us senate

The Senate is expected to take a vote on whether or not to proceed with a gun control bill introduced by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Senator Reid filled a cloture motion on Tuesday evening.

The Senate is set to vote on the Safe Schools, Safe Communities Act. The National Disability Rights Network is advocating for comprehensive reform.

UPDATE:

Vote occurred as scheduled, and the vote on the motion to allow debate passed easily.

from Jim Morrill ‏@jimmorrill on Twitter:
Sen. Richard Burr one of 16 GOP senators to vote to allow debate on gun bill. #NCPOL

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NY Times reporting on vote by geography. See the breakdown of the vote on the NYT site here: http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/95?ref=us

"After axing the assault weapons ban from the Senate’s comprehensive gun violence prevention plan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is struggling to scrape together enough votes to pass the centerpiece of the plan: universal background checks. Republicans are refusing to vote for it, and even several Democrats in red states are wavering on their support.

According to Greg Sargent at the Washington Post, these key votes include Senators Kay Hagan (D-NC), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)...

From Think Progress, read more here:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/03/26/1771461/why-are-these-six-d...

Contact Sen. Hagan here: http://www.hagan.senate.gov/contact/

From McClatchy newspapers DC office:

"[Sen. Kay] Hagan, who declined to be interviewed, said in a recent statement that she would “look at any proposal with an open mind” and that she favors “a comprehensive approach that ensures our communities are safe, while respecting the rights of responsible gun owners.”

“We need to ensure that there are laws in place to prevent a tragedy like Sandy Hook (Elementary School) from ever happening again,” she said. “First and foremost, that will require a serious common sense debate in Congress that looks at access to guns, access to mental health care and violent video games.”

But Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, a prominent gun rights group, said Hagan was “doing her dead-level best to camouflage her position on this issue.”

If she votes for any restrictions, Valone said, “We’re coming after her...”

"Here in the Senate, with all the world's eyes watching, we can tomorrow approve the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and keep faith with the best of America's tradition of leadership in the world when it comes to empowering people living with disabilities, wherever they live."--John Kerry.

Please take a few minutes to read the blog by Sen. John Kerry on Huffington Post regarding tomorrow's scheduled vote on the UN's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Sen. Hagan voted to move forward with the Tuesday vote. Sen. Burr opposed moving forward with a "nay" vote.

QUOTE OF THE DAY from the Washington Post:

Olympia Snowe, a Republican senator from Maine, explaining why she decided to not seek another term:

"Simply put, the Senate is not living up to what the Founding Fathers envisioned."

What follows is a thoughtful and provocative explanation of the failure of bi-partsian politcis in the US Senate.

Please read these sobering words from, Olympia Snowe, a rare Senate moderate. It must be observed that our own Richard "No one can get to the right of me" Burr is a big part of the problem.

Obama's birth-control rule survives Senate vote

The legislation, sponsored by Republican Roy Blunt of Missouri, would have let employers and insurers refuse to include contraception in health-care coverage if they had moral objections to birth control.

from the Washington Post article on the defeat of the Blunt Amendment.

North Carolina has the second-longest federal judicial emergency in the nation.

Senator Kay Hagan Hosts Telephone Town Hall Meeting NOW online

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 6:30 pm