Senate Democrats are pushing for votes on paid sick leave, same-sex benefits and other issues that were included as amendments to the budget that passed last month.
In a letter Friday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), nine lawmakers said they are willing to cooperate to get floor votes.
{mosads}”We would like to assure you that we stand ready to work with you to bring real legislation separate from the budget to the floor for an up-or-down vote,” wrote Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Patty Murray (Wash.), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Bob Casey Jr. (Pa.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii) and Al Franken (Minn.).
The Democrats want votes on paid sick leave, curbing employment discrimination for pregnant workers, giving same-sex couples access to Social Security and Veterans Affairs Department benefits, and cutting taxes for the middle class.
Senators voted to include amendments on each topic in the budget, but those votes are nonbinding. The Democrats, acknowledging that the budget votes have no impact, said they believed these issues were important to highlight.
“Too often, the budget vote-a-rama is characterized as a partisan exercise that leaves no lasting policy impact. Working with you, we hope to make this Budget vote-a-rama different,” the nine senators wrote. “While we strongly oppose the underlying Senate Republican budget and the negative impacts it would have on middle-class and working families, we believe the following four amendments represent policies that deserve a vote in this Congress.”
The nine Democrats, in the letter, want McConnell to “publicly announce a timetable” for when the Senate would vote on the four issues.
The amendments, if they come up for a Senate vote, could display division amongst Senate Republicans. Potential and declared GOP presidential candidates including Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) all voted against a sick pay amendment that ultimately passed.
That pits them against 11 of their Republican colleagues who are up for reelection in 2016 and voted for the measure.
Don Stewart, McConnell’s deputy chief of staff, said senators should work with committee chairman if they want to bring legislation to the Senate floor.
Stewart noted that the lawmakers “left out a lot of amendments that passed with bipartisan support,” citing measures from Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) on equal pay, McConnell on the EPA, John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on the EPA’s water rule and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on an energy tax.
“I’m sure that was just an oversight,” he continued.
“Despite not bringing many of these issues to the floor when they were in the majority, under the new Congress’ return to regular order, Senators of both parties now have the opportunity to work with the appropriate committee chairmen to report bipartisan legislation that complies with the budget,” said Stewart.
This story was updated at 12:32 p.m.