Pete Domenici: “it is very late to be talking about this, but better late than never. So we will get something, rather than nothing.…”

“it is very late to be talking about this, but better late than never. So we will get something, rather than nothing. Perhaps people are wondering what we are doing. If you think back the last 8 or 9 months, a vote will occur in the Senate, only in the Senate; a vote is going to occur, and someone stands up and makes a point of order to honor the Budget Act. When you first do one of these, it is something big. I remember making one and you wonder what is going to happen. The staff told you how to do each little thing, and when it came time to vote, you wondered if you really did it. But it is a very heavily used situation in the Senate. Members call up an amendment. It costs a lot of money either in program authority or outlays. The money is not found in the budget resolution that should have already been passed. Members get up and say: I am asking that that amendment be deemed invalid because it violates the Budget Act. Another Senator says: I move we waive this budget point of order under the Budget Act. Then Members state which part or provision to be waived. What happens in that situation, from that point forward? If you call up that amendment, you need 60 votes. Many Americans, especially academicians, are wondering what happened to the Senate: Have we stopped being a body where the majority prevailed? Don't we have majority rules anymore?”