Schumer and McConnell set for another showdown over Democrat-backed elections bill
Voting Rights And Voter Fraud,US Senate,Elections
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are set Tuesday to attend a Senate Rules Committee markup of S. 1, a Democrat-backed elections bill that would dramatically change the role of the federal government in elections.
The two party leaders are members of the Rules Committee but rarely appear to speak at hearings and markups. But they were both at the contentious hearing for the bill in March where they traded accusations of "Shame!"
Similar fireworks are expected Tuesday in what could be a marathon meeting.
Punchbowl News reported Tuesday that Republicans plan to offer more than 100 amendments to the bill during the markup. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said Monday that he'd filed more than 20 amendments to the bill on his own.
Officially called the "For the People Act," Democrats assigned the S. 1 number to the legislation to emphasize that it is their priority. The corresponding bill in the House is H.R. 1.
The bill faces sharp opposition from Republicans, who accuse Democrats of a political effort to give themselves an advantage in elections. Hagerty refers to the bill as the "For the Politicians Act."
McConnell, R-Ky., in March specifically cited a provision that would change the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) from a body with three Republicans and three Democrats to one with two members from each party and a third 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 said.
