Senate Bill That Includes Matthew Shepard’s Act Could Come Thursday « Equality Across America:
"Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 by Mark Reed
Rick Maze – Staff writer Navy Times October 21, 2009
Final action on the 2010 defense authorization bill could come Thursday, with a slugfest to decide whether the $681 billion measure will include a controversial hate-crimes provision.
Under procedures set up by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate will vote on a cloture motion that would cut off debate and bring the bill to a final vote.
To do that, Reid would have to get 60 votes in favor of his motion. Leadership aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they expect more than 60 senators to vote for the bill, even though there is strong Republican opposition to including the hate-crimes provision.
There are two reasons to believe that Reid will succeed. First, when the Senate was debating the defense bill in July, 63 senators voted on a similar cloture vote to keep the hate-crimes provision. Then two weeks ago, a key Republican, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said that he supports the bill even though he does not support the inclusion of provisions making sexual abuse, assaults and murder a federal crime if the person committed the act because of the victim’s race, color, religion, national origin or gender identification."
"Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 by Mark Reed
Rick Maze – Staff writer Navy Times October 21, 2009
Final action on the 2010 defense authorization bill could come Thursday, with a slugfest to decide whether the $681 billion measure will include a controversial hate-crimes provision.
Under procedures set up by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate will vote on a cloture motion that would cut off debate and bring the bill to a final vote.
To do that, Reid would have to get 60 votes in favor of his motion. Leadership aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they expect more than 60 senators to vote for the bill, even though there is strong Republican opposition to including the hate-crimes provision.
There are two reasons to believe that Reid will succeed. First, when the Senate was debating the defense bill in July, 63 senators voted on a similar cloture vote to keep the hate-crimes provision. Then two weeks ago, a key Republican, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said that he supports the bill even though he does not support the inclusion of provisions making sexual abuse, assaults and murder a federal crime if the person committed the act because of the victim’s race, color, religion, national origin or gender identification."