Senate Republicans Tout Victories in New Video
Senate Republicans are taking a victory lap as 2015 comes to a close, highlighting their accomplishments in a new video.
The video, titled “A New Approach,” was released by the Senate Republican Conference Friday morning and features more than a dozen senators listing a number of accomplishments from the past year.
“Last November, the American people voted to break through Washington’s gridlock and get Congress working again,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said as the video opened with drums playing. “That’s just what the new Republican majority you elected has done.”
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In the video provided first to Roll Call, senators, including top leaders, committee chairmen and vulnerable incumbents, claimed legislative achievements.
They touted the passage of a multi-year transportation funding bill, a rewrite of education laws, and human trafficking legislation, all of which were signed into law. The lawmakers also pointed to some legislation that will likely not become law anytime soon, such as a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement.
Though Republicans contended the new GOP majority helped the Senate function again, Democrats argue that they are a much more cooperative minority than Republicans were in the past.
The video is also notable as lawmakers head into an election year. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said in the video that breaking gridlock “wasn’t just a campaign slogan.” But having pieces of legislation to point to on the campaign trail, as McConnell recently pointed ou t, will help those GOP senators running for reelection.
The video featured some of those senators who are among the most vulnerable incumbents , including Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Richard M. Burr of North Carolina and John McCain of Arizona.
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