McConnell's Senate Graveyard

Pelosi describes McConnell's Bills Graveyard

The primary duty of Congress is to write, debate and pass laws.  Congress is composed of two bodies; the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The leader of the House of Representatives is a person selected from the members of the party in the majority.  In the house, the Democrats are in the majority and Nancy Pelosi is the leader known as Speaker of the House.  

The leader of the Senate is known as the Senate Majority Leader and is also selected from the party in the majority for that body.  In the Senate, the Republicans are in the majority and Mitch McConnell is the Senate Majority Leader.  

The White House and the Congressional GOP have often used derogatory terms to describe the Democrats in Congress.  Much like the childish bullies they are, they believe that name-calling is a useful policy tool.  We have heard Trump use slogans like "Do nothing Democrats" to convince their  own gullible constituents that it's the Democrats who are not getting anything done in Congress.  However, in this case, the name-calling tool is really a projection of their own failure to work for America.  

In order to pass legislation that originates in the House of Representatives, Mitch McConnell must bring those bills up for debate in the Senate.  In a normal functioning Congress, the goal is to find agreement in both houses through compromise and concessions during a healthy debate. The goal is to enact legislation intended to help all Americans and improve the condition of the country.  But in the Republican led Senate, the goal is to stifle Democratic legislation that would help Americans.

McConnell has stated publicly that no Democratic bills will ever pass the Senate and will "die" there.  McConnell has been so pleased to prevent America from progressing with bipartisan legislation that he sees his new job as that of a "grim reaper," a name that he gave himself.  And he has been true to his name.  

According to the website congress.gov, in this 116th Congress, the House has so far passed 258 (H.R.) bills since the session started in 2019.  To view each bill and search for other interesting data, visit congress.gov at the following shortened url:  http://bit.ly/2PJQ9A5 .

Only thirty-three House bills have passed the Senate and only thirty-one have become law.

McConnell and the Republicans in the 116th Congressional Senate have introduced thirty-nine bills.  Eleven of them have become law.  Included in those Senate initiated bills that became law are:

• S.2249 A bill to allow the Deputy Administrator of FAA to continue as Deputy
• S.1693 National Flood Insurance Extension
• S.1379 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness
• S.998 Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis
• S.863 A bill to amend title 38 to clarify pay grade and pay of podiatrists of the VA
• S.744 Effective Prosecution and Possession of Biological Toxins and Agents
• S.483 Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension
• S.252 A bill to authorize Bob Doyle to grade of Colonel in the regular Army
• S.163 Alaska Remote Generator Reliability and Protection
• S.49 A bill to designate the outstation of the VA in North Ogden, Utah as Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation

There are so many House Democratic bills that McConnell is holding up, I cannot include them all, but a few of the more important ones include:

• H.R.3722 Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking
• H.R.3710 Cybersecurity Vulnerability Remediation
• H.R.3625 PCAOB Whistleblower Protection Act of 2019
• H.R.3525 U.S. Border Patrol Medical Screening Standards
• H.R.3239 Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody
• H.R.2513 Corporate Transparency Act
• H.R.2359 Whole Veterans Act
• H.R.1585 Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act
• H.R.1331 Local Water Protection Act
• H.R.1112 Enhanced Background Checks Act
• H.R.987 Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs
• H.R.986 Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions
• H.R.582 Raise the Wage Act
• H.R.6 American Dream and Promise Act

If you visit the government website mentioned above, you can see the stark reality that it is the Republicans in Congress that are obstructionists.  You realize that the Democrats in Congress have the energy, desire and concern for America that enables them to create these bills.

Republicans have proven themselves to be liars, obstructionists, and now grim reapers.  They may think they are attacking Democrats but it is you, the American people, that the Republicans are really hurting. Vote smart when the time comes and don't believe the Republican lies.