McConnell sets up vote to repeal ObamaCare (to appease conservatives upset Ex-Im Bank)

[Suzanimal]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has set up a vote to repeal ObamaCare in a bit do appease conservatives upset over a second planned vote to revive the Export-Import Bank.

McConnell on Friday announced he would file cloture — a motion to end a filibuster — on amendments to fully repeal ObamaCare and to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank. Both votes likely will take place Sunday.

McConnell argued that taking votes on both amendments offered a "balanced" way forward.

"Ex-Im shouldn't be the only vote we take on this bill, and under the compromise I just filed, it won't be. That's a much fairer way forward," he said, adding that Republicans will "continue to fight for" a repeal of ObamaCare.

The Export-Import Bank is staunchly opposed by conservatives, including presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who shortly after McConnell spoke denounced the decision.

Bringing back the bank is important to vulnerable GOP Sen. Mark Kirk (Ill.), one of the Democrats’ top targets in 2016, whom McConnell wants to help win re-election.

Also, Democrats have insisted that the six-year highway deal McConnell negotiated with liberal Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) include the Ex-Im Bank reauthorization.

McConnell has often said he personally opposes reauthorizing the bank, an agency panned by conservatives as a tool of corporate welfare.

He plans to file cloture to repeal ObamaCare and renew the bank’s charter after offering the highway bill on the Senate floor Friday.

The chamber began voting at 9 a.m. on Friday to begin the highway debate.

Democrats critizied McConnell for using a procedural tactic known as "filling the tree" that prevents other amendments from being offered. When McConnell was in the minority, he frequently complained when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) used the tactic.

"Did I just hear the legislative tree being filled?," Reid joked on Friday. "I can answer that question."

He suggested that Republicans need to move on from their focus on repealing the health care law.

"I hope the Senate doesn't catch up with House with how many times they're going to try to repeal that," he said adding that "critics are stubbornly ignoring reality."

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/249068-mcconnell-sets-up-vote-to-repeal-obamacare

[Suzanimal]

Cruz accuses McConnell of lying


Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in a blistering floor speech Friday accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) of lying to him over a deal to vote on reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.

"Today is a sad day for this institution," said Cruz, who is running for president. "What we just witnessed this morning is profoundly disappointing."

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The Texas Republican's remarks come after McConnell set up a procedural vote on Sunday to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which saw its charter expire last month. Democrats have said McConnell agreed to allow a vote on attaching Ex-Im to "must-pass" legislation to win support from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) for a trade package earlier this year.

On the floor, Cruz said McConnell in a private conversation denied to him that there was such a deal.

"The majority leader was visibly angry with me that I would ask him such a question," Cruz said. "The majority looked at me and said 'there is no deal, there is no deal, there is no deal.'"

The Texas Republican said his staff at the time told him that McConnell is "lying to you," but Cruz suggested that he took the Republican leader at his word.

"What I told my staff that afternoon, I said, well I don't know if that's the case or not. But I don't see how when the majority leader looks me in the eyes and makes an explicit promise," he added. "I don't see how I cannot take him at his word."

Cruz later said that McConnell's move to allow the Ex-Im vote shows that he does not always mean what he says.

"Well, we now know that when the majority leader looks us in the eyes and makes an explicit commitment that he is willing to say things that he knows are false," the Texas Republican added, arguing it could have ramifications down the road.

"That has consequences for how this body operates," he said. "If you or I cannot trust what the majority leader tells us, that will have consequences on other legislation, as well as on how this institution operates."

Cruz also ripped McConnell for using a procedural maneuver to prevent other amendments from being offered to the highway bill. That's the vehicle that will be used for the Ex-Im vote.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) frequently "filled the tree" to prevent amendments when Democrats had a Senate majority. It was a tactic that McConnell and other Republicans criticized.

...

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/249076-cruz-accuses-mcconnell-of-lying-to-him-on-ex-im-bank