US Senate Republicans blocked a bill titled the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act in Congress on Thursday that Democrats view as a response to a white supremacist’s killing of 10 Black people this month and a potential gateway to a gun control bill.
Two days after another mass killing of 19 young children and two teachers at a Texas school, senators voted 47-47 along party lines, short of the 60 senators required to launch debate, to reject the bill authorising federal agencies to monitor and report jointly on domestic terrorism within the US, including incidents related to white supremacy.
Republicans said the legislation was unnecessary as Democratic President Joe Biden already had the authority to organise his administration's response to violent extremism. Democrats insisted the bill was needed to bolster the federal government’s response to rising incidents of violent extremism at home.
The outcome, which had been expected, cut off the chance for any immediate action on gun-control legislation to address a rising tide of mass shootings in the US. Senators were supposed to leave Washington for a one-week Memorial Day holiday break.
Mass shootings in recent years have provoked flurries of discussion in Congress on what to do about gun violence but little action as the two parties are deeply divided on gun rights. Americans have little confidence in Congress’s ability to solve the problem, with a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showing that just 35 per cent believe lawmakers will act.
The House of Representatives passed the domestic terrorism bill along party lines last week.