Last month, a bipartisan group of Senators hammered out a deal to provide $250 million in federal money to the beleaguered city of Flint, Michigan; which is suffering from the after-effects of a contaminated water supply. But it’s going to take longer than expected to get that money to Flint–all because Senator Mike Lee won’t let it come up for a vote.
The Utah Republican and tea party hero has placed a “hold” on the bill–a procedural move that allows a Senator to prevent a bill from reaching the floor by putting his or her floor leader on notice that he will raise an objection to it. In this case, Lee has notified Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that he will filibuster any motion to bring the Flint bill to the floor. Incredibly, nine other Senators–including Ted Cruz–placed holds on this bill, even though it is as noncontroversial as they come. While holds are usually anonymous, multiple outlets have confirmed that Lee is the only person who still has a hold on the bill.
Once Lee was outed as the sole person standing in the way of this bill, he tried to defend himself.
Lee has a funny definition of “political grandstanding,” because this package is as bipartisan as you can get. This bill has 12 sponsors, ranging from Debbie Stabenow of Michigan on the left to Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma on the right. Stabenow probably spoke for most of the nation when she wondered why Lee doesn’t simply let the bill come to the floor and vote against it.
Moreover, his claim that Michigan has enough money to take care of the problem itself doesn’t withstand serious analysis. Lee harps on the fact that Michigan has $386 million in its rainy-day fund and a $575 million budget surplus. However, this is a problem that will take several years to fix. At last count, as many as 12,000 kids have been sickened. They are now at risk for anemia, as well as permanent brain damage. As a result, they will need to be monitored for the rest of their lives.
Indeed, this package allocates $50 million specifically to monitor the effects of lead contamination in drinking water–not just in Flint, but across this country. How is that “political grandstanding,” Senator? The most benign explanation for Lee’s obstructionist behavior is that he’s probably had too much tea.
One of Lee’s aides says that Lee is more than willing to support a package tailored solely for Flint, rather than let other cities potentially drive up the bill. So why doesn’t he just introduce his own package, rather than block this one?
According to The Daily Beast, Lee’s obstinacy probably won’t play well in Utah, which will need $3.7 billion over the next 20 years to ensure that its water infrastructure meets health and safety standards. His approval ratings have already taken a hit for his role in causing the 2013 government shutdown. However, at this point Lee doesn’t face a declared challenger in the Republican primary. There is a Democrat running against Lee, marriage therapist Jonathan Swinton. It’s hard to tell if voters in congested-red Utah are angry enough at Lee to vote for a Democrat. Indeed, Utah is so red that under normal circumstances, a Democrat taking a Senate seat there likely means a 48-state Democratic landslide. Stranger things have happened, though.
This charade probably won’t last much longer. Stabenow says that there will likely be a cloture vote next week, which will likely get far more than the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to the floor. But this episode, more than anything except perhaps McConnell’s breath-holding on replacing Antonin Scalia, illustrates why we need a Democratic Senate. The longer McConnell is calling the shots in the Senate, the longer obstructionists like Lee are empowered.
