Senate Democrates Refuse To Support Marines in Berkeley
Reid’s move delayed rap on Berkeley
The Hill
By Manu Raju
Senate Democrats blocked the “Semper Fi Act” and refused to support the US Marines in Berkeley.
“Democrats have chosen not to defend the Marine Corps, but to pander to anti-war protesters and Berkeley officials that are actively trying to impede military recruitment.”
But Reid’s office says that recessing was done to give the majority the flexibility to map out broader floor strategy on a range of bills for the coming week.
The California Democrats who sponsored the earmarks, Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Barbara Lee, say they will fight for the funding, which includes a lunch program at a Berkeley school district, ferry service and a new endowment at the University of California-Berkeley.
“Senator DeMint may not like what the Berkeley City Council has to say, but to punish the children, police, first responders and university for something they had nothing to do with is just plain wrong,” said Natalie Ravitz, a spokeswoman for Boxer.
Republicans introduced the bill to reprimand the city for its decision to tell the Marine Corps in a letter that a recruiting office was “not welcome” in the city and that the recruiters were “uninvited and unwelcome intruders.”
The Berkeley City Council also voted to make it easier for the anti-war group Code Pink to protest against the recruiters, assigning a parking space once a week for six months in front of the office and relaxing noise restrictions so that the activists can more easily interrupt the Marines’ activities.
