Max Baucus: “I want to talk now about the rules of the Senate. With this bill, the majority has once again abused the process. With…”

“I want to talk now about the rules of the Senate. With this bill, the majority has once again abused the process. With this bill, the majority has once again shown its disrespect for the rule of law. Mr. President, I have served in the Congress for 32 years. I have served in the Senate for 28 years. I am continually grateful to my employers, the people of the State of Montana, for giving me this opportunity. I was in the Congress in 1975, when the Budget Committee reported the very first budget resolution. I was in the Senate in the early 1980s, when the Budget Committee reported its first budget reconciliation bill. I have seen this process change. And the Majority is changing this process again today. Mr. President, this bill comes before us today under the extraordinary procedures that we call budget reconciliation. This is a process that bypasses the normal Senate rules. Under the normal Senate rules, Senators may debate legislation at length. Under budget reconciliation, this bill is subject to a strict time limit. Under the normal Senate rules, and rule XXII, it takes the affirmative vote of 60 Senators to cut off debate. Under budget reconciliation, a simple majority will determine the outcome of this bill. The Senate chose early on to limit the power to use budget reconciliation. The Senate saw early on that this power could be subject to abuse. Thus, starting in 1985, the Senate adopted the Byrd Rule against extraneous matter in reconciliation bills.…”