Marriage Equality Bill Could Be Linked To Funding Bill In Senate

Senate Democrats are reportedly considering linking a marriage equality bill with the must-pass continuing resolution to fund the government. The Respect for Marriage Act would officially repeal the hideous Defense of Marriage Act, which banned federal recognition of same-sex marriages. https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1567199699320406018 From CBS News:

It’s a move that could complicate both the passage of the bill protecting the right to same-sex marriage, passed with bipartisan support in the House, and government funding.

Democrats in particular want to avoid a government shutdown ahead of critical midterm elections. A continuing resolution, or CR, is a stopgap measure to fund the government temporarily until comprehensive spending legislation can be passed.

The White House has asked Congress to provide emergency funding of $47 billion for COVID-19-related needs, resources to battle monkeypox, Ukraine aid and natural disaster response.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he’s committed to holding a vote of the legislation but has been cagey about when. Backers of the bill have say they believe they have the necessary 10 Republican votes needed to break the filibuster. More from Politico:

So far three Republican senators have publicly said they’ll vote for it: Collins, Rob Portman of Ohio and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has spoken positively of the push and said that she’d review the bill.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said in July he saw “no reason” to oppose the bill but is now pushing for a religious freedom amendment before declaring support. Notably, Johnson is up for reelection.

Baldwin and Collins are working on an amendment to clarify that the bill will not affect religious liberty or conscience protections.

Collins goes on to tell Politico, “We’re in pretty good shape.” The marriage equality bill passed the House in July, with 47 Republicans joining every Democrat in the House to support it. https://twitter.com/glaad/status/1567180677077942272 https://twitter.com/axios/status/1567105497186066434