Heidi Alexander: “The Senate works best when committee-approved bills move to the floor in an orderly way and Senators are freely able to…”

“The Senate works best when committee-approved bills move to the floor in an orderly way and Senators are freely able to debate and amend and vote upon the legislation. Unfortunately, under the current Democratic majority, committee work has been marginalized, as the majority has too often bypassed committees in the legislative process. And on the Senate floor, the twin hallmarks of the Senate, the right to debate and the right to amend legislation, are barely recognizable: to an unprecedented extent the majority has moved to shut off debate on a matter as soon as the Senate has begun to take up the matter, and it has blocked Members--of both parties--from offering their legislative ideas for the body to consider. The proposal we developed addressed a concern of the majority-- namely, the ability of a majority to take up a matter--but it conditioned its ability to bring that matter to conclusion by giving the minority the right to have the Senate consider at least two amendments of the minority's choosing--without any requirement of germaneness--as well as two amendments of the majority's choosing. The minority, in fact, would get to offer the first amendment under this procedure.…”