Heidi Alexander: “What we are trying to do today is to move past this time where we point out that the majority leader has cut off our…”

“What we are trying to do today is to move past this time where we point out that the majority leader has cut off our right to amend and debate six times more than recent majority leaders. It is like telling us we can join the Grand Ole Opry, but we can't sing. We are here to let people know what the people in Tennessee and other States think. We might be in the minority, but we are in the Senate where the minority is supposed to have a voice. When, time after time, you bring a bill to the floor and cut it off, and you call that a filibuster--that is why we are upset. These rules changes we are going to adopt are good and will move us in the right direction. The real value of this whole effort has been to cause us to think about how the Senate operates and realize the best way to do it is for most bills to go to committee, come to the floor, and for most Senators to get to offer most of the amendments they want to offer and get them voted on.”