Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, today, I am saddened as I rise in support and on behalf of the American people who do not believe that the fate of the Nation should be subject to the whims of just one single individual Senator. The Senate filibuster was first used in 1837, and for more than a century, it has been used very sparingly and as a last resort. Even as recently as the 1960s, when the filibuster was used to obstruct historic civil rights legislation, it was used to block legislation in less than 10 percent of major bills, but a rule change in the 1970s opened up the floodgates for abuse. Suddenly, by simply threatening to filibuster, a single Senator could obstruct any bill that lacked 60 votes. Today, the filibuster is the last stand of special interests and is a platform for grandstanding by obstructionist Senators. In 2009, the Party of No, the Senate Republicans, paralyzed the country, filibustering our political process--80 percent of major legislation filibustered. Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the Founders of our Nation intended for the Senate to be a moderating influence on the process of legislating. So they gave Senators 6-year terms of office. At the same time, they gave House Members 2-year terms of office so that they could be closest to the will of the people. The Senate was to be the deliberative body. George Washington is said to have argued that the Senate would cool legislation as a saucer cools hot tea.…”