Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate next month will vote on expanding background checks for gun purchases, overhauling federal elections, and reversing a Trump-era policy deregulating methane.
“We’ve accomplished a lot, but we are just getting started,” the New York Democrat said Thursday.
Schumer addressed the spring agenda as lawmakers prepared to depart the Capitol for a two-week recess.
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Two mass shootings this month have prompted calls for the Senate to take up House-passed legislation expanding and enhancing background check requirements for gun purchases immediately. But Schumer told reporters he is working with key Senate lawmakers to craft legislation that can pass the Senate.
“I’m speaking with my colleagues,” Schumer said, “to discuss the best path forward.”
Democrats will instead vote on a special resolution that would reverse a Trump administration rule that eliminated the regulation of methane as a greenhouse gas.
Schumer said they will also work on a major infrastructure legislation that will also be used to incorporate the party’s climate change agenda and will begin consideration of House-passed voting and election overhaul legislation, including the For the People Act, which Schumer said “is critical to reforming our democracy.”
The bill would allow same-day voter registration and would eliminate voter ID laws, among many other provisions Democrats say will expand and equalize access to the ballot box. Republicans universally oppose the bill, arguing it would nationalize elections, make them less secure, and skew outcomes to favor Democratic candidates.
Despite the overwhelming influx of thousands of illegal immigrants at the U.S. southern border, Schumer did not provide a specific timeline for considering an immigration reform measure.
Schumer said he backs a comprehensive immigration reform bill, and Democrats will “meet and figure out the best way forward where we can get the most done.”
Schumer did not say when, or if, the Senate will vote on two House-passed measures that would legalize up to 4 million people who either arrived here illegally as children or now work in the nation’s agriculture sector.
Schumer said he is “fully supportive” of the two House bills.
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Democrats face hurdles to passing their legislative agenda thanks to the legislative filibuster and resistance from moderates in their own party.
Schumer said he wants to work with Republicans.
“But if they don’t, our caucus will come together, and we will discuss the best way to produce that big, bold action,” Schumer said. “And as I’ve said before, everything, everything is on the table.”
