The post Senate passes bipartisan gun legislation first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The 80-page bill includes provisions that would help states keep guns out of the hands of those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others and close the so-called boyfriend loophole by blocking gun sales to those convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners.

After mass shootings at a New York grocery store and a Texas elementary school that authorities said were committed by teenagers, the legislation would allow states to provide juvenile records to the national background check system for gun purchases.

Lawmakers said the Senate was likely to take its first procedural vote later yesterday on a motion to proceed to a bill from the House of Representatives that would serve as the Senate’s legislative vehicle.

“I believe that this week, we will pass legislation that will become the most significant piece of anti-gun-violence legislation Congress will have passed in 30 years. This is a breakthrough,” Senator Chris Murphy, the lead Democrat in the talks, said on the Senate floor. “And more importantly, it is a bipartisan breakthrough.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to move forward as soon as possible, with an expected motion to proceed.

“This bipartisan gun-safety legislation is progress and will save lives. While it is not everything we want, this legislation is urgently needed,” Schumer said in a statement.

Schumer’s Republican counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, called the legislation “a commonsense package” in a statement pledging his own support.

With the 100-seat Senate split evenly, the legislation will need support from at least 10 Republicans to pass a procedural hurdle.

The biggest gun lobby in the country, the National Rifle Association, said on Twitter that it opposed the legislation because it could be abused to restrict lawful gun purchases. The politically powerful group’s statement could affect how many Republicans vote on the measure.

Senator John Cornyn, the lead Republican negotiator in the bipartisan talks, held out hope the legislation would succeed.

“We know there’s no such thing as a perfect piece of legislation. We are imperfect human beings. But we have to try, and I believe this bill is a step in the right direction,” Cornyn said on the Senate floor.

The legislation’s release yesterday would help ensure the odds of Senate passage before lawmakers leave for their two-week July 4 break. Some aides suggested lawmakers could stay into the weekend to vote on the bill.

The bipartisan group has been working on a deal to curb gun violence since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, less than two weeks after 10 people were killed in a racist shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.

‘Red flag laws’

The measure announced yesterday does not go as far as Democrats including President Joe Biden had sought. Still, if passed, it would be the most significant action to combat gun violence to emerge from Congress in years.

Lawmakers reached agreement on a provision to encourage states to adopt “red flag” laws, in which guns can be temporarily taken away from people who are deemed dangerous. It also provides funding for states that use other forms of intervention to accomplish the same outcome.

The bill also aims to close the “boyfriend loophole” by allowing authorities to block gun purchases by those convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse against partners to whom they are not married. ― Reuters

Source: https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2022/06/22/us-senate-poised-to-move-forward-on-first-significant-gun-legislation-in-decades/13562

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Speaking to reporters outside the White House after returning to Washington from a weekend that included a visit to the site of last week’s mass shooting in Texas, Biden recounted a visit to a trauma hospital in New York, where he said doctors had showed him X-rays of gunshot wounds caused by various firearms.

“They said a .22-caliber bullet will lodge in the lung, and we can probably get it out — may be able to get it and save the life,” Biden said. “A 9mm bullet blows the lung out of the body.

“So the idea of these high-caliber weapons is, uh, there’s simply no rational basis for it in terms of thinking about self-protection, hunting,” the president went on.

Later in his remarks, Biden appeared to rule out the possibility of taking major executive action on guns, saying: “I can’t dictate this stuff. I can do the things I’ve done and any executive action I can take, I’ll continue to take. But I can’t outlaw a weapon. I can’t, you know, change the background checks. I can’t do that.”

Biden’s statements about 9mm pistols are in keeping with his rhetoric before entering the White House. At a 2019 fundraiser in Seattle, for example, then-candidate Biden asked his audience: “Why should we allow people to have military-style weapons including pistols with 9mm bullets and can hold 10 or more rounds?”

According to Shooting Industry magazine, 9mm pistols accounted for 56.8% of all handguns made in the US during 2019. In all, more than 15.1 million 9mm guns were produced in this country during the 2010s. The possibility of outlawing or otherwise regulating such weapons is likely to be a non-starter among conservatives and gun rights advocates.

“Remember, the Constitution, the Second Amendment, was never absolute,” Biden said. “You couldn’t buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldn’t go out and purchase a lot of weapons.”

Biden has made that claim before, most recently when he announced new regulations to stop the spread of so-called “ghost guns,” and they have been repeatedly declared false by fact-checkers.

“The Second Amendment did not place limits on individual ownership of cannons,” PolitiFact stated in April when it rated his claim false.

The website pointed out the text of the Constitution: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”​

Despite widespread public outrage over Tuesday’s massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the racially motivated May 14 mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store, Biden said he had not yet spoken with any Republicans about potential gun control legislation, but expressed hope for a compromise.

“I think things have gotten so bad that everybody is getting more rational about it,” he said. “At least, that’s my hope and prayer.”

Asked whether Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) authorizing Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to work with Democrats could lead to results, Biden said, “I don’t know.”

“I think Senator McConnell is a rational Republican. I think Cornyn is as well,” he added. “I think there’s a recognition in their part that they — we can’t continue like this. We can’t do this.”

Without Republican support, Democrats are powerless to pass any gun legislation in the 50-50 Senate unless they manage to temporarily set aside the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold for passing most bills.

Biden’s comments came less than 48 hours after Vice President Kamala Harris called for an assault weapons ban after attending a funeral for Buffalo shooting victim Ruth Whitfield, 86.

“You know what an assault weapon is? You know how an assault weapon was designed?” Harris said Saturday. “It was designed for a specific purpose — to kill a lot of human beings quickly. An assault weapon is a weapon of war with no place, no place in a civil society.”

Source: https://nypost.com/2022/05/30/biden-goes-on-anti-gun-tirade-suggests-theres-no-rational-basis-for-9mm-pistols/

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(May 6, 2022 / JNS) The U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected the Biden administration’s outline for a deal with Iran. Members voted 86-12 to approve a motion that opposes the lifting of terrorism sanctions on Iran to limit cooperation between it and China. Senators also voted 66-13 to approve a motion to block the delisting of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The lawmakers also demanded that any final deal must address all of Iran’s destabilizing activities.

The United States has been engaged in a controversial debate over removing the IRGC from its FTO list and only keeping its foreign operations arm, the Quds Force, under sanctions. Iran has rejected a partial removal of sanctions and insists that all designations be removed.

Commenting on the vote, Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, tweeted: “Biden Iran policy has failed. No pressure led to no deal. Most of Iran’s nuke expansion since Biden election. Iran sensed weakness & made maximum demands re IRGC. Senate just overwhelmingly rejected deal they offered Iran. Change policy now. Change personnel now.”

Dubowitz recalled a CNN article in September 2020 in which U.S. President Joe Biden argued for a “smarter” way to be “tough” on Iran.

“May 2022, his ‘smarter’ Iran policy has spectacularly failed,” wrote Dubowitz. “Time for new ‘tough’ policy and new personnel with credibility to execute.”

The Biden administration’s policy, which relies mainly on appeasing Iran in Vienna to achieve any deal, appears to be faltering as the talks have largely stalled over the IRGC issue. Now, there are murmurings of the talks breaking down completely with no deal to be signed at all.

‘An escalation in Israeli actions?’

According to Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, if no deal is signed, “there is greater legitimacy for acting against the Iranian nuclear program and its branches.”

Inbar suggested to JNS the possibility that we may see “an escalation in Israeli actions, primarily covert. We may also see U.S.-Israeli cooperation in such endeavors.”

In the event this becomes reality, he said, Israel’s new friends in the Gulf “will get even closer to Israel,” and this level of cooperation “may be enough to prevent [Iran’s] race to the bomb.”

A lot depends on what happens in Vienna.

The Vienna talks, which began in April 2021, aim to return America to the 2015 nuclear deal made under the Obama administration, including through the lifting of sanctions on Iran, and to ensure Tehran’s full compliance with its commitments.

The United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and reimposed economic sanctions in May 2018 under the Trump administration.

Until March 11, Tehran had been engaged in negotiations with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia directly, and the United States indirectly, to revive the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The Iranian and U.S. negotiating teams have been exchanging messages through the European coordinator of the Vienna talks, Enrique Mora. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Tuesday stressed that Tehran and Washington are still exchanging messages through Mora despite the halt in Vienna talks.

“We urged the American side to be realistic,” said Amir-Abdollahian. “Removing sanctions in all areas and receiving economic guarantees are among the most important items on our negotiating team’s agenda.”

Talks broke down after Iranian negotiators demanded removing the IRGC from the FTO.

Russia also demanded guarantees that Western sanctions imposed against it after its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine would not damage its trade with Iran.

The 2015 deal provided Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to ensure that Iran would not develop a nuclear weapon—a goal Iran has long denied.

But last week, former Iranian politician Ali Motahhari told Iran’s ISCA News: “When we began our nuclear activity, our goal was indeed to build a bomb. There is no need to beat around the bush,” he said.

And even though the United States is aware of Iran’s destabilizing regional activities and its continuing work on the nuclear front, it insists on negotiating with Iran.

‘Less money to fund and conduct terrorism’

On Monday, U.S. Department of Defense Spokesman John Kirby told reporters that “Iran continues to be a malign actor in the region. They continue to support terrorist groups; they continue to develop a ballistic-missile program. They obviously, even as they sit in negotiations, continue to develop certain nuclear capabilities.

“And they are harassing shipping and clearly pose a threat in the maritime domain. You pick it. There’s an awful lot there that Iran is doing in a malign way in the Middle East region. … No problem in the Middle East is easier to solve with Iran having a nuclear weapon. So, we continue to support the work of our diplomats as they try to get a new agreement here on their nuclear development.”

Last month U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the House Foreign Relations Committee that the breakout time for Iran to produce fissile material for a nuclear weapon is just “a matter of weeks.”

Pushing back against Blinken’s argument that Iranian aggression is a result of Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal, former special adviser for the Iran Action Group in the Trump administration Gabriel Noronha advocated tougher sanctions, tweeting: “As U.S. sanctions are enforced more, the Iranian regime has less money to fund and conduct terrorism.”

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS “we’ve seen this play before. References to a diminishing breakout time by the administration have often been ways to justify the next round of concessions to Tehran or justify the current JCPOA-centric approach.”

Source: https://www.jns.org/biden-administrations-iran-policy-failing-as-senate-rejects-appeasement/

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The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelming approved (420-9) legislation last September to provide $1 billion in funds, but the legislation has since stalled in the Senate.

A dozen major Jewish organizations spanning the religious and political spectrum are urging the U.S. Senate to quickly approve funding for the replenishment of Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system.

The House of Representatives overwhelming approved (420-9) legislation last September to provide $1 billion in funds, but the legislation has since stalled in the Senate.

The letter, which was spearheaded by the American Jewish Congress and Jewish Council for Public Affairs, calls on Senate leaders Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to move the measure forward.

“As American Jewish organizations dedicated to maintaining strong support for Israel’s security, we implore you to not allow any more needless delays in passing this legislation. Every day that goes by without this funding is one more day of danger and insecurity for the Israeli people,” the groups said.

Other groups include Agudath Israel of America, Ameinu, B’nai B’rith International, Hadassah, Israel Policy Forum, Jewish Women International, Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative Movement), Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Union for Reform Judaism and Zionist Organization of America.

The Jewish groups said they are “deeply troubled” by maneuvers to delay the consideration of H.R. 5323 by the full Senate, which “weakens our entire nation’s commitment to our Israeli ally’s security.”

Israel’s Iron Dome system came under heavy use during the May 2021 conflict with Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip when more than 4,000 rockets were fired on Israel. The Iron Dome intercepted nearly 90 percent of them. The system, which the United States helped to develop, can cost as much as $80,000 per use.PP

“Rebuilding the supply of interceptor missiles takes time, due to the relatively slow manufacturing process, with cost being an inhibitor. On the other hand, terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and PIJ [Palestian Islamic Jihad] use less sophisticated rockets that are manufactured quickly, at a much lower cost, but that are no less deadly,” said the group.

In September, funding for Iron Dome became a point of controversy in the House when it was removed by a larger spending bill over objections by progressive Democrats.

Nevertheless, Democratic leaders in the House quickly introduced a standalone measure that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. However, the bill was blocked from being passed in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who stated that he would not vote for the funding unless its cost was not offset by cuts elsewhere, specifically suggesting reappropriating foreign aid the administration intends to provide to humanitarian groups in Afghanistan.

“We as American Jews believe that Israel has no better friend or partner than the United States, and we are proud to be supporting a defense system that protects all of Israel’s citizens, regardless of their religious background or ethnicity,” the organizations said, adding that U.S. President Joe Biden has signaled that he is ready to immediately sign the legislation.

“We therefore urge you to ignore the unfortunate gamesmanship that is taking place right now in the Senate and to press forward in bringing the House-passed legislation to the floor for a vote.”

Source: https://worldisraelnews.com/senate-urged-to-take-immediate-action-to-replenish-iron-dome/

The post US Senate holding up Iron Dome funding for Israel, urged to release funds first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed Democrats in a floor speech Wednesday for using the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to justify proposed filibuster reform to pass election legislation.

“It is surreal to hear sitting senators invoke Jan. 6 to justify breaking the rules to grab outcomes they have not earned,” said McConnell, R-Ky. “It is jaw-dropping for colleagues to propose to commemorate that by breaking the Senate themselves.”

SCHUMER TARGETS FILIBUSTER REFORM TO PASS VOTING RIGHTS LEGISLATION

McConnell’s condemnation comes one day after he accused Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of trying “to break the Senate” by gutting the filibuster.

In a Monday letter to his Democratic colleagues, Schumer said the upper chamber would debate rule changes in an attempt to carve a path for voting reform legislation.

Schumer said the move was necessary to circumvent situations like the Jan. 6 attack that could jeopardize the legitimacy of the current democratic process.

“We must adapt,” he wrote. “The Senate was designed to evolve and has evolved many times in our history.”

But McConnell, who told Politico Wednesday that he may support making changes to the 1887 Electoral Count Act, has taken issue with making any sweeping changes to Senate rules or broader election reform.

SCHUMER TO USE JAN. 6 ANNIVERSARY TO MAKE PUSH FOR FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS BILL

“No party that would trash the Senate’s legislation traditions can be trusted to seize control over election laws all across America,” McConnell said Wednesday from the Senate floor. “Nobody who is this desperate to take over our democracy on a one-party basis can be allowed to do it.”

“Finally, it is beyond distasteful for some of our colleagues to ham-fistedly invoke the Jan. 6 anniversary to advance these aims,” he said.

McConnell has faced criticism for his stark condemnation of filibuster reform after he amended the rule during Donald Trump’s presidency in order to confirm Supreme Court nominees by a simple majority – securing the former president three justices to the high court.

But despite the majority leader’s recent push to amend the filibuster, he continues to face an uphill battle from within his own party.

Moderate Democrat Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have repeatedly said they do not support filibuster reform.

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This means Democrats will still need to secure 60 votes in favor of voting reform in order to pass legislation – a tough feat in a 50-50 split Senate.

Schumer has said the upper chamber will consider rule changes on or before Jan. 17 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – in an attempt to push through voting rights legislation by simple majority and bypass the 60-vote margin needed to avoid threat of filibuster.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mcconnell-slams-senate-democrats-for-invoking-jan-6-to-push-filibuster-changes-surreal

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted to lift the federal debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion early Wednesday and will send the bill to President Biden’s desk for final approval.

The House voted 221-209 in favor of the increase after the Senate voted to avoid a U.S. default. The votes followed months of discord on Capitol Hill. The Senate vote was also along party lines, 50-49.

Lawmakers expect the increase, which raises the debt ceiling to roughly $31.5 trillion, to last beyond the upcoming midterm elections and into 2023. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said lawmakers had until Wednesday to raise the debt ceiling or risk a potential default on U.S. obligations.

Earlier, Republicans agreed to a one-time exception to the filibuster, allowing the Democrats to pass the debt hike by a simple majority vote rather than meeting the 60-vote threshold.

“This is about paying debt accumulated by both parties, so I’m pleased Republicans and Democrats came together,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said on the floor ahead of the vote.

The House is expected to sync up with the Senate in a vote on raising the debt limit that could occur as soon as Tuesday. From there, the bill will proceed to President Biden’s desk for final approval.

The Senate vote followed weeks of contentious negotiations between Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Many Republicans say Democrats should raise the debt ceiling without their help, arguing any increase will facilitate increased spending on social and climate programs the country can’t afford.

“Later today, every Senate Democrat is going to vote on party lines to raise our nation’s debt limit by trillions of dollars,” McConnell said ahead of the vote. “If they jam through another reckless taxing and spending spree, this massive debt increase will just be the beginning.”

The one-time exception to filibuster rules allowed Democrats to avoid raising the debt ceiling through the budget reconciliation process. Schumer said that process would be too risky and complicated.

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McConnell faced some Republican pushback over the agreement, with GOP critics accusing the minority leader of caving to political pressure.

Fox News’ Edmund DeMarche and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/senate-votes-raise-debt-ceiling-2-5t?test=38861ea43380e1402f1c90f21546ad4b

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The vote was 52-48. The Democratic-led House is unlikely to take the measure up, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote gave senators a chance to voice opposition to a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents who worry about losing their jobs should the rule go into effect.

“Every so often Washington D.C. does something that lights up the phone lines. This is one of these moments,” said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. At home, he said, “this issue is what I hear about. This issue is a top-of-mind issue.”

Lawmakers can invalidate certain federal agency regulations if a joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto. That’s unlikely to happen in this case.

Under the rule, private-sector companies with 100 or more workers must require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would work with companies on compliance but would fine them up to more than $13,000 for each violation, though implementation and enforcement is suspended as the litigation unfolds.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Americans who have refused to get vaccinated are the biggest impediment to ending the pandemic. He implied that some of the resistance to mandated vaccines is based on politics.

“Some of the anti-vaxxers here in this chamber remind me of what happened 400 years ago when people were clinging to the fact that the sun revolved around the Earth. They just didn’t believe science. Or 500 years ago when they were sure the Earth was flat,” Schumer said.

Schumer said social media has played a role in spreading falsehoods about the vaccine, and “so has the far right.” He urged senators to vote against the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.

Republicans said they are supportive of the vaccine, but that the mandate amounts to government overreach.

RELATED: Pfizer: COVID-19 booster offers protection against omicron in early study

“His mandates are under fire in the courts. Main Street job creators are complaining against it, and tonight, the U.S. Senate must send a clear message: back off this bad idea,” Braun said.

Some argued that the mandate may even contribute to people not getting vaccinated.

“I think, actually, the mandate has made it worse in terms of hardening people who don’t want to be told what to do by the government,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said a telephone town hall she recently held with constituents made clear they are concerned about keeping their job if the mandate goes into effect.

“If you look at my state, 40% of my state’s workforce stands to lose their job under this mandate,” Capito said. “It will be a killer to our economy.”

In the end, two Democratic lawmakers voted with 50 Republicans to void the mandate, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana. Manchin had said in a tweet that he does not support any federal vaccine mandate for private businesses. Tester’s office said his opposition is based on conversations with Montana businesses who “expressed deep concerns about the negative effect on their bottom lines and our state’s economy during this fragile recovery period.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sided with the Biden administration, noting that the pandemic is still raging and that deaths are overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated.

“How on earth does it make sense right now to undercut one of the strongest tools that we have to get people vaccinated and stop this virus?” Murray said. “In what world is that a good idea?”

The White House released a statement earlier this week stating that Biden’s advisers would recommend he veto the resolution in the unlikely event it makes it to his desk.

“The president wants to see Americans back on the job, and Americans back at work should not face risk from those who are not vaccinated and who refuse to be tested,” the White House said.

Deaths in the United States stemming from COVID-19 are running close to 1,600 a day on average. The overall U.S. death toll less than two years into the pandemic could soon reach 800,000.

Source: https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/biden-administrations-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-for-businesses-rejected-by-senate

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The Senate was scheduled to convene at noon EDT (1600 GMT) and was expected to hold two procedural votes on Sunday evening, unless Republicans and Democrats could reach an agreement on amendments that would allow the chamber to move more quickly to passage.

The legislation represents the biggest investment in decades in America’s roads, bridges, airports and waterways, and its passage through the evenly divided Senate would represent a major victory for President Joe Biden and a group of bipartisan lawmakers who spent months crafting the measure.

The legislation took an important step forward on Saturday, when 67 lawmakers including 18 Republicans voted to limit debate on the measure, comfortably surpassing a 60-vote threshold required for most legislation in the 100-seat Senate.

But unless all 100 senators consent to expedite the process, passage would have to wait until Monday or Tuesday under parliamentary rules that require legislation to move forward slowly and in stages.

Lawmakers in both parties have been working toward an agreement to consider a combination of Democratic, Republican and bipartisan amendments under an expedited schedule.

But the effort has been held up by opposition from Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, a freshman from Tennessee who objects to fast-tracking the legislation due in part to its effect on the federal budget deficit.

“I cannot participate in doing it this way,” Hagerty, who was former President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Japan, declared on the Senate floor on Saturday.

Hagerty announced his opposition last week, after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the legislation would increase the deficits by $256 billion over 10 years.

The CBO analysis here did not include $57 billion in added revenue that Washington could collect over the long term from the economic growth benefits of infrastructure projects. It also did not count $53 billion in unused federal supplemental unemployment funds to be returned from states.

Hagerty showed no sign of wavering late on Saturday, when he was approached on the Senate floor by a number of Republicans who fear that his opposition will prevent votes on amendments they believe could improve the legislation.

“Impasse. That’s the headline: impasse. There’s nothing below that,” Republican Senator John Cornyn later told reporters.

Despite Republican frustration, Democrats believe the deadlock on amendments poses no threat to ultimate passage of the infrastructure bill.

“At the end of the day, this legislation is too important not to pass. Too important. Failure, as they say, is not an option,” Senator Tom Carper, Democratic floor manager for the bill, told reporters. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by David Gregorio)

The post U.S. Senate edges toward passage of $1 tln infrastructure bill first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

President Biden Friday demanded the Republicans in the Senate move on passing gun background check legislation, calling the string of mass shootings and gun violence a “national embarrassment.”

Biden pushed the Senate to take a vote on House-passed legislation that would expand background checks and close certain loopholes.

“I strongly, strongly urge my Republican friends in the Congress who refuse to bring up the House-passed bill to bring it up now,” Biden said. “This has to end. It’s a national embarrassment.

BIDEN SAYS US, JAPAN ‘COMMITTED TO WORKING TOGETHER’ ON CHALLENGES FROM CHINA, NORTH KOREA

Speaking at a joint White House press conference Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Biden was pressed on whether he needs to prioritize police reform and gun control measures in the wake of more mass shootings and police-related deaths.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Brenner (Reuters)

Biden rejected the notion that guns have taken a backseat to his infrastructure and coronavirus agenda in Congress and he doubled down on his support for banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“I strongly support the universal background checks, which I continue to push. And Congress has to step up and act. The Senate has to act,” Biden said. “I strongly support and … never stopped supporting the ban on assault weapons and magazines that hold more than 10 bullets.”

BIDEN CALLS ON SENATE TO PASS GUN CONTROL MEASURES ‘IMMEDIATELY’ AFTER BOULDER SHOOTING

Biden said “no one has worked harder” than him on ending gun violence and he pointed to his work in the Senate to pass the now-expired 1994 assault weapons ban. He said he’s committed to passing such gun restrictions again.

“Who in God’s name needs a weapon that can hold 100 rounds, or 40 rounds, or 20 rounds,” Biden said. “It’s just wrong. And I’m not going to give up until it’s done.”

AS BIDEN CALLS FOR GUN BAN, MANCHIN SAYS HE DOESN’T SUPPORT BACKGROUND CHECK LEGISLATION

The first hurdle, though, will be getting support for a universal background check bill in the Senate that’s split 50-50. The House already passed legislation to expand federal gun background checks on all firearms sales and extend the background check review period from three days to a minimum of 10 business days.

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But Republicans have resisted the legislation and moderate West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin also said he can’t support new background checks measures on private sales.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-says-gun-violence-is-a-national-embarrassment-demands-gop-move-on-background-check-bill

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