President Biden said Tuesday that if other Americans elect more Democratic senators and retain the House in November, the first bill he sends to Congress will code Roe v. Wade. Wade and legalize access to abortion in the country.
“If we do that, this is my promise to you and the American people: The first bill I will send to Congress will be to code Roe v. Wade. Wade,” Biden said in a Democratic National Committee speech to Howard. Theater in a very Democratic Washington, DC
But getting enough Democrats in Congress is a big hurdle. The president already has primaries in both houses of Capitol Hill, but he does not have the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass the legislation. On Tuesday, Biden said he was missing a “handful. “And it will most likely become even more complicated after the midterm elections: lately there are no primary pollsters predicting that Democrats will retain control of the House.
One option Democrats explored was lowering the 60-vote threshold for passing an abortion access bill by eliminating obstructionism, a law that would require just 51 votes; However, that’s two more votes than they have lately, as two Democrats oppose that approach. .
The president also said Democrats needed two more Senate seats to codify Roe, resulting in “no” votes that would be cast through Democratic senses Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
“If you give me two more senators in the U. S. Senate, you will not be able to do so. “U. S. , I promise you, I promise you, we’ll codify Roe and make Roe the law of the land again,” Mr. Biden said last month at the National Education Association in Washington. DC
While Democrats have reduced the Republicans’ lead in the House war, aided by the abortion-rights-motivated electorate, among other things, Democrats have been unable to increase the number of others prioritizing the issue of abortion.
The president and other Democrats are focusing on abortion access as a key factor in mid-2020, after the Supreme Court struck Roe in June. there is little it can do without a favorable Congress.
— Ed O’Keefe, Gaby Ake and Caitlin Huey-Burns contributed to this report