks and personal data theft. The skills learned at the NCFI also prepare law enforcement officers to identify and utilize key digital data during criminal investigations. The reauthorization will allow the NCFI to keep training thousands of officers a year in Alabama to keep communities across the country safe. Graduates have reported utilizing their training in more than 578,000 digital forensics exams. The NCFI seeks to educate state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges in the continually evolving cyber and electronic crime-related threats, and educate, train, and equip them with the tools necessary for forensic examinations to combat those crimes. Sen. Tuberville was elected to his first term in the Senate in 2020 after a career in football coaching. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Joe Biden calls former VP Walter Mondale ‘giant’ of political history
President Joe Biden saluted his “friend of five decades” Walter Mondale on Sunday, traveling to the University of Minnesota to remember the former vice president and Democratic Party elder whose memorial service was delayed for a year due to the pandemic. Mondale died in April 2021 at age 93. He is credited with transforming the office of the vice presidency — which Biden himself held for eight years under President Barack Obama — expanding its responsibilities and making himself a key adviser to President Jimmy Carter. Mondale “was a giant in American political history,” Biden said of Mondale, known to friends as “Fritz.” He added that Mondale was one of the “toughest, smartest men I’ve ever worked with” both as Senate colleagues and as a mentor when Biden was Obama’s No. 2 and then later as president. Biden emphasized Mondale’s empathy, recalling his own promise during the 2020 presidential campaign to unite the country. That’s something the president has strayed from a bit in recent weeks as he seeks to draw a starker contrast between his administration and congressional Republicans who have opposed it on nearly every major issue. “It was Fritz who lit the way,” Biden said. “Everybody is to be treated with dignity. Everybody.” Biden added of Mondale: “He united people sharing the light, the same hopes — even when we disagreed, he thought that was important.” “It’s up to each of us to reflect that light that Fritz was all about.” The invitation-only, 90-minute service Sunday inside a stately campus auditorium featured plentiful organ music. Biden, who received a standing ovation, said he spoke with Mondale’s family beforehand and “got emotional” himself. Democratic Sen. Tina Smith called Mondale a “bona fide political celebrity” who still dedicated time to races large and small back in their home state. Minnesota civil rights icon Josie Johnson spoke of what a good listener Mondale was and how he championed inclusiveness. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar described once being an intern who climbed under chairs and a table to carry out a furniture inventory when Mondale was vice president. “That was my first job in Washington. And, thanks to Walter Mondale, this was my second,” Klobuchar said of being a senator, noting that Mondale encouraged her to run and taught “the pundits in Washington how to say my name.” Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Minnesota may be better known as Mondale’s home state than its moniker “The Land of 10,000 Lakes” and praised Mondale’s intellect, humility, humor, and optimism. “He embodied a sense of joy. He lived his life every single day,” Walz said. “At 91, he was still fishing for walleye. Unlike me, he was catching some.” A booklet given to attendees for the “afternoon of remembrance and reflection” quoted from Mondale’s 2010 book, “The Good Fight”: “I believe that the values of the American people — our fundamental decency, our sense of justice and fairness, our love of freedom — are the country’s greatest assets and that steering by their lodestar is the only true course forward.” Its back cover showed Mondale’s face next to the slogan, “We told the truth. We obeyed the law. We kept the peace,” which Klobuchar described as being memorialized after the then-vice president said them at the end of the Carter administration. Mondale was a graduate of the University of Minnesota and its law school, which has a building named after him. During Sunday’s remembrance, Biden wiped his eyes as a performance of “Tomorrow” from the musical “Annie” played, and the service closed with the university’s marching band, which sent people away with the “Minnesota Rouser” fight song. Mondale followed a trail blazed by his political mentor, Hubert H. Humphrey, serving as Minnesota attorney general before replacing Humphrey in the Senate. He was Carter’s vice president from 1977 to 1981. Mondale also lost one of the most lopsided presidential elections ever to Ronald Reagan in 1984. He carried only Minnesota and the District of Columbia after bluntly telling voters to expect a tax increase if he won. But he made history in that race by picking Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, of New York, as his running mate, becoming the first major-party nominee to put a woman on the ticket. Mondale remained an important Democratic voice for decades afterward and went on to serve as ambassador to Japan under President Bill Clinton. In 2002, at 74, he was drafted to run for the Senate again after Sen. Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash shortly before the election. Mondale lost the abbreviated race to Republican Norm Coleman. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed as first Black female high court justice
The Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Thursday, shattering a historic barrier by securing her place as the first Black female justice and giving President Joe Biden a bipartisan endorsement for his promised effort to diversify the high court. Cheers rang out in the Senate chamber as Jackson, a 51-year-old appeals court judge with nine years of experience on the federal bench, was confirmed 53-47, mostly along party lines but with three Republican votes. Presiding over the vote was Vice President Kamala Harris, also the first Black woman to reach her high office. Biden tweeted afterward that “we’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer exulted that it was “a wonderful day, a joyous day, an inspiring day — for the Senate, for the Supreme Court, and for the United States of America.” Harris said as she left the Capitol that she was “overjoyed, deeply moved.” Jackson will take her seat when Justice Stephen Breyer retires this summer, solidifying the liberal wing of the 6-3 conservative-dominated court. She joined Biden at the White House to watch the vote, embracing as it came in. The two were expected to speak, along with Harris, at the White House Friday. During four days of Senate hearings last month, Jackson spoke of her parents’ struggles through racial segregation and said her “path was clearer” than theirs as a Black American after the enactment of civil rights laws. She attended Harvard University, served as a public defender, worked at a private law firm, and was appointed as a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. She told senators she would apply the law “without fear or favor,” and pushed back on Republican attempts to portray her as too lenient on criminals she had sentenced. Jackson will be just the third Black justice, after Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and the sixth woman. She will join three other women, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Amy Coney Barrett – meaning that four of the nine justices will be women for the first time in history. Her eventual elevation to the court will be a respite for Democrats who fought three bruising battles over former President Donald Trump’s nominees and watched Republicans cement a conservative majority in the final days of Trump’s term with Barrett’s confirmation. While Jackson won’t change the balance, she will secure a legacy on the court for Biden and fulfill his 2020 campaign pledge to nominate the first Black female justice. “This is a tremendously historic day in the White House and in the country,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki after the vote. “And this is a fulfillment of a promise the president made to the country.” The atmosphere was joyful, though the Senate was divided, as Thursday’s votes were cast. Senators of both parties sat at their desks and stood to vote, a tradition reserved for the most important matters. The upper galleries were almost full for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago, and about a dozen House members, part of the Congressional Black Caucus, stood at the back of the chamber. Harris called out the tally, pausing with emotion, and Democrats erupted in loud applause and cheers, Schumer pumping his fists. A handful of Republicans stayed and clapped, but most by then had left. Despite Republican criticism of her record, Jackson eventually won three GOP votes. The final tally was far from the overwhelming bipartisan confirmations for Breyer and other justices in decades past, but it was still a significant accomplishment for Biden in the 50-50 split Senate after GOP senators aggressively worked to paint Jackson as too liberal and soft on crime. Statements from Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah all said the same thing — they might not always agree with Jackson, but they found her to be enormously well qualified for the job. Collins and Murkowski both decried increasingly partisan confirmation fights, which only worsened during the battles over Trump’s three picks. Collins said the process was “broken,” and Murkowski called it “corrosive” and “more detached from reality by the year.” Biden, a veteran of a more bipartisan Senate, said from the day of Breyer’s retirement announcement in January that he wanted support from both parties for his history-making nominee, and he invited Republicans to the White House as he made his decision. It was an attempted reset from Trump’s presidency, when Democrats vociferously opposed the three nominees, and from the end of President Barack Obama’s when Republicans blocked nominee Merrick Garland from getting a vote. Once sworn in, Jackson will be the second-youngest member of the court after Barrett, 50. She will join a court on which no one is yet 75, the first time that has happened in nearly 30 years. Jackson’s first term will be marked by cases involving race, both in college admissions and voting rights. She has pledged to sit out the court’s consideration of Harvard’s admissions program since she is a member of its board of overseers. But the court could split off a second case involving a challenge to the University of North Carolina’s admissions process, which might allow her to weigh in on the issue. Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the Advancement Project, a civil rights organization, said Jackson will make the court more reflective of communities that are most impacted by the judiciary. “The highest court in the land now will have a firsthand perspective of how the law impacts communities of color — via voting rights, police misconduct, abortion access, housing discrimination, or the criminal legal system, among other issues,” she said. “This will ultimately benefit all Americans.” Jackson could wait as long as three months to be sworn in, as the court’s session generally ends in late June or early July. She remains a judge on the federal appeals court in Washington, but she stepped away from cases there when she was nominated in February. Republicans spent
Senate Dems push new voting bill, and again hit GOP wall
If at first you don’t succeed, make Republicans vote again. That’s the strategy Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer appears to be pursuing as the New York Democrat forced another test vote Wednesday on legislation to overhaul the nation’s election laws. For the fourth time since June, Republicans blocked it. Democrats entered the year with unified, albeit narrow, control of Washington, and a desire to counteract a wave of restrictive new voting laws in Republican-led states, many of which were inspired by Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen 2020 election. But their initial optimism has given way to a grinding series of doomed votes that are meant to highlight Republican opposition but have done little to advance a cause that is a top priority for the party ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. The Senate voted against debating voting legislation Wednesday, with Republicans this time filibustering an update to the landmark Voting Rights Act, a pillar of civil rights legislation from the 1960s. GOP senators oppose the Democratic voting bills as a “power grab.” “This is a low, low point in the history of this body,” Schumer said after the failed vote, later adding, “The Senate is better than this.” The stalemate is forcing a reckoning among Senate Democrats about whether to make changes to the filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes for legislation to advance. That could allow them to muscle legislation through but would almost certainly come back to bite them if and when Republicans take back control of the chamber. Earlier Wednesday, Schumer met with a group of centrist Democrats, including Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Angus King of Maine, and Tim Kaine of Virginia, for a “family discussion” about steps that could be taken to maneuver around Republicans. That’s according to a senior aide who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations. But it’s also a move opposed by moderate Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Without their support, Democrats won’t have the votes needed to make a change. Time is ticking down. Redistricting of congressional districts (a once-in-a-decade process Democrats want to overhaul to make less partisan) is already underway. And the Senate poised to split town next week for a home-state work period. “Senate Democrats should stay in town and focus on the last act in this battle,” said Fred Wertheimer, who leads the good government group Democracy 21. The latest measure blocked by Republicans Wednesday is different from an earlier voting bill from Democrats that would have touched on every aspect of the electoral process. It has a narrower focus and would restore the Justice Department’s ability to police voting laws in states with a history of discrimination. The measure drew the support of one Republican, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski after Democrats agreed to make changes that she sought. But all other Republicans opposed opening debate on the bill. “Every time that Washington Democrats make a few changes around the margins and come back for more bites at the same apple, we know exactly what they are trying to do,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who slammed the vote as “political theatre” on a trumped-up a “go-nowhere bill.” Murkowski, too, said she still had underlying issues with the bill as written while criticizing Schumer’s decision to force repeated “show votes.” “Let’s give ourselves the space to work across the aisle,” she said Wednesday. “Our goal should be to avoid a partisan bill, not to take failing votes over and over.” The Democrats’ John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the late Georgia congressman who made the issue a defining one of his career, would restore voting rights protections that have been dismantled by the Supreme Court. Under the proposal, the Justice Department would again police new changes to voting laws in states that have racked up a series of “violations,” drawing them into a mandatory review process known as “preclearance.” The practice was first put in place under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But it was struck down by a conservative majority on the Supreme Court in 2013, which ruled the formula for determining which states needed their laws reviewed was outdated and unfairly punitive. The court did, however, say that Congress could come up with a new formula. The bill does just that. A second ruling from the high court in July made it more difficult to challenge voting restrictions in court under another section of the law. The law’s “preclearance” provisions had been reauthorized by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support five times since it was first passed decades ago. But after the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling, Republican support for the measure cratered. Though the GOP has shown no indication that its opposition will waver, there are signs that some of the voting changes Democrats seek aren’t as electorally advantageous for the party as some hope. Republican Glenn Youngkin’s victory in Virginia’s Tuesday gubernatorial election offers the latest test case. Democrats took control of all parts of Virginia’s government in 2019 and steadily started liberalizing the state’s voting laws. They made mail voting accessible to all and required a 45-day window for early voting, among the longest in the country. This year they passed a voting rights act that made it easier to sue for blocking ballot access. But those changes didn’t hurt Youngkin, who comfortably beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a popular former governor seeking a valedictory term. That’s still unlikely to change Republicans’ calculus. “Are we all reading the tea leaves from Virginia? Yes, absolutely,” Murkowski said. “Will it be something colleagues look to? It’s just one example.” Democratic frustration is growing, meanwhile leading to increasingly vocal calls to change the filibuster. “We can’t even debate basic bills,” said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat. “The next step is to work on ideas to restore the Senate.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Democrats revise elections bill but face Senate headwinds
Senate Democrats unveiled a pared-back elections bill Tuesday in hopes of kickstarting their stalled push to counteract new laws in Republican states that could make it more difficult to cast a ballot. But the new compromise legislation is likely doomed to fail in the 50-50 Senate, facing the same lockstep Republican opposition that scuttled their previous attempts to pass an even more sweeping bill. The GOP blasted the earlier measure as “unnecessary” and a “partisan power grab.” Republican-controlled legislatures have enacted restrictions over the past year in the name of election security that will make it harder to vote and could make the administration of the elections more subject to partisan interference. Texas, which already has some of the country’s strictest voting rules, recently adopted a law that will further limit the ability to cast a ballot, empower party poll watchers and create new criminal penalties for those who run afoul of the rules — even if inadvertently. The spate of new voting laws — many inspired by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election — have ratcheted up pressure on Democrats in Congress to pass legislation that could counteract the GOP push. Trump’s claims of election fraud were widely rejected in the courts, by state officials who certified the results and by his own attorney general. “We have seen unprecedented attacks on our democracy in states across the country. These attacks demand an immediate federal response,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., the lead sponsor of the new bill. The revised legislation was negotiated for weeks by a group of Democratic senators and includes many of the same provisions as the previous bill, known as the For the People Act. It would establish national rules for running elections, limit partisanship in the drawing of congressional districts and force the disclosure of many anonymous donors who spend big to influence elections, according to a summary obtained by The Associated Press. But it also includes a number of changes sought by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who is the chamber’s most conservative Democrat. That includes provisions that would limit, but not prohibit, state voter ID requirements, as well as the elimination of a proposed overhaul of the Federal Election Commission, which was intended to alleviate partisan gridlock at the election watchdog agency. The new measure also dumps language that would have created a public financing system for federal elections. It would instead establish a more limited financing system for House candidates that states could opt to participate in. Other provisions are aimed at alleviating concerns from local elections officials, who worried that that original bill would have been too difficult to implement. And some new additions are aimed at insulating nonpartisan election officials, who may be subject to greater partisan pressure under some of the new state laws. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that the administration was “encouraged by the momentum” and said President Joe Biden would “continue to work with Congress” to pass the bill. Yet despite the changes, Republicans are expected to uniformly oppose the measure, which they say amounts to a federal takeover of elections. That leaves Democrats well short of the 60 votes needed to advance the bill unless they change the Senate’s filibuster rules, which Manchin and other moderates have ruled out. Manchin has said Congress shouldn’t pass voting legislation unless it is bipartisan. He has shopped the revised bill to some Republican senators in recent weeks, seeking their support. But there are no indications of any signing on. Manchin told reporters Tuesday that the new bill “makes more sense, it’s more practical, more reasonable,” but said he “didn’t have anything to say” about making changes to the filibuster. “Now we have to sit down and work with our Republican colleagues,” he said. “I’m headed to do that right now,” Klobuchar said before walking onto the Senate floor. But moments later, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threw cold water on the bill, calling it “a solution in search of a problem” that “we will not be supporting.” “Let me say for the umpteenth time,” the Kentucky Republican said. “There is no rational basis for the federal government taking over how we conduct elections.” It all puts Democrats right back where they started. The lack of progress is likely to frustrate party activists, many of whom view voting rights as the Civil Rights issue of the era. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill could be called for a vote as soon as next week when it will almost certainly fail. “Senator Manchin … believes that we should try to make it bipartisan, and we are giving him the opportunity to do that,” Schumer said. “If that doesn’t happen, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.” Activists and some Democratic senators say scrapping the filibuster is the only path forward. “The filibuster is the only thing standing in our way. It’s time for our senators to put Americans’ freedom to vote ahead of the Jim Crow filibuster,” said Sean Eldridge, president of the group Stand Up America. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Voting bill showdown looms as GOP rejects Manchin plan
The Senate is set for a key vote Tuesday on a sweeping rewrite of voting and election law, setting up a dramatic test of Democratic unity on a top priority that Republicans are vowing to block. Democrats appeared to be coalescing Thursday around changes to the bill that could win the support of moderate West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, the lone Democratic holdout on the legislation. Yet, they still faced lockstep Republican opposition that will likely leave Democrats back where they started: lacking the votes to overcome a Republican filibuster. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Manchin’s proposal “equally unacceptable.” “Republicans are digging in their heels,” said Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut. “They’ve made it pretty clear this week that there’s nothing they’re willing to support.” The bill, known as the For the People Act, has been touted as Democrats’ answer to a state level-GOP push to enact voting restrictions following the 2020 election. It passed the House in March but has bogged down in the Senate as Democrats have debated among themselves — with Manchin ultimately declaring he couldn’t vote for it because it lacked bipartisan support. Yet Manchin’s position has evolved, and compromise appeared to be nearing after he proposed a series of changes this week to narrow its scope. His proposal received a boost Thursday when Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia gubernatorial candidate who is a leading Democratic voice on voting rights, said she “absolutely” supported it. “What Sen. Manchin is putting forward are some basic building blocks that we need to ensure that democracy is accessible,” Abrams told CNN. Still, in a narrowly divided Senate where Democrats must count on Vice President Kamala Harris to cast tie-breaking votes, any compromise will likely be for naught unless changes are made to Senate filibuster rules, which Manchin and others oppose. For now, it takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and advance legislation. Over a dozen Senate Republicans took turns at the microphone during a Thursday news conference to denounce the bill, which they view as a federal overreach into state and local elections. McConnell predicted all Republicans would remain in lockstep opposition regardless of what changes are made. Sen. Roy Blunt, the No. 4 ranking Senate Republican, noted the endorsement by Abrams, who is a lightning rod for GOP criticism. “I actually think when Stacey Abrams immediately endorsed Sen. Machin’s proposal, it became the Stacey Abrams (bill), not the Joe Manchin (bill),” he told reporters Thursday. As written, the Democrats’ bill would bring about the largest overhaul of U.S. voting in a generation, touching nearly every aspect of the electoral process. It would blunt laws erected in the name of election security, like voter ID requirements, while curtailing the influence of big money in politics. It would create a nonpartisan process for redrawing congressional districts, expand mail voting and early voting, restore the rights of felons to cast a ballot, and scores of other provisions. Manchin’s counter-offer, which is intended to entice GOP support, would leave significant portions of the sprawling bill intact while curtailing, rewriting, or eliminating other key parts. “Color me a little a little skeptical,” Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said of the possibility of bipartisanship. What will ultimately come to the floor for a vote Tuesday remains unclear. Also not certain: whether Manchin will vote for it. “We’ll see what bill we have,” he told reporters Thursday. “We don’t know what bill we’re going to have.” A national voter ID requirement favored by Manchin has emerged as one sticking point with some Democrats. Manchin’s proposal is far softer than the strict photo ID requirements adopted by some states. It would require all states to check ID, but various documents, including a utility bill, could be used instead of a photo ID, a requirement already adopted by 15 states, including Manchin’s West Virginia. “That is what we’re negotiating,” said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is playing a lead role in guiding the legislation. Polls have shown notable bipartisan support for voter ID requirements, and Democrats in their elections overhaul focused on the strictest ID laws. In the current Senate bill, Democrats would require states with an ID law to allow voters who show up without identification to cast a regular ballot as long as they sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury. “We might squabble about one or two things,” said Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia. “But I am not about to sacrifice the good in the pursuit of the perfect.” Klobuchar said she would continue to work on the bill over the weekend and was optimistic all 50 Senate Democrats would support it. “If we reach unity on a voting bill in the Democratic Party, with all of the debates we’ve been having over the last few months, I don’t think anything’s over yet,” she said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Tommy Tuberville joins other leaders to change sexual assault investigations in the military
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville has joined a bipartisan group of senators to support a bill that will change the way the military conducts sexual assault investigations and prosecutions. Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Personnel, joined U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and 28 other Senators to introduce the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act. According to the press release, the legislation “keeps the prosecution of sexual assault crimes within the military but moves the decision to prosecute to independent, trained, professional military prosecutors, and provides for several new prevention provisions such as better training for commanders and increased physical security measures, while ensuring that commanders still have the ability to provide strong leadership and ensure a successful command climate.” Tuberville stated, “Our men and women in uniform sacrifice every day to keep us safe, often working in some pretty unsafe places around the world. The last thing they should be worrying about is whether they’re unsafe within their ranks, and they certainly shouldn’t have to fear retaliation if they report a sexual assault. This bill is what happens when a bipartisan group of senators come together to get something done. I’m thankful that Senator Gillibrand and Senator Ernst have led the charge, and I’m glad to join my colleagues in support of this bill that will help improve the way the military handles sexual assaults so survivors can get the justice they deserve.” The bill was introduced in 2019, but did not receive a vote. Specifically, the legislation would: Move the decision on whether to prosecute serious crimes to independent, trained, and professional military prosecutors, while leaving misdemeanors and uniquely military crimes within the chain of command. Ensure the Department of Defense supports criminal investigators and military prosecutors through the development of unique skills needed to properly handle investigations and cases related to sexual assault and domestic violence. Require the Secretary of Defense to survey and improve the physical security of military installations– including locks, security cameras, and other passive security measures – to increase safety in lodging and living spaces for service members. Increase, and improve training and education on military sexual assault throughout our armed services. Kirsten Gillibrand stated on Twitter, “Here’s a bipartisan mission we can all support: Survivors of military sexual assault deserve justice. I’m proud to have @JoniErnst join me this week to introduce our new, improved bill to reform the military justice system and invest in prevention.” Here’s a bipartisan mission we can all support: Survivors of military sexual assault deserve justice. I’m proud to have @joniernst join me this week to introduce our new, improved bill to reform the military justice system and invest in prevention. https://t.co/pYYUL6IRyA — Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) April 27, 2021 The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Angus King (I-ME), Michael Braun (R-IN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Rand Paul (R-KY), Chris Coons (D-DE), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT),Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).
Democrats launch Senate battle for expanded voting rights
Democrats renewed their efforts Wednesday to muscle through the largest overhaul of U.S. elections in a generation, setting up a fight with Republicans that could bring partisan tensions to a climax in the evenly split Senate and become a defining issue for President Joe Biden. Democrats and Republicans both see the legislation, which touches on nearly every aspect of the electoral process, as fundamental to their parties’ political futures. The Senate bill, similar to a version passed by the House earlier this month, could shape election outcomes for years to come, striking down hurdles to voting, requiring more disclosure from political donors, restricting partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, and bolstering election security and ethics laws. The debate over who has the right to vote, and how elections are conducted, could play out for months, if not years. Democrats newly in control of both chambers of Congress say they are trying to rebuild trust in the ballot after two tumultuous election cycles. Republicans charge the bill would strip power from the states and cement an unfair political advantage for Democrats. With the GOP unanimously opposed, the legislation is presenting a crucial test of how hard Biden and his party are willing to fight for their priorities, as well as those of their voters. Unless they united around changing Senate rules, which now require 60 votes for most bills to advance, their chance to enshrine expansive voting protections could quickly slip away. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., making a rare appearance at a hearing, said Wednesday it took “mighty movements and decades of fraught political conflict” to achieve the basic dignities of current election laws and “any American who thinks that the fight for a full and fair democracy is over, is sadly and sorely mistaken.” Democrats see the measure as a forceful response to voting rights restrictions advancing in Republican-controlled statehouses across the country in the wake of Donald Trump’s repeated, baseless claims of a stolen 2020 election. Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., opened the hearing on the legislation Wednesday by invoking the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in which hundreds of Trump’s supporters interrupted the electoral count after Trump pressured state election officials to change the results and told supporters to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat. “In the end, that insurrection was about an angry mob working to undermine our democracy,” Klobuchar said. “And it reminds all of us how very fragile our democracy truly is, and how it is on all of us to not just protect that democracy but to ensure that it thrives.” Similar to the House bill that passed on a party-line vote, the Senate legislation would create automatic voter registration nationwide, allow former felons to vote, and limit the ways states can remove registered voters from their rolls. It would expand voting by mail, promote early voting and give states money to track absentee ballots. Millions of people took advantage of those practices during the pandemic last year — and after some Republican states tried to restrict them in favor of voting in person. The bill would increase oversight for election vendors and boost support for state voting system upgrades after Russia attempted to breach some of those systems in the 2016 election. It would overhaul federal oversight of campaign finance and encourage small donations to campaigns while requiring more disclosure of political donations. And it would require states to adopt independent redistricting commissions to draw congressional districts and give more teeth to federal ethics enforcement. The legislation is meant to counter the more than 250 bills have have been introduced in 43 states that would change how Americans vote, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice, which backs expanded voting access. Some measures would limit mail voting, cut hours at polling places and impose restrictions that Democrats argue amount to the greatest assault on voting rights since the Jim Crow era. Testifying at the hearing, former Attorney General Eric Holder, who served under President Barack Obama, said the legislation would help fight politicians who want to maintain an “unjust status quo.” “The events of the past few months have brought into stark focus what has been true for too long: There is a large and powerful faction in this country intent on retaining power and who will bend or break the rules of our democracy in order to do so,” Holder said. Republicans say the new mandates would amount to a federal takeover of elections, which have traditionally been left to states. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a longtime opponent of restrictive campaign finance laws, also made a rare hearing appearance, sitting across the dais from Schumer. He said the bill is full of “silly new mandates” that would create “an invitation to chaos” for states that would have to put them in place. “This is clearly an effort by one party to rewrite the rules of our political system,” McConnell said. The bill has already run into roadblocks that have become familiar since Democrats began their narrow control of the Senate two months ago. As he has on other party priorities, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has expressed skepticism about the legislation, threatening united Democratic support. Lacking the 60 votes needed for passage, Democrats have discussed options like lowering the threshold to break a filibuster, or potentially breaking the bill into pieces. For now, Democrats have suggested they will start with bringing up potentially popular proposals like the voting rights measure and expanded gun background checks and let them fail, forcing Republicans to go on the record in opposition. In an apparent effort to pressure Manchin, the only Democrat who hasn’t signed on to the voting legislation, Republicans called West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner to testify in opposition to the bill. He said the legislation would force his state and others to follow “arbitrary guidelines, most of which are impossible or unattainable under the deadlines.” He urged the senators
