New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocked Senator Kyrsten Sinema on Twitter for allegedly complaining about the slow Senate voting process after the Arizona Democrat voted against eliminating the Senate filibuster.
Sinema reportedly confronted Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday to talk to him about the slowness of the night’s voting, Bloomberg News’ Zach Cohen reported in a tweet. “Could we have some discipline in the votes, ever?” Sinema reportedly said. “You’re in charge!”
In response to Cohen’s tweet, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “Actually [Schumer] should continue to make [senators’] lives as difficult as possible and treat them the way they treat, say, public housing residents. Or parents who rely on CTC (child tax credits). When they improve, maybe process can improve too.”
“Why should we make the lives of obstructionists easier?” her tweet concluded.
Actually he should continue to make their lives as difficult as possible and treat them the way they treat, say, public housing residents. Or parents who rely on CTC. When they improve, maybe process can improve too.
Why should we make the lives of obstructionists easier? https://t.co/KBbX8DbYdo
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 2, 2022
By using the term “obstructionists”, Ocasio-Cortez echoed progressive criticisms of Sinema and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. Both were the only Democratic senators to vote against eliminating the Senate filibuster.
Both senators have also refused to commit to voting in favor of President Joe Biden‘s Build Back Better (BBB) Act, his signature piece of legislation which included funds for upgrading public housing, continuing the child tax credits, and other “human infrastructure” initiatives.
Current filibuster rules require most legislation to get at least 60 Senate votes to pass. With an evenly split Senate—50 to 50—Democrats worry that 10 Republican senators will never back any significant legislation. Indeed, Senate Republicans have uniformly refused to support the BBB Act as well as other bills in favor of LGBTQ rights, voting access and police reform.
All 50 senators in the Democratic Caucus would have needed to vote in favor of eliminating the filibuster for it to change.
The child tax credit—monthly payments given to roughly 35 million families during the pandemic—expired at the end of 2021 after Congress failed to pass the BBB Act. The $250 to $300 monthly payments cut child poverty nationwide by 30 percent, Megan Curran, policy director at the Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy, told NPR.
The BBB Act also includes $65 billion to preserve and rebuild public housing, $25 billion for low-income rental assistance and $15 billion to build or preserve housing for low-income residents.
Sinema has warned that eliminating the filibuster would increase political division and discourage compromise. Ocasio-Cortez said the filibuster allows Republicans to obstruct policies that are actually popular with a majority of the voting public.
Newsweek contacted Senator Sinema and Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s offices for comment.
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