The group of five senators, led by Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), is trying to get 10 Republicans to support the measure ahead of an expected vote before the chamber adjourns next month for pre-election campaign. for the November elections. The Senate remains the final hurdle for the legislation to become law: The House approved the measure in July with the support of 47 Republicans, a surprise to Senate Democrats who had not been prepared to consider such legislation in the last half of the year. Baldwin and Collins met with Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Thom Tillis (RN.C.) Wednesday morning to finalize additional language after Republicans raised concerns that the the four-page proposal does not clearly state the religious freedom exceptions. The group believes it has the support of 10 Republican senators or will by the time the measure comes up for a vote, which could be as early as next week, according to three Senate aides familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity. anonymity. to discuss private conversations. But those Republicans won’t announce they support the legislation until the vote, so they can protect themselves from attacks that could pressure them to vote differently. That confidence prompted Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer to announce Wednesday that a vote on the bill would take place “in the coming weeks,” a firm deadline that would force Republicans to move on the record before the midterm elections. A closer look at the House Republicans who broke ranks on the marriage bill The Respect for Marriage Act would enshrine federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, which recognizes marriage in the United States as between a man and a woman. Passage of the legislation would mark the first time Congress has passed protections for marriage equality, a major achievement for a body that once voted to curtail such rights. The push to codify same-sex marriage has become more urgent for liberals after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this summer, prompting Democrats to hold a vote on the issue and protect the right from future challenges. Baldwin and Collins said they were working to add new language that would clarify the bill would not infringe on religious freedom, a major concern for some Republican senators, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who is seen as critical of his vote. “I’m continuing to work on it and that’s my area of focus,” Romney told reporters Tuesday, declining to support the bill if the religious freedom provisions were included. The change would also address concerns from conservatives that the bill is too broad and leaves room for interpretation that could lead to federal recognition of polygamous relationships. Collins said this is being corrected “even though there is not a single state that allows polygamous marriages.” However, the Senate remains the main obstacle as Some Republicans who have called for religious freedom issues already say they won’t support the legislation, even with the change. Sen. Kevin Cramer (RN.D.) echoed many Republicans who believe Democrats are prioritizing policy by voting to codify “something that has already been upheld by the court.” In audio obtained by Heartland Signal, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told a rally in Wisconsin last week that he would not support the legislation “in its current state,” even though he told reporters last month that there was no reason to oppose it. He said he would introduce his own amendment along with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) if the bill comes to the floor. “We have enough problems to divide this nation. Let’s not take it back,” Johnson said of Democrats reconsidering same-sex marriage. “I am not pleased that the Baldwins of the world are opening this wound.” In response to Republicans who claimed the vote is political, Baldwin, who is gay, laughed and then said, “It’s not. It’s very real for a lot of people.” Tillis said there is still plenty of time to educate his fellow Republicans on what this bill actually does, which he says is just as important as passing those technical fixes. LGBTQ community braces for rights rollback after abortion ruling Because GOP support in the Senate remains in doubt, senior Senate Democrats earlier this week considered attaching the legislation to a sweeping government funding bill that must be passed this month to avoid a government shutdown. That idea was quickly shut down by Republicans after they returned to Washington on Tuesday, with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) simply telling reporters that “yes” it would be a problem for Republicans if Democrats politicized the funding bill . But those in the bipartisan group were also caught off guard, several aides said, expressing extreme displeasure at the idea because it could kill their bid to join Republicans. Baldwin, who is widely seen as the senator leading the negotiations, told reporters repeatedly that attaching the bill to any vehicle “was not her preferred course.” “That would cause us to lose Republican support in my view, and it’s also not appropriate for a policy bill of this nature,” Collins said. Senators are pushing to pass the legislation next month before the midterm elections to serve as another bipartisan plank for this congressional term. There are discussions about how to include the new text in the bill, as adding it through the amendment process would mean spending more time on the method, which the chamber does not have during this session. Any changes to the current law would also mean the House would have to re-authorize it, which shouldn’t be a complicated request. Democratic leadership aides note, however, that it is too early to know when they might take up the legislation as they return to Washington next week. In a Washington Post op-ed on Tuesday, Baldwin and Collins reiterated that support for the legislation would reflect the belief of most Americans that support for marriage equality is not pointless and said aspects of the four-page bill have been “misunderstood, leading to false claims and mischaracterizations of its scope’. “We have worked across party lines to rally the Senate and strengthen support for the Respect for Marriage Act because we should be able to agree that same-sex and interracial couples, no matter where they live , need and deserve assurance that their marriage will be recognized by the federal government and that they will continue to enjoy the freedoms, rights and responsibilities that accompany all other marriages,” the senators wrote.
