National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

McConnell said checks were ‘linked’ with other Trump priorities

Tyler Olson | Fox News — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 11:22:52 +0000

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate will address President Trump’s request to increase stimulus checks sent to Americans to $2,000, but did not commit to pushing the issue as he blocked attempts by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to put the House bill on $2,000 stimulus checks up for quick consideration.

That led Trump to launch a Twitter broadside against Senate Republicans, warning them that if they don’t have a “death wish” they’ll back the boosted checks.

Schumer’s request would have passed the stimulus checks Tuesday afternoon. Sanders’ request would have set a vote on the bill for stimulus checks Wednesday afternoon.

Jason Donner@jason_donner

Sen. Mitch McConnell objected to Sen. Schumer asking the Senate to pass by unanimous consent the $2000 direct payments bill that the House passed last night by 2/3 bipartisan vote.

Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell acknowledged that Trump “would like further direct financial support for American households.” He also mentioned that Trump wants Congress to address Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides protections for companies that host third-party content on their platforms — like Facebook and Twitter — and that Trump wants Congress to look into election security.

130 HOUSE REPUBLICANS, 2 DEMOCRATS VOTE AGAINST $2,000 STIMULUS CHECKS

“Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together,” McConnell said. “This week the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus.”

Notably, McConnell did not promise action on the $2,000 stimulus checks. Whether the Senate even gets to a cloture vote — a vote to end debate and proceed to a final vote — on the stimulus checks will be up to McConnell. He controls Senate floor action.

If Trump gets his way, McConnell will bring the checks up for a vote.

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough!

The Washington Post@washingtonpost

McConnell blocks Senate Democrats’ initial attempt to approve $2,000 stimulus checks amid growing pressure on GOP leader to act washingtonpost.com/powerpost/stim

“Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “$600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough!”

Sanders then objected to McConnell’s attempt to quickly move to a vote to override Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

STIMULUS CHECKS ROUND 2: WHAT TO EXPECT

“There are only a few days left in this session,” Schumer said, urging the Senate to prioritize relief checks. “We should not adjourn until the Senate holds a vote on both measures: the NDAA veto override and the House bill to provide $2,000 checks for the American people.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, Sens. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga.; David Perdue, R-Ga.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; and Marco Rubio, R.-Fla., have backed the House legislation for $2,000 stimulus checks, which passed with more than a two-thirds majority Monday.

Jason Donner@jason_donner

Bernie Sanders on Senate Floor regarding $2000 direct payment checks says “working families need help now” and a 2/3 bipartisan vote in the House “did the right thing” and “now time for the senate to step up to the plate.”

Seven more Senate Republicans would need to come out in support of the checks in order to break a filibuster on a cloture vote and set the issue for an up-or-down vote.

Sanders’ objection to McConnell’s attempt to quickly consider the NDAA veto led McConnell to schedule a vote on a motion to proceed on the veto override for Wednesday afternoon. McConnell could file cloture to end debate on the override Wednesday night, which would allow the Senate to take up that cloture vote on Jan. 1.

This tees up a potential vote on the actual veto override for Saturday, Jan. 2.

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That puts Congress on a tight timeline on both the veto override and the stimulus checks. The current Congress must adjourn by Jan. 3.

Fox News’ Jason Donner contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mcconnell-blocks-2000-stimulus-checks-quick-vote

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Trump hints he will veto defense bill unless controversial Section 230 terminated

Jack Durschlag | Fox News — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 16:22:05 +0000

Good morning and welcome to Fox News First. Here’s what you need to know as you start your day …

Trump warns he’ll veto defense bill unless social media protections in Section 230 terminated

President Trump tweeted late Tuesday that he will veto the National Defense Authorization Act unless Congress repeals Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which critics say unfairly shields social media platforms from liability over items posted on their platforms.

These opponents have been vocal that tech behemoths like Twitter and Facebook should no longer be shielded as a neutral platform when they operate more like a publisher.

The criticism seemed to reach its tipping point during the Hunter Biden scandal in the weeks prior to the presidential election.

The New York Post ran an explosive report that purported to show emails from Hunter Biden that linked his father to his Ukraine business dealings.

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and Josh Hawley called on the heads of Twitter and Facebook at the time to testify.

“This is election interference and we’re 19 days out from an election,” Cruz, R-Texas, said. “It has no precedent in the history of democracy. The Senate Judiciary Committee wants to know what the hell is going on.”

Trump, who has refused to concede the election and has a legal team investigating allegations of widespread voter fraud, has maintained a fraught relationship with these companies, despite attracting 88 million followers on his Twitter handle.

“Section 230, which is a liability shielding gift from the U.S. to “Big Tech” (the only companies in America that have it—corporate welfare!), is a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity. Our Country can never be safe & secure if we allow it to stand,” Trump tweeted. “Therefore, if the very dangerous & unfair Section 230 is not completely terminated as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), I will be forced to unequivocally VETO the Bill when sent to the very beautiful Resolute desk. Take back America NOW. Thank you!”

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/trump-hints-he-will-veto-defense-bill-unless-controversial-section-230-terminated

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Senate to vote Friday on Trump’s Iran war authority

Jordain Carney — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 23:41:52 +0000

The Senate will vote Friday on a measure to block President Trump from taking military action against Iran without congressional approval.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced that leadership had hashed out a deal to vote on the proposal from Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and that they would hold the vote open to give 2020 candidates the chance to return from Miami.

“We intend to stay in session this week to finish the NDAA bill and allow for a vote in relation to the Udall amendment. Senators should plan to vote on Friday on the Udall amendment,” McConnell said from the Senate floor, referring to the National Defense Authorization Act.

He added that “here’s the good news, the vote will start first thing in the morning and be held open into the afternoon to accommodate as many senators as possible.”

The amendment from Kaine and Udall would prevent Trump from using funding to take military action against Iran without congressional approval. Supporters of the amendment argue Trump could still use action without approval if American troops are attacked.

The amendment is unlikely to garner the 60 votes necessary to be added to the NDAA. Even if every Democrat supports the measure, they would still need to win over 13 Republicans.

The decision to delay the vote on the Iran amendment comes roughly a day after Republicans, including McConnell, dismissed the call from Democrats to delay the Iran vote until after the Democratic debates, which are taking place on Wednesday and Thursday night.

“I was incredulous to hear the Democratic leader call yesterday to postpone moving forward with the NDAA. Apparently, some of our Democratic friends need to go hit the presidential campaign trail. They can’t be here because they have to go campaign,” McConnell said.

In a procedural twist, senators are going to pass the mammoth defense bill on Thursday. If the Kaine-Udall proposal gets enough support it will be added to the defense bill retroactively.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) touted the agreement, saying a vote on the Kaine-Udall proposal was “fair and only right.”

“Many Americans feel that the constitutional right of Congress to examine foreign conflict and potential war be upheld,” he added.

The fight over the Iran amendment had threatened to derail the NDAA, with Democrats threatening to block the defense bill unless they got a vote.

Democrats debated their strategy for more than an hour during a closed-door lunch on Tuesday.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who is co-sponsoring the Iran amendment, said there was a “strong belief” among several members of the caucus that the NDAA is the right vehicle for holding the line about demanding a vote on Iran.

“There’s a lot of strong belief that we need to take a vote on war in Iran,” Murphy said after the lunch. “There’s there’s a lot of sentiment that this is the moment to take a stand.”

Republicans believe they have the votes to defeat the Iran amendment if it comes up for a vote.

McConnell told reporters during a weekly press conference that he hoped the amendment would be defeated but acknowledged the margin could be close.

“My hope is that it will be defeated. We’ll find out by how much of a margin, but we — we hope to defeat it. It’s simply not required under this set of circumstances,” McConnell said.

Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Republican senator, told reporters that “a few” Republicans would probably defect and support the Iran amendment.

“I think most of our conference is in a different place and doesn’t want to in an unprecedented way put constraints on the president’s ability to defend the country,” Thune said.

Source: https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/450500-senate-to-vote-friday-on-trumps-iran-war-authority

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