Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wasted no time in blocking Republicans' first attempt at offering legislation in the Senate to repeal the HHS requirement that would force employers to provide health insurance that includes contraceptives even if they are morally opposed to it.
Sen. Roy Blunt tried to offer a bipartisan amendment to the now-pending highway bill that would reverse the rule, but Reid objected, calling it a distraction from the proposed legislation, and that the rule had not yet been finalized in the Obama White House.
Reid said, "I appreciate that the Republicans take every opportunity to never miss an opportunity to mess up a good piece of legislation. The rule hasn't even been finalized yet. There is no final rule. Let's at least wait until there is a final rule. Everybody should calm down. Let's see what transpires."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accompanied the amendment to the floor and blasted the "odious" outcome of the president's decision. McConnell said, "Republicans are trying to reaffirm that basic right [of freedom of religion]. The Democrats won't allow those of us who are sworn to uphold the Constitution to even offer an amendment that says we believe in our First Amendment right to freedom of religion.
"Frankly, I never thought I'd see the day. [I] never thought I'd see the day when the elected representatives of the people of this country would be blocked by a majority party in Congress to even express their support for it," McConnell added.
Reid hit back immediately, saying he also had never seen anything like the way Republicans were trying to bog down a good bill. Reid said, "I've never seen anything like this before either. Why don't we just calm down and see what the final rule is?" |