Bernie Sanders says Senate Republicans are 'laughing all the way to Election Day' over the lack of votes on consequential legislation

Senate Republicans are "laughing all the way to Election Day" since Democrats have yet to schedule a vote on the party's signature social-spending bill, according to Sen.

During an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," the Vermont independent and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee said Senate Republicans have been left off the hook in casting votes for consequential pieces of legislation.

He said the Republicans were laughing all the way to Election Day. They have not had to cast a vote. We have to change that.

The larger social-spending bill, which was originally pegged at $3.5 trillion before it was trimmed to roughly half of that amount, fell victim to opposition by Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Manchin was in favor of many of Biden's provisions, but he was not in favor of extending the child tax credit program without major changes. Biden officials tried to stop the senator from appearing on Fox News to oppose the bill.

The senator said last week that he would be restarting talks on the legislation after it was reported that the counteroffer was off the table.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Biden said he believed parts of the framework could be passed by Congress before the elections.

"I'm confident we can get some pieces of the law signed into law," Biden said.
The Senate should hold floor votes on individual components of the larger social-spending bill, which would allow members to clarify their positions, according to the CNN interview.

The popularity of the party's policies among the American public made it possible for Democrats to craft a bill with the initiatives that are able to clear the upper chamber.

People want to expand Medicare. He said that people want to deal with the crisis of climate. What the American people want is what we are talking about. We have allowed the Republicans to get away with murder because we have allowed bills on the floor.

He said that Republicans need to have their votes on the record because they haven't had to vote on anything. "Now, if they want to vote against lowering the cost of prescription drugs, expanding Medicare, dealing with child care, dealing with housing, let them vote, and let Manchin and Sinema decide which side they are on."

When all of that shakes out, we will see where we are. I think we will be able to get 50 votes on some of these issues. We could put that piece together and pass something very significant.