The US economy must be truly fixed and all geopolitical conflicts resolved, because as the world enjoys its global utopia on a day when yet another airplane was taken down by terrorist according to the latest news, the US Congress is busy dealing with stuff like this: according to the Hill, "the house floor devolved into chaos and shouting on Thursday as a measure to ensure protections for members of the LGBT community narrowly failed to pass after Republican leaders urged their members to change their votes."
Here's the before and after votes on striking anti-LGBT language from NDAA. They had it til some GOPers flipped. pic.twitter.com/yokSeFsyOO
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) May 19, 2016
Initially, it appeared Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney's (D-N.Y.) amendment had enough votes to pass as "yes" votes piled up to 217 against 206 "no" votes. But it eventually failed on a 212-213 vote after a number of Republican lawmakers changed their votes from "yes" to "no." GOP leaders held the vote open as they allegedly pressured members to change sides.
The result was total chaos.
"Shame! Shame! Shame!" Democrats chanted as they watched the vote tally go from passage of Maloney's amendment to narrow failure.
Twenty-nine Republicans voted for Maloney's amendment to a spending bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects, along with all Democrats in the final roll call.
"This is one of the ugliest episodes I've experienced in my three-plus years as a member of this House," Maloney, who is openly gay, said while offering his amendment.
The amendment would have effectively nullified a provision in the defense authorization that the House passed late Wednesday night. The language embedded in the defense bill states that religious corporations, associations and institutions that receive federal contracts can't be discriminated against on the basis of religion.
Democrats warn that such a provision could potentially allow discrimination against the LGBT community in the name of religious freedom. Maloney's amendment specifically would prohibit funds to implement contracts with any company that doesn't comply with President Obama's executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers.
When asked about the vote-switching, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) denied knowing whether his leadership team pressured Republicans.
"I don't know the answer. I don't even know,” Ryan told reporters.
He defended the provision in the defense bill.
"This is federalism; the states should do this. The federal government shouldn't stick its nose in its business,” he said.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) blasted Republicans for changing their votes without coming to the center of the chamber and exposing themselves for switching.
"No one had the courage to come into the well to change their vote,” Hoyer said.
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Meanwhile, as the house was going bananas over a law about LGBT rights, earlier on Thursday, the same House passed an amendment from Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) that would restrict the display of the Confederate flag in national cemeteries.
So to summarize: while the Fed is complaining about the lack of fiscal stimulus by Congress and the world is drowning in the biggest central bank-inflated asset bubble in history, the laws that the US congress focuses on have to do with LGBT "protections" (a privilege the rest of the population also wishes it had) and whether or not confederate flags should be on display in cemeteries.
Is it any wonder, then, why market has a panic attack every time the Fed threatens to pull even the smallest 25 bps thread of support from under this massive ponzi scheme?