A bipartisan coalition of senate” target=”_blank”>senators<, D-Conn., who was Newtown’s congressman and a senator-elect when bullets ripped through Sandy Hook Elementary in late 2012, has toiled behind the scenes for years to forge some sort of agreement.
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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks on a proposed Democratic tax plan at the U.S. Capitol Aug. 4, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
There’s a reason McConnell deputized Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, for this endeavor. Not only is Cornyn from Texas, he’s the Lone Star State’s former attorney general. In 2018, Cornyn was also instrumental in attaching a provision to a big spending bill called the “Fix NICS Act.”
NICS is shorthand for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The gunman from a 2017 Sutherland Springs, Texas, massacre slipped through the cracks. He was an Air Force veteran and should not have been allowed to purchase guns. Cornyn’s provision tightened the system after the Air Force didn’t enter the shooter’s information into the background system.
Here are the most important reasons why Cornyn is key to this process: He’s the former Senate GOP whip. Cornyn is used to working with members to understand what they can support and what they can’t. It’s one thing to have senators Susan Collins, R-Maine; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on board willing to talk. The key is broadening the coalition
“He (Cornyn) can reach members beyond that group,” one source close to the process said.
TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING: THE LATEST
It’s far from clear precisely what the lawmakers are working on. Cornyn and others have made it clear there won’t be a reinstatement of the assault weapons ban. But there are lots of conversations about hardening schools, enhanced mental health procedures, red flag laws and even background checks.
The Senate is on recess until June 6 for the Memorial Day break. On one hand, the break would seemingly halt any momentum senators may have gathered to address the problem. But Murphy believes the recess may actually help in these circumstances
“It’s easier to work those issues outside of Washington,” Murphy told the press corps. “We love you guys. But sometimes it’s a little bit easier to negotiate with each other rather than negotiate through the Washington, D.C., press.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives for a weekly policy luncheon at the Capitol in Washington March 8, 2022.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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“I don’t want to overstate my optimism,” said Murphy. “I’ve been Charlie Brown enough to know that, up until now, the football has been pulled out from under me every single time. Maybe this time is different.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., conducts a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center to introduce members of the select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol July 1, 2021.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is also willing to let the Senate work its will. The key is the Senate and if it can get an agreement. If the Senate can advance something, Pelosi will entertain it in the House. In the meantime, Pelosi’s content to advance a bill in early June “to establish extreme risk protection orders nationwide, which will help keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others.”
We may not know the focus of the bipartisan Senate talks. But the success or failure of any package hinges on three things: It’s about the math. It’s about the math. It’s about the math.
Any prospective bill will need to secure 60 yea votes to overcome a filibuster. This is why negotiators hope to broaden the talks to get a substantial coalition of Democrats and Republicansa>. There’s a universe of 15 to 20 Republicans who may be willing to play ball on this. < scored more than 50 yeas after the Sandy Hook massacre. The Senate finally engineered a series of votes related to guns in April 2013, four months after the tragedy at Newtown. But while the proposals could score more than 50 yeas, nothing could get 60.
That said, if there’s no agreement in a week or so, Schumer will probably force a vote related to guns. It will fail to get 60 yeas. And then everyone will return to their corners.
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Another mass shooting will have come and gone with a lot of talk but little action on Capitol Hill.
