Political Quotes

“I rise for two purposes. No. 1, to discuss the National Defense Authorization Act and the fact that we cannot offer amendments to it and the process that has deteriorated in the Senate for deliberation. Second, I will speak very shortly about the nomination of Mayorkas, one of the first nominees we will be voting on this week. The Senate is poised to vote on a final National Defense Authorization Act after considering only two amendments. The Senate has not been functioning like it should for some time, and the way that the National Defense Authorization Act has been handled is one example. I have served in the majority and the minority, with Democratic Presidents and Republican Presidents. So I have seen it operate from every perspective. What is unique about the Senate is that the rules as well as the traditions force Senators to work together. That leads Senators to understand where the other side is coming from, resulting in mutual respect and scrutiny. I hear from a lot of Iowans who are upset at the tone they hear in Washington and the lack of bipartisanship. I have often said that the Senate functions best when no party has more than about 55 seats. If you have much more than that, there is less of a tendency to want to work in a bipartisan fashion. That was true for most of my time in the Senate but not now. Despite a current margin of just 5 seats in the Senate, there has been very little bipartisan cooperation.…”