On the recordJanuary 24, 2013
I have long believed that rule XXII does not define the Senate. The Senate is defined in the Constitution, and it does not mention rule XXII or filibusters. Second, I do not believe the dead hand of the past should control any Senate now or in the future. Third, I believe the filibuster should be used to slow things down, to make sure the minority has the right to offer amendments and to have them debated and voted on. It does not mean the minority has a right to win, but they have the right to debate and slow things down. The filibuster should not be used as a method to put things in the trash can. As George Washington supposedly said to Jefferson, it was to cool things down. I can understand that. But the filibuster has been used, and it will still be used even in the future, so that the minority can stop the majority. I have long believed the majority should have the right to enact legislation with due regard for the rights of the minority to be able to offer amendments and slow things down. But that is not what is happening and that is what my proposal I first offered in 1995, and continue to offer today, would do. Yes, it would protect the filibuster as a means of slowing things down, but eventually the majority would be able to act, and that is as I think the Founders and the drafters of our Constitution really meant it to be. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
