Senate will vote on fake compromise on anti-abortion human trafficking bill

Before the Senate left for its two-week vacation, Mitch McConnell was busy trying to embarrass Democrats by making them vote over and over on his anti-abortion human trafficking bill. What does preventing abortion have to do with ending human trafficking—especially sex trafficking of young women? Everything, if you're a Republican. Remember, too, that McConnell is holding Loretta Lynch's confirmation vote hostage to this completely unrelated legislation. McConnell has scheduled another vote on the issue for Thursday, with a completely bullshit amendment from Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) that they're going to try to sell as a compromise.

Here's the issue: the legislation includes anti-abortion language, saying that victims—VICTIMS—of sex trafficking can't have abortions paid for out of the victim compensation fund set up in the law, extending the Hyde amendment anti-abortion funding language to this program. Here's the problem—the Hyde funding prohibition has only ever been on the use of taxpayer dollars, the revenue that comes into the federal government when we pay taxes, to pay for abortions. Cornyn's "compromise" is basically to launder the money and lie and say it's the same thing as taxpayers' money.

Under the Texas Republican’s amendment, money in the victims fund would have to be transferred directly from the General Treasury Fund. Money from criminal fines will be then deposited into the General Treasury to offset the withdrawal.

Cornyn added Tuesday, “All money in the domestic trafficking victims fund must be derived from the general treasury, the routine and ordinary source for all federal funding."

He said that means the abortion restrictions would only be placed on money from the general treasury, and not from criminal fines.

Democrats aren't buying this accounting gimmick.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Democrats refuse to include it on principle.

"We will not accept language that simply hides the Hyde," said Murray in a Tuesday press conference. "That is a non-starter for all of us."

That would be because it's bullshit. But what else would McConnell's Senate be doing?