CNN
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday: A bill to codify same-sex marriage It is due to enter federal law “in the next few weeks,” and hopes to have enough Republican support to pass it.
Schumer also said he hopes to bring it to the floor as a separate bill and not attach it to the government funding bill that needs to be passed.
“Let me be clear there will be a vote,” Schumer said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. I hope
The Senate returned to Washington this week after its August recess, and the Democrats who control the House We need to decide how and when to vote On a few key items ahead of November’s midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake.
A major legislative item on the to-do list is a bill to extend government funding past the Sept. 30 deadline and avert a crisis. shut down, but Democrats are also pushing to hold a vote on same-sex marriage. Questions have been raised as to whether the same-sex marriage bill can be attached to the government’s fundraising efforts, but prominent supporters of the bill have opposed it, arguing it should be held as an independent vote.
“We want to do that as a separate bill,” Schumer said Wednesday of the same-sex marriage law. I was asked if it would be attached to the funding bill.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patrick Leahy told reporters on Wednesday that the law on same-sex marriage would be included in the Continuing Resolution, also known as the “CR,” a short-term government funding package to avoid a shutdown. said it was not included.
Democrats in Vermont said adding the bill to the fundraising effort “wouldn’t happen.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also expressed support for a “clean” stopgap bill to expand government funding at a separate press conference, though he did not specifically mention the same-sex marriage bill. , implied that no additional items should be attached.
“I think the key to minimizing controversy and getting the CR done is to make it as clean as possible,” he said.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, momentum and support are building in the Capitol for a Senate vote on a bill to codify same-sex marriage.Democrat-led House of Representatives passed the bill Democrats called for same-sex marriage protections to be incorporated into federal law in July, amid concerns that a conservative majority on the Supreme Court could set gay marriage on the map in the future.
Democrats could use this issue to force vulnerable Republicans to a tough vote to win re-election in November, but it remains to be seen whether they will eventually get the support needed to pass the bill. Not obvious. At least 10 Republicans must vote along with all Democrats. overcome the filibuster and pass legislation.
Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin said she was “very close” to having 10 Republicans on board.
Asked if the bill could be brought to the floor before the midterm elections, Baldwin said, “Oh, absolutely,” adding that it would not be possible to incorporate it into ongoing resolutions to fund the government. “It’s not my preferred route,” he added.
“I think we should vote sooner or later,” she said.
Several negotiators working to finalize a bill that would codify same-sex marriage told CNN they were trying to finalize key provisions dealing with “religious freedom.”
Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins said negotiators were working to ensure “religious freedoms are not violated” by the bill. She also stressed that she hopes the bill will be voted on separately and not added to the short-term government funding bill.
“I think we are making good progress. It is important that the invoice is considered independent of the CR. said Collins. “Furthermore, we are listening to our colleagues who have expressed concerns about whether we can strengthen the language … further, to ensure that religious freedom is not violated and that polygamous marriages are not permitted. And I think we’re making good progress.”
Source: www.cnn.com
