So much for a speedy vote on Build Back Better.
Senate Democrats won’t vote on President Joe Biden’s $2.4 trillion social welfare and green energy spending bill in January as they pledged to do shortly after lawmakers returned from the holiday recess.
Instead, the Senate will focus on eliminating or modifying the long-standing 60-vote threshold required to pass legislation in a bid to advance an overhaul of the nation’s voting laws. Republicans oppose the bill, arguing it would federalize elections, open them up to fraud, and skew voting rules in favor of Democrats.
In a letter to Democrats, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said it’s time to override the GOP and pass the voting overhaul bill, which he said is needed to block a slate of new, red-state voter integrity laws.
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“We hope our Republican colleagues change course and work with us. But if they do not, the Senate will debate and consider changes to Senate rules on or before January 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to protect the foundation of our democracy: free and fair elections,” Schumer wrote to Democrats.
Schumer did not announce the timing of a vote or other consideration of the Build Back Better legislation.
Some Senate Democrats have urged Schumer to bring the bill to the floor in order to force Manchin to vote on it.
The West Virginia centrist Democrat told Fox News in December he does not support the measure and will not vote for it, citing the high cost and policy provisions he opposes.
The Senate is evenly split, which means Democrats cannot pass the bill unless Manchin and every other Democrat vote for the bill. It is likely lawmakers will have to alter the bill significantly if they hope to win Manchin’s support, including lowering the cost and modifying many provisions.
After Manchin’s announcement, Schumer pledged to vote on the bill soon after lawmakers returned from the holiday break, but he made no mention of it in the memo to Democrats.
Instead, Schumer highlighted the need to overhaul the filibuster, which has allowed the minority to block legislation. Democrats employed the tactic often when Republicans controlled the Senate, but Schumer said the Senate “must adapt” in order to override red-state voting laws, which he said passed in state legislatures with a simple majority vote.
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Schumer tied the red-state laws, which include voter ID requirements and tighter provisions for casting ballots, to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, which Democrats are commemorating with numerous events this week.
“January 6th was a symptom of a broader illness — an effort to delegitimize our election process and the Senate must advance systemic democracy reforms to repair our republic or else the events of that day will not be an aberration — they will be the new norm,” Schumer wrote. “Given the urgency of the situation and imminence of the votes, we as Senate Democrats must urge the public in a variety of different ways to impress upon their Senators the importance of acting and reforming the Senate rules, if that becomes a prerequisite for action to save our democracy.”
