Al Franken votes against protections for American workers

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. No, it's based on reading the entire article.

The sole reference to Sen. Franken is this: "Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) voted against the amendment but said they were open to working with Grassley on tweaking it before the bill reaches the floor." The article does not say why Franken voted against the amendment. It does not say, or even imply, that Franken wanted looser H1B restrictions. It does not say that Franken wanted more H1B visas issued. It says only that he voted against Grassley's amendment as written and that he would be willing to "tweak" it before it reaches the floor.

Since we do not know exactly how Grassley's amendment was worded or which parts of it Franken and Whitehouse disagreed with, it is a far, far reach indeed to conclude from the mere fact that Franken voted against it that therefore he "voted against protections for the American worker." If you want to call my knowledge of Franken's record "prejudice" that makes me unlikely to believe he really would vote against protections for the American worker, feel free. But all this article tells us is that for some unstated reason he and Whitehouse voted against an amendment whose actual contents and wording are not provided, but that they are willing to work with Grassley to improve it.