I would ask the Senator from Vermont through the Chair, as informative and as entertaining as our presentations are on the floor, the fact is, 98 chairs are empty on the Senate floor, chairs that could be filled with Members of the Senate from both political parties debating the issues we are talking about; actually voting on amendments, proposing changes in the law to ultimately work with the House and send it to the President to solve some of the problems of our Nation. But as long as we are facing--and we have had three filibuster votes so far this week with more to follow--as long as we are facing this Republican filibuster where not one single Republican Senator will break with the Republican caucus or the Wall Street position that opposes any reform, we can't even bring this bill to the floor for debate so we can address the biggest economic and financial challenge America has faced in decades.
Editor's note · Context
Senator Durbin addresses the lack of Senate participation and the impact of Republican filibusters on legislative progress.
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