Bipartisanship is crumbling in the Senate Commerce Committee after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) won plaudits last month for shepherding the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through the committee and into law.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) criticized Cruz on Monday night for waging “petty partisan culture wars” over the Spectrum and National Security Act, which was scheduled to receive a committee markup that day. .
Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) says she was forced to delay the committee’s review of legislation to extend high-speed internet subsidies because Cruz insisted on modifications that would have “destroyed” the bipartisan amendments that had been negotiated with the senator. .Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
Cantwell said the “hard-won compromise” on the Affordable Connectivity Program to help low-income families afford fast internet was “months in the making” and would have provided a “balanced approach to spectrum management.”
And she argued that it would have expanded high-speed connectivity to low-income families while “protecting our defense by ensuring our military has the telecommunications they need” while preserving spectrum the Defense Department doesn’t want auction.
Cantwell blamed Cruz for “obstructing” the bill’s progress and urged him and other Republicans to “get back to negotiations.”
A Senate Democratic aide said Cruz alone introduced 38 amendments and modified amendments to the bill and 14 amendments or modifications to the bipartisan reforms Wicker proposed for the Affordable Connectivity Program.
A Republican source familiar with the committee’s internal discussion said those numbers were misleading and that Cantwell and his team had known for “months” what changes they wanted to make to the bill.
The GOP source said Cruz was forced to propose modifications to existing amendments because Cantwell did not want to allow Republicans to offer new amendments to the bill, despite having rewritten it several times.
But Cantwell believes Cruz’s ultimate goal was to prevent reauthorization of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
“I definitely don’t think he likes the ACP, that’s for sure,” Cantwell told The Hill. “I think they really don’t want to have an account. I think there are some in the private sector who don’t even want to have an account because I don’t think they’re ready to compete.
“I think whoever is on the other side [of the aisle] they are protecting those interests,” she said. “This was a difficult commitment.”
Cruz has portrayed himself as a bipartisan problem solver during his run for re-election in Texas, telling The Texas Tribune earlier this year that “I actually have very good relationships with a lot of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle.”
His supporters launched “Democrats for Cruz” earlier this year to attract centrist and left-leaning voters to support him over Democratic Rep. Colin Allred (Texas) in the general election.
At the same time, Cruz took shots at Democrats.
The Texas senator criticized Cantwell on Tuesday for introducing a bill that he said would give “free internet to illegal aliens, millions to anti-Semitic colleges and billions to no-strings-attached megacorporations.”
“In a blatant blame game, Democrats accidentally revealed what they really think about taxpayers – that they are naive,” he fumed in a statement. “Pathetic and offensive.”
Cruz released his statement after Schumer and Cantwell criticized him for blocking a bill that they said would help 23 million Americans who rely on federal subsidies to use the Internet.
“Unfortunately, it is clear that Ranking Member Cruz is more interested in transporting water to large corporations than helping working families in Texas. Instead of making these much-needed and common-sense investments, Senator Cruz has chosen to obstruct and delay the committee process with petty partisan culture wars, all to serve wealthy, well-connected corporations, at the expense of American workers who are struggling to survive . ,” Schumer said in a blunt statement.
Democrats accused Cruz of trying to force vulnerable Senate Democrats on the Commerce panel, including Sens. Jon Tester (Mont.) and Jacky Rosen (Nev.), to vote on politically dangerous amendments.
One proposed amendment would have prevented Affordable Connectivity Program grants from going to illegal immigrants, while another would have prevented National Science Foundation money and National Institute of Standards and Technology funds from going to universities and colleges under investigation for anti-war incidents. -Semites related to the anti-Semitic attack in Gaza. war protests.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and a member of the Commerce Committee, said Republicans bungled the markup by promoting “gotcha” policy amendments.
“Yes, there are some of them,” he said.
The sudden spat with Cruz over little-noticed broadband spectrum legislation contrasted with his handling of a five-year FAA reauthorization that he helped pass in the Senate.
Cruz protected this bill from poisonous amendments, defying his reputation as a bomb-throwing conservative.
The Texan has long been seen as a tough partisan, and even fellow Republicans watched with amusement last month as Cruz transformed himself from conservative rebel to committee leader tasked with keeping a major train running on time.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said last month that Cruz received “a lot of ridicule” for playing the role of responsible graybeard in canceling votes to amend the FAA bill.
“Of course he’s saying this is different from all the other times he’s insisted on voting on amendments, because this one was much more transparent… People are a little amused by his compliance,” Cramer told The Hill.
Senate Democrats, however, were less than pleased with Cruz’s effort to rebrand himself as a bipartisan dealmaker who can work across the aisle to get things done.
A Senate Democratic aide said getting the five-year reauthorization passed in the Senate was “the least” Cruz needed to do to fulfill his responsibility as the top Republican on the Commerce Committee.
“This is the minimum if you are the ranking member of the committee. What will you do? Say no?” said the advisor.
One Democratic senator was even more blunt in trying to debunk the narrative that Cruz is “the better bipartisan” compared to Allred, as he told The Texas Tribune.
“I never said that,” the senator said of the notion that Cruz has become an adept bipartisan negotiator. “I think it’s crazy.”
Cruz and Sen. Rick Scott (R) of Florida are seen as the Senate’s two most vulnerable Republican incumbents in this year’s elections, although both are favored to win.
Democrats have touted Texas and Florida as turnaround opportunities, something they are desperate for given the retirement of Sen. Joe Manchin (IW.Va.) and the tough races Tester and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) face in Montana and Ohio , two claims that Trump won in 2016 and 2020.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
