Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) blamed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) for blocking over 200 bipartisan bills “that would help improve the lives of veterans, women, and families.”
“Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate, is openly stonewalling legislation that would help improve the lives of veterans, women, and families — all of us,” Escobar said in the Democrats’ Spanish language response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
She claimed that “House Democrats have passed more than 275 bipartisan bills this Congress, but these bills are gathering dust on his desk.” Her office listed 291 “bipartisan” bills that were approved by the House since Jan. 2019 but have not been brought to the Senate floor as of Jan. 24.
A spokesperson for the congresswoman elaborated that Escobar considered a bill bipartisan if there was “at least one Republican vote on the House floor,” or if the bill was passed by a voice vote and “has at least one Republican cosponsor.”
Of the 291 bills listed by Escobar’s office, 251 have support from a majority of members of both parties, including bills passed on a voice vote. Of the bills listed, 116 passed in a roll call vote and 175 passed by a voice vote.
