Senate

The Senate's top Republican sharply criticized President Obama's nominee to head the Labor Department on Wednesday saying he is willing to go around the law to achieve his objectives.  

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) cited several examples of the actions of Thomas Perez, head of the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department, that he says proves that he "does not merely push the envelope; all too often, he circumvents or ignores a law with which he disagrees."

“Taken together, all of this paints the picture, for me at least, not of a passionate liberal who sees himself as patiently operating within the system and through the democratic process to advance a particular set of strongly held beliefs, but a crusading ideologue whose conviction about his own rightness on the issues leads him to believe the law does not apply to him," McConnell said on the Senate floor.

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The Senate approved a bill, which allows the Mint to move forward with creating a commemorative baseball coin.

On Tuesday, the Senate approved the bill by unanimous consent. Last month, the House approved the same measure by voice-vote, meaning the bill now heads to President Obama’s desk for his signature.

“If in fact the Majority Leader slipped and said something he didn’t mean to say … then I invite him to come forward," Lee said.

Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would help protect military service members from sexual assault.

They introduced the bill the same day the military announced that the number of sexual assault victims has increased by more than 30 percent. It is estimated that nearly 26,000 service members were victims of sexual assault while serving in the military last year.

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) tried for a third time to get agreement from Republicans to form a conference committee on the House and Senate budget resolutions.

“Senate Republicans have now blocked our efforts to move to conference not once but twice,” Murray said Tuesday before asking for agreement for a third time. “Some say they want a framework before going to conference, but that’s exactly what a budget is. … There is no reason to wait.”

The Senate confirmed a nominee from President Obama on Tuesday to serve on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

In a 53-45 vote, David Medine was confirmed to serve as chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The vote split down party lines, with Democrats supporting Medine and Republicans opposing his nomination. Sens. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) missed the vote.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said he was “deeply disturbed” that the White House has decided to “cannibalize” the healthcare law by transferring money from a prevention fund to educating the public on the benefits of ObamaCare.

Harkin said President Obama’s administration announced it would move more than $300 million from a prevention and public health fund created under the Affordable Care Act, also called ObamaCare. Harkin said the White House would use that money to educate the public about the about the benefits of the bill and the healthcare exchange systems. More aspects of the healthcare law are set to go into effect in 2014.

“I am deeply disturbed of the White House’s plan to strip $332 million of funding from the prevention and public health fund,” Harkin said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Some people in this administration just don’t get it. … The prevention fund has already been a giant step forward for our public health.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called on President Obama “to be straight with the American people” by telling them about the negative effects coming under ObamaCare.

“He needs to be straight with the American people,” McConnell said Tuesday morning. “He needs to prepare them for everything that’s coming — the wage cuts, the lost jobs, the higher premiums. Everything our country can expect as a result of ObamaCare.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republicans wouldn’t agree to form a conference committee on the budget because they are afraid of a “backlash from the radical Tea Party.” 

“House Republicans are afraid of a backlash from the radical Tea Party … if they even discuss a compromise with us,” Reid said Tuesday morning. “Partisan politics is no reason to shy away from a bipartisan compromise.”

The 69-27 vote is a major victory for retail groups and state governments; bill faces tougher path in House.