Senate Legislative Agenda

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, from the very beginning, Democrats have been committed to doing the people's business, but while the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives has passed hundreds of bills dealing with healthcare, infrastructure, gun violence, climate change, and much more, Leader McConnell has turned our Chamber into a legislative graveyard. Not one of these bills has received a vote in the Senate: no vote to save protections for people with preexisting conditions, although the American people are pleading with us to do it; no vote on bipartisan background checks, although more people die from gun violence committed by people who shouldn't have guns; no vote on bipartisan election security as Russia threatens us; and no vote on the Violence Against Women Act, when abuse of women continues.

Over the course of his Presidency, President Trump has also failed to offer proposals to address any of these pressing issues. In many cases, his policies and his Executive actions have made things worse.

As Congress comes back into session, Senate Democrats will force our Republican colleagues to vote during this work period on three measures that are important to millions of Americans. These votes will occur under the procedures of the Congressional Review Act. The Congressional Review Act--I know the public is not familiar with the arcane parts of these things--is one of the rare instances where the minority can force a vote. We want to debate these other issues. We want to debate gun violence. We want to debate healthcare. We want to debate infrastructure. We want to debate preexisting conditions. We are not saying our Republican friends are going to think exactly as we do, but let's have a debate and vote. Leader McConnell, much to the discredit of this Chamber, as well as his own, has said no, but here the Congressional Review Act at least allows us to review some of the overreaching actions of the executive branch and get a vote on them.

Each of these CRA votes will present our Republican colleagues with a choice: whether to protect Americans with preexisting conditions or not to protect them, whether to protect middle-class Americans from a tax hike or not to protect them, and whether to fight climate change or to do nothing.

We will also demand that our Republican colleagues take up legislation to protect hard-earned pensions for millions of American workers. Several of my colleagues will come to the floor this evening to do just that. Senators Manchin, Brown, Stabenow, Peters, Smith, Baldwin, and Tester have been real leaders on these pension issues. Workers, who for decades put money into their pensions and thought when they retired they would at least have some modicum on which to live decently, will lose all that unless we act.

We hope our Republican colleagues will listen to the debate and help us move to deal with the millions of workers struggling to preserve their pensions.

As we continue to fulfill our solemn constitutional duty to hold the President accountable, Democrats will not--will not--stop putting pressure on Leader McConnell and our friends in the majority to get the Senate back to work for the American people. Democrats will use every tool we have--there are not that many--to stop Leader McConnell from making the Senate a legislative graveyard when the American people need help and action in so many ways.

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