http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/senate-vote-gun-restrictions-224426Senate nears deal to vote on doomed gun proposals
There's an agreement in principle between Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid to hold four amendment votes as soon as Thursday afternoon.
By Burgess Everett and Seung Min Kim
06/16/16 10:50 AM EDT
After a marathon Democratic filibuster and pitched negotiations on gun control measures, senators are finally nearing a bipartisan deal — but only to hold votes that are highly likely to fail.
On Thursday morning, the Senate Republican Conference held a special caucus meeting on what amendments they would put forward to match a background checks proposal from Democrats, senators said.
Republicans have coalesced behind presenting a side-by-side alternative to Democrats’ bill to ban suspected terrorists from buying guns, but there was some division in the room about what other amendments the GOP should put forward to match a universal background checks proposal that has repeatedly failed, attendees said. One possibility is an amendment sponsored by Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ted Cruz of Texas that would add mental health considerations to firearms background checks.
“We’re trying to get a plan so everybody gets a chance to votes on these issues,” said Republican Conference Chairman John Thune of South Dakota. “There’s a chance it comes together.”
Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) presented competing proposals inside the special meeting, Republicans said. Toomey is seeking to strike a bipartisan deal but there is more enthusiasm for Cornyn's proposal, which has been blessed by the NRA.
Toomey "presented it for the first time this morning and people are intrigued. He'll be entitled to get a vote on his if he wants it but the question is how long do we want to keep talking about gun control and when are we going to pivot to the national security debate," Cornyn, the majority whip, said in an interview.
There is an agreement in principle between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Harry Reid to hold four amendment votes as soon as Thursday afternoon though nothing is locked in, aides said. Still, senators said they expected three of those to be revotes from last year, when universal background checks and two anti-terrorism firearms bills both were defeated.
“Republicans must join us for those measures to pass. But that won’t happen if the Republicans continue to take their orders — and I mean orders — from the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America,” Reid said.
Indeed, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will offer an amendment that would bar suspected terrorists from buying guns, allowing the Justice Department to arbitrate disputes when people mistakenly end up on the terrorist watch list. The Justice Department gave an endorsement to Feinstein's bill, which has been tweaked to allow gun sales to go through when blocking a sale could blow up a major terrorism investigations.
"The amendment gives the Justice Department an important additional tool to prevent the sale of guns to suspected terrorists by licensed firearms dealers while ensuring protection of the department’s operational and investigative sensitivities. We also continue to support universal background checks as a necessary tool to prevent suspected terrorists from lawfully obtaining firearms," said Justice spokeswoman Dena Iverson.
Cornyn has a similar bill, that contains more protections for gun owners in Republicans’ view.
Both failed in December and are likely to fail again, senators and aides said. Universal background checks also stand no chance of passing the Senate. Conversations between Cornyn and Feinstein on a middle ground broke down on Wednesday after the NRA endorsed Cornyn's bill, and Democrats loathe the bill written by Toomey that he developed while speaking to Everytown for Gun Safety.
Democrats cast their nearly 15-hour filibuster on Wednesday and into Thursday morning as a victory because they believe they have secured votes on their priorities in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of 49 people in Orlando.
But the Murphy-led filibuster drew a harsh rebuke from McConnell, who slammed Senate Democrats for commandeering the chamber Wednesday to use it as a “campaign studio” to advance their gun-control agenda. McConnell also criticized the handful of Democratic senators who chose to stay on the floor rather than attend a classified briefing led by FBI director James Comey and other Obama administration officials.
“A rather significant group of Senate Democrats skipped … the briefing altogether for a campaign talk-a-thon out here on the Senate floor, which also prevented us from going forward on the bill, offering amendments and votes,” McConnell said Thursday morning. “It’s hard to think of a clearer contrast for serious work for solutions on the one hand, and endless partisan campaign on the other.”
Democrats expect a large group of Republican incumbents to vote against both the background checks and Feinstein’s anti-terror proposal and will almost surely use it against the GOP in the general election.
