McConnell opposes a bill restoring a key part of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, dashing all hope of any congressional action on votingSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threw cold water on a bipartisan proposal to revitalize the Voting Rights Act, dooming any hope of Congress taking action on voting rights this summer.
McConnell formally came out against the bipartisan proposal by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act as an alternative to S. 1, the For The People Act, Democrats' wide-ranging voting rights and democracy reform package.
"There's no threat to the Voting Rights Act, it's against the law to discriminate in voting on the basis of race already, and so I think it's unnecessary," McConnell told reporters in his weekly news conference.
Earlier that day, Murkowski acknowledged to reporters that while the bill is more narrowly targeted than S. 1, getting the 10 Senate Republican votes required to break the filibuster is a challenge. Most legislation in the Senate requires a three-fifths majority vote to get past the filibuster and go to a vote, and no other Senate Republicans have expressed support for the measure.
"To get to 60, it's pretty difficult to count," Murkowski said, according to CNN. .............
https://www.businessinsider.com/mcconnell-opposes-manchin-murkowski-bill-restoring-voting-rights-act-2021-6