Alex Padilla: “last year, Senate Democrats presented to Senate Republicans a proposal meant to fix some of the partisan gridlock that…”

“last year, Senate Democrats presented to Senate Republicans a proposal meant to fix some of the partisan gridlock that slowed down the confirmation process for both parties over the years. I rise to speak to it because of the pending action that Senate Republicans have teed up to change the rules or utilize the nuclear option to set a new precedent for how nominees are considered and/or confirmed in this body. So it is not a new conversation, not a new effort that has come up just overnight. There have been efforts over the years to revisit this, including last year by Senate Democrats. I reference that proposal from last year because it was intentional. It was presented at a time when nobody knew who would be elected President of the United States. It was done at a time when no one knew who would be occupying--which party would be occupying the White House and be charged with filling key positions in the Federal Government. It was done at a time when we were not sure who would be in the majority of this body. So it was an ideal time to discuss and implement reforms on a nonpartisan basis. It was a chance for the two sides to come together in a bipartisan fashion and negotiate a change to the Senate rules at a 67-vote threshold for the purpose of improving the process, improving the Senate as an institution. Now, Democrats proposed ideas out of the interest of fairness, of reform, and of making this institution work better.…”