On the recordMay 9, 2012
I thank you for the recognition, Mr. President. Let me say, I have been sitting here listening to my colleague, the Senator from Wyoming, and I think he makes some good points. I think we do need a more open process. I think we need to try as much as possible to work with each other in the committee process. I do not think there is any doubt about that. I think we need to allow germane amendments and have a good, robust debate on the bills that are on the floor. But what I want to talk about today is the fact that we are in a filibuster. Fifty-two of us wanted to move forward on this bill and 45 of us did not. That is why we are locked in this situation. I rise with regret today, and there is much to regret about yesterday's vote on the student loan bill. First, I regret the false choice between helping students or funding preventive health care. Most Americans support student loans. Most Americans see the value of preventive health care. Yet my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would ask that we sacrifice one for the other. An affordable education should not be held hostage to cuts in preventive health care. That is not a choice; it is an ultimatum. Have we come to this? We teach our children to set goals, to set priorities. It should surprise no one that they seriously question our goals, our priorities. It is like a bus heading toward a cliff. We can turn it around, and we ought to be able to do so without throwing students underneath it.…
