Connecticut U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, spoke on the floor of the Senate Wednesday morning to express his frustration over the Republican leadership's inaction on number of issues, including a bipartisan bill he introduced earlier this year that would overhaul the nation's mental health care system.
"The bill passed through the health and education committee unanimously, and what we're told is we can't do a mental health reform bill, not because we don't have consensus, but because we don't have time. Bull," Murphy told the Senate. "It's just one of many pieces of legislation that would make people's lives better, that has broad bipartisan support that we aren't doing simply because we aren't working."
The Senate recently returned to work after a seven-week recess, one of the longest breaks in decades. Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, brought a calendar to the Senate floor Wednesday that revealed this Senate has worked the fewest days in Washington since 1956.
Murphy joined other Senate Democrats this morning in denouncing Republicans for dragging their feet on the budget, Zika funding, and confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
He also used his time on the floor to highlight the gun deaths that occurred during the Senate's recess, including the 13 people shot in Bridgeport in August.
Another member of Connecticut's congressional delegation, Rep. Elizabeth Esty -- a Democrat from Connecticut's fifth congressional district -- spoke out on the floor of the House, and on Twitter about gun violence.
There are 504 known gun violence victims in Sept. Each life was precious. Each paid the price for Congress's inaction. This is who they are:
— Elizabeth Esty (@Elizabeth_Esty) September 14, 2016
"What will it take for this House, the people's House, to finally vote on commonsense, bipartisan legislation to save American lives?" Esty asked on the House floor earlier in the day.
Still, Murphy conceded that a vote on guns is unlikely to happen before the November election. "But I listen to my Republican colleagues [that] tell me all the time that the real problem when it comes to gun violence is mental health," said Murphy. "If you want to work on mental health, then we can."
Congress also has to pass a budget this month to avoid a government shutdown on October 1.
Tucker Ives contributed to this report.
