众议院投票弹劾唐纳德·特朗普总统后的第二天，众议院议长南希·佩洛西提请人们注意民主党人所说的这一周期在参议院备受煎熬的法案的“立法墓地”。
在周四上午的每周新闻发布会上，佩洛西回忆起共和党赋予她的昵称“不做民主党人”这个短语在保守派圈子里变得很流行，他们指责民主党人以牺牲他们的基本立法职责为代价追求特朗普。
佩洛西周四提醒记者，但多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔拒绝将民主党控制的众议院通过的数百项两党法案在共和党控制的参议院进行投票。
佩洛西说:“我们为自己的所作所为感到非常自豪。”他描述了在“死神米奇·麦康奈尔”的监督下，枪支销售背景调查、薪资公平和养老金保护方面的立法正在停滞不前
“我有消息给他。他可能认为他们到达那里时已经死了，但是他们还活着，而且在公众中很好，”佩洛西补充说。
众议院议长南希·佩洛西于2019年12月19日在DC首都华盛顿举行每周新闻发布会。她在那里向记者讲述了目前困在参议院的立法。
麦康奈尔的办公室没有回应新闻周刊本周，电子邮件和电话要求评论为什么他没有在自己的议院投票，以及他是否打算在可预见的将来投票。
本周早些时候，参议员们开始共享照片代表300多项“滞留在参议院”的法案的一大堆滑稽可笑的文件中，其中280多项在另一个议院至少有一名共和党支持者。
据黛比·斯塔贝罗参议员的办公室称，这个堆栈是由那些印刷了待参议院采取行动的法案的确切措辞的工作人员构建的，不包括拨款措施。
这些照片吸引了社交媒体上人们的注意力，其中一些人建议给佩洛西取一个反绰号:“不要做共和党人。”
当被问及为什么她认为麦康奈尔不会将立法付诸表决时，斯塔贝诺说新闻周刊她不确定。
她在一次采访中说:“我不知道共和党领导的参议院拒绝接受那些能让人们生活得更好、为人们创造更多成功机会的法案，对他有什么好处。”。"除非你只关心政治，否则这毫无意义。"
根据政府数据，到目前为止，在2019-2020年的国会会议上，共有78项已颁布的法律。最近几个月，参议院通过了支持香港抗议者的立法，在联邦层面禁止虐待动物，并对残疾退伍军人给予更好的补偿。
NANCY PELOSI BLASTS 'GRIM REAPER' MITCH MCCONNELL FOR ALLOWING MORE THAN 300 HOUSE-PASSED BILLS TO STALL ON HIS DESK
The day after the House voted to impeach President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi drew attention to what Democrats are calling the "legislative graveyard" of bills languishing in the Senate this cycle.
In her weekly press conference Thursday morning, Pelosi smiled as she recalled her party's GOP-gifted nickname, "Do Nothing Democrats." The phrase has become popular in conservative circles that accuse Democrats of going after Trump at the expense of their basic legislative duties.
But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to bring hundreds of bipartisan bills passed in the Democrat-held House to a vote on the Republican-held Senate floor, Pelosi reminded reporters on Thursday.
"We're very proud of what we have done," Pelosi said, describing legislation on background checks for firearm sales, paycheck fairness and pension protections now stalling under the watch of "Mitch McConnell, the grim reaper."
"I have news for him. He may think they're dead on arrival there, but they are alive and well in the general public," Pelosi added.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds her weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol December 19, 2019 in Washington, DC. where she told reporters about the legislation currently stuck in the Senate.
McConnell's office has not responded to Newsweek emails and calls this week requesting comment about why he hasn't brought the packages to a vote in his chamber and whether he intends to in the foreseeable future.
Earlier this week, Senators began sharing photos of a comically large pile of paper that represents more than 300 bills "stuck in the Senate," more than 280 of which had at least one Republican backer in the other chamber.
The brainchild of Senator Debbie Stabelow, the stack was constructed by staffers who printed the exact language of bills awaiting Senatorial action, excluding appropriations measures, according to her office.
The photos have captivated the attention of people on social media, some of whom suggested a counter-nickname to the one that brought a wry smile to Pelosi's face this morning: "Do Nothing Republicans."
Asked why she thought McConnell won't bring the legislation to a vote, Stabenow told Newsweekthat she wasn't sure.
"I don't know how he is advantaged by having the Republican-led Senate refuse to take up bills that would make people's lives better and create more opportunities for people to be successful," she said in an interview. "It makes no sense unless you only care about politics."
There are 78 enacted laws so far in the 2019-2020 session of Congress, according to government data. In recent months, the Senate passed legislation that backed protesters in Hong Kong, banned animal cruelty at the federal level and better compensated veterans with disabilities.
