Yesterday, the U.S. Senate dealt with amendments to S. Con. Res. 11, a resolution establishing the budget for the federal government in 2016. Within these amendments, two stood out as progressive pieces of legislation.
One, S. Amdt. 471 by Ron Wyden, sought to “create a point of order against legislation that would cut benefits, raise the retirement age, or privatize social security.” Another, S. Amdt 323 by Bernard Sanders, would have established a national job program to repair and enhance infrastructure, funded by the closure of tax loopholes exploited by corporations.
Both amendments were rejected. Democrats mostly supported the amendments, and Republicans mostly opposed them. There were some notable aisle-crossings, however, on the issue of Social Security. Democrat Mark Warner voted against Ron Wyden’s amendment to prevent the privatization of Social Security. Republicans Dean Heller, John Hoeven, Mark Kirk, John McCain, and Rob Portman supported the measure.
