WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked debate on a bill that represented the first effort by Congress to address mass shootings since a white supremacist’s killing of 10 Black people in New York and a gunman’s massacre of 19 pupils and two teachers in Texas.
The 47-47 vote along strict party lines fell short of the 60 yes votes required to launch debate in the 100-member Senate on a bill titled the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act.
The vote effectively blocked the bill which would have authorized federal agencies to monitor and report jointly on domestic terrorism within the United States, including incidents related to white supremacy.