Heidi Alexander: “I understand what the Democratic leader is saying. I think the best thing for Senator Murray and me to do is to continue…”

“I understand what the Democratic leader is saying. I think the best thing for Senator Murray and me to do is to continue to work as we have with other Senators. I believe we know almost all of the amendments that are to be adopted. Not only have we adopted the ones in committee and the ones on the floor, but Senator Murray and I have several dozen other amendments that we are prepared to recommend to the full Senate be adopted in the substitute agreement. I would say to Senators that if there is any other amendment, I hope you will let us know about it. The filing deadline is 2:30 this afternoon. I hope we have all of the amendments that we need to have. Occasionally, I am asked: Why do the Senators argue all the time? My answer usually is this: That is what we are here to do. We are presented with the most contentious issues in the country--issues that can't be resolved in other places. So of course, we are going to argue a lot. We debate. We have rules about debate. We debate what to do about the Iran nuclear deal. We debate what to do about health care. We debate what kind of trade agreements we should have. But occasionally, we come to a consensus about what to do. A consensus is the way you govern a complex country. I remember very well when I was a very young staff member here, I watched Senator Dirksen, the Republican leader--this was in 1968--and President Johnson, the Democratic President, work together to pass a civil rights bill.…”