Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday offered his own solution to the government shutdown: a guaranteed week of debate on immigration and a vote on a bill “sometime in the next month.”
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the Kentucky Republican scoffed at the “blame game” underway by both Republicans and Democrats for the impasse on a government funding that triggered a shutdown.
“Republicans and Democrats and everybody [is] trying to say ‘you don't want to fund the military,’” he said. “Everybody wants to fund the military. Nobody wants our soldiers not to be paid… I think the American people see through it. It's gamesmanship and partisanship.”
“I gave them the answer how you solve this today,” he said. “Promise, guarantee in writing to the Democrats, that there will be one week's debate on immigration and a vote on an immigration bill some time in the next month in the House and the Senate.
“When I presented this to those in the Senate, Sen. [Dick] Durbin [D-Ill.], they were like, 'Oh, no we want guaranteed passage on a must-pass bill.' Nobody gets a guaranteed passage,” he continued.
“I'd say let's vote on it. Put it forward and vote on it. The impasse could end today if Republicans would promise just to have a week of immigration votes, have a conclusion, let us all put forward amendments. The American people would like to see us hash out our differences through amendments and votes.”
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