Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said Friday that Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) should show Democrats the “same courtesy” they’ve shown House Republicans and bring the Senate-passed continuing resolution to a vote.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, McCaskill referred to reports this week indicating that the Senate’s CR could pass the House but Boehner won’t bring the bill to the floor out of fear of upsetting the tea party. Passage of that legislation in the House would effectively end the government shutdown.
“I think the biggest problem is, I agree with Speaker Boehner, this isn’t a game. This isn’t about winning or losing,” McCaskill said. “The irony, Speaker Boehner at the top of your show said, ‘This isn’t a game. I don’t want a government shutdown.’ And he’s in a unique situation in our government, he could end it. He could end it an hour from now. All he has to do is allow the House an opportunity to vote on what the Senate passed.”
“Andrea, we have voted time and time again on the House proposals,” McCaskill added, referring to the GOP-backed bills that undermine the Affordable Care Act. “We have put them on the floor for a vote of every senator. All we’re saying to Speaker Boehner is allow the elected representatives in the House of Representatives the same courtesy that we have given you. Give him a chance to vote on our proposal. if he will just allow a vote, we could end this before the sun sets today.”
