Dick Durbin: “I wish to thank my colleague from Wyoming. The most frequently asked question, no matter where I appear in Illinois or…”

“I wish to thank my colleague from Wyoming. The most frequently asked question, no matter where I appear in Illinois or at fundraising events, is, Why can't you folks get along in Washington. What is it like to be in a place where everybody is at one another's throats and you can't accomplish anything? Why can't you do things on a bipartisan basis? What is it like today, and how do you compare it to what it was like a few years ago? I say to them there are times when we do come together and do something important. This is one of those times--the Marketplace Fairness Act. It was 1 year ago that Senator Enzi led the fight on this. I do not know exactly when he started it, but I was happy to join in, in his effort, when Senator Byron Dorgan retired. I called Senator Enzi and said: I would like to step in and help you with this bill. He said: Let's do it. We brought in Lamar Alexander, who made some valuable contributions to it. Then along comes Heidi Heitkamp, the new Senator from North Dakota. Was she ever ready for this fight--a former sales tax commissioner in that State and a former attorney general. She knew this issue inside and out. She has been a terrific ally. So there were the four of us. What an odd grouping: two Republicans, two Democrats from literally all over the United States. We worked together, and 1 year ago today we passed this basic bill, the marketplace fairness bill. The reason for passing it was just look at the name of it: fairness.…”