Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday blocked a bill to improve school safety that Republicans are shaming.
Sen. Ron Johnson (Republican from Wisconsin) requested unanimous consent to pass the Luke and Alex School Safety Act after the massacre at Uvalde Elementary School in Texas that resulted in the deaths of 19 children and 2 teachers.
Named after Parkland shooting victims Alex Schachter and Luke Hoyer, the bill would require that the Department of Homeland Security establish a Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices for state and local education and law enforcement agencies, institutions of higher learning, health professionals, as well as the general public. It would also require DHS to collect data analytics from the clearinghouse and user feedback about the implementation of the best practices and recommendations. Also, any evaluations based on these best practices or recommendations will be required.
With the passage of the bill, the clearinghouse, which is already accessible at SchoolSafety.gov would be codified in law.
Schumer opposed Johnson’s request and claimed on Twitter that the bill could see “more guns in schools”.
Schumer tweeted, “The truth is that there were officers at the Texas school.” They were able to get past the shooter. We need real solutions. We will vote for gun legislation, starting with the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act.
Schumer stated that the legislation could be considered on the Senate floor if Republicans agreed to debate the domestic terrorist bill. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Johnson said it was “a sad day” for the United States Senate.
Johnson tweeted later: “It’s not surprising that the Democrat leader would lie to us about the bill he blocked, which Parkland parents have been trying for years. The Dems don’t want solutions. They want wedge issues to keep them in power. Sick.”
Not surprising that the Democrat leader would lie about the bill he blocked that parents of Parkland victims have been trying to pass for years.
Dems aren’t looking for solutions, they want wedge issues that they hope will keep them in power. Sick. https://t.co/f4zbNb03ey
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) May 26, 2022
Senator Rick Scott (Republican from Florida), who sponsored the bill, called Schumer “a liar, and a hack”.
This was a bill I worked on with the parents of Parkland victims. It’s named after them. You’re a liar and a hack. https://t.co/WKFMLTjT4x
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) May 25, 2022
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who also sponsored the bill, tweeted: “The Truth: Schumer blocked the bipartisan bill that makes school safety clearinghouse schoolsafety.gov permanently because radical left-wing activists oppose it.”
The truth: Schumer blocked a bipartisan bill the makes the school safety clearinghouse https://t.co/rvfUl0d7sA permanent because radical left wing activists oppose it https://t.co/V0Lx9GwRx4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 25, 2022
The Senate will vote on Thursday on whether to approve the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. This bill was passed by the House last week following the massacre in Buffalo that left 10 dead.
The bill would require DHS, DOJ, and FBI to report jointly on domestic terrorism. It also creates “an interagency taskforce to analyze and combat white supremacist or neo-Nazi invasion of uniformed services and federal enforcement agencies.”
