Even though this would appear to be the GOP’s first rodeo on the LGBT measure, it’s not.
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“What we just learned today is that the Democrats weren’t looking to advance an issue”. Southern Republicans were enraged and threatened to vote against the overall bill, forcing former House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) to give up on the entire appropriations process to avoid an embarrassing failure.
All Paul Ryan wanted Wednesday night was to appropriate some funds for energy and water spending: a quick and easy vote, bang the gavel, go home, and CrossFit hard enough to forget the Donald’s name.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, in a statement after the vote, put the blame squarely on Republicans’ shoulders. “In turning against a far-reaching funding bill simply because it affirms protections for LGBT Americans, Republicans have once again lain bare the depths of their bigotry”.
New York Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, the bill’s original sponsor who is openly gay, reintroduced the measure as an amendment to a funding bill for the Energy Department.
A House Republican on Thursday accused a number of his own GOP colleagues of committing a sin because they voted in favor of an anti-discrimination LGBT proposal, according to The Hill newspaper. The Maloney Amendment says that no funds from the bill can be used to contract with companies that aren’t in compliance with this executive order.
Messer’s spokeswoman said this week’s vote was different in part because Maloney’s amendment was followed by a counter-amendment offered by Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., to reassert exceptions for religious organizations.
Rep. Rick Allen of Georgia quoted Bible passages describing and condemning homosexuality in a Republican caucus meeting ahead of a vote on the bill, according to Roll Call, spurring some fellow Republicans to leave the room. It was the second spending bill to the House floor this year, but leadership aides told The Hill on Thursday the continued LGBT spat could endanger the rest of the appropriations process this session. A spokesperson for Allen’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Last year, the appropriations process derailed in similar fashion in a fight over the Confederate flag. Congress is likely instead to have to take up some type of “continuing resolution” to keep federal agencies funded and avoid a government shutdown when money runs out at the end of September.
“We live in complicated times”, said Republican Policy Committee Chairman Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.), who has proposed language to block Obama’s public school guidance.
Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., told reporters after the vote that she didn’t think the process could continue. Democrats on the floor chanted, “shame, shame, shame” when the votes were changed, stopping the bill from passing.
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Indeed, this LGBT amendment is an attempt to create a diversion before the 2016 election. The latest collapse of the basic Republican ability to govern happened because a group of Republicans wants the government and people who do business with the federal government to be able to legally discriminate against the LGBT community.
