(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On May 23, the Senate failed to pass a bipartisan border security bill, the second time the proposed legislation has failed this year.
The bill, which failed in a 49-50 vote in February, failed for the second time in a 43-50 vote.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer resurrected the failed bill for a second vote as Democrats try to place the blame for the border on Republicans as polls show voters disagree with President Joe Biden’s handling of the border.
After the bill failed, Schumer accused Republicans of doing “absolutely nothing to fix the problem” at the southern border while claiming, in contrast, “Democrats want to fix the border.” He claimed that Republicans have “no good explanation” for not supporting the bipartisan legislation except that former President “Donald Trump told them to do a 180-degree about-face.”
Democrat Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz also tried to blame Republicans for the border, stating, “Now this crisis is on them.”
In a floor speech, Republican South Carolina Sen Lindsey Graham stated that “if the administration is not going to enforce” the existing laws, then it does not matter “what laws are on the books.
The proposed bipartisan immigration bill was negotiated earlier this year by Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, and Independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Lankford and Sinema both voted against the bill this time, with Lankford calling the vote a “political messaging exercise” and Sinema calling the vote “political theater” that will not solve the crisis at the border. Lankford called on lawmakers to continue to work toward a bipartisan solution.
Despite trying to shift blame to Republicans, Democrats also lost votes from some in their party, including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey voted against it, stating the bill “misses key components” needed to solve “the serious immigration problems facing our nation.”
In a statement after the May 23 vote, President Joe Biden also accused Republicans of not wanting to solve the crisis at the border, adding that he is “committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system.”
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