Michael Bennet: “Today, any American who wants to read this stuff can actually read all of it and see all of it. The Senator from…”

“Today, any American who wants to read this stuff can actually read all of it and see all of it. The Senator from Alabama--and he said it again tonight--has said that he will continue to hold these promotions for ``as long as it takes''-- ``for as long as it takes''--to which, I think, the obvious question is, As long as it takes to what? What is the political principle for which he is on the floor, using the unprecedented tactic of holding up every single flag promotion in the DOD and our U.S. military? What is it that he is trying to do? What principle is he trying to enshrine? The rule that he is objecting to and the rule that my colleague from Kansas is also objecting to is a rule that does three things. One thing it does is to say, if you are in need of reproductive healthcare and you are a woman who is in our military, that you can take paid leave to be able to do that. You don't have to take unpaid leave to travel to a place if you are stationed in, for example, a place like Alabama where abortion is illegal--I think only with the exception for the life of the mother. There is no exception for rape or incest if you are serving in a State like Alabama--where a doctor could go to prison for 99 years for performing an abortion, where they are having debates down there about whether or not they can use laws that are written for fentanyl and apply them to the use of chemicals during an abortion.…”