On the recordFebruary 8, 2018
reserving the right to object, the question is often asked, if not now, when? We have all been told: Now, Senator, is not the time to discuss this. If we can do this through the committee in an orderly fashion, there is always going to be a better day. But the day never comes. The vast majority of the Senators will admit that the way we do our budgeting and the way we do our spending around here is abominable. It is an abomination. Most people are opposed to it. Yet they come to the floor and say: Let's just keep doing it the way we have always done it. So until a majority of us will say no, enough is enough, it will continue to be the same thing. The promise of making it different in the future is somewhat of an illusion or a false promise that just never gets here. There have been four times in 41 years that we did the right thing, that we did the appropriations bills--four times in 41 years. So what I am proposing--and this actually would have been nice to vote on tonight--people come to the floor and say they want to vote, but they don't want to vote on anything they don't agree with. They don't want to have any kind of an open amendment process where we can have votes. I am interested in putting forward something that is called the Government Shutdown Prevention Act.…
