Congress gives Rand Paul the run-around to pass Syria sanctions bill
Congress may resort to parliamentary parlor tricks to pass overwhelmingly bipartisan Syria sanctions legislation because of opposition from one senator.
Congress is resorting to parliamentary sleight of hand to pass a long-delayed Syria sanctions bill. That’s because a single lawmaker is holding up the overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation in the Senate.
Al-Monitor has learned that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is holding up the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act despite otherwise universal support in Congress and the Donald Trump administration’s endorsement.
Although the House unanimously passed the bill last year, Paul’s maneuvering has forced House appropriators to attach it to must-pass spending legislation to have a chance of getting it through the Senate by the end of the year.
“It infuriates me,” Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the bill’s author, told Al-Monitor. “We’re going to hopefully get it attached to the appropriations bill."
