On the recordOctober 11, 2011
I rise today to talk about changing our Senate rules by a simple majority vote. That is what we did last week. Mr. President, as you know, the new classes that came in in your year and the year after have worked on these rule change issues, and the last 2 years, I have been working to find a way for the Senate to break through the gridlock and to function on behalf of the American people, to focus, as we are doing with this bill, on jobs for the American people. Last week, the Senate took the step of changing our rules with a simple majority vote. This was done in accordance with the Constitution, article I, section 5. The Senate has done this on many occasions in the past, and, like those previous rule changes, the action taken last week was not intended to destroy the uniqueness of the Senate but, instead, to restore the regular order of the body. I applaud the majority leader for getting us back on track. The Senate should be focused on the jobs agenda of the American people, and Majority Leader Reid has put us on the right path. He may be forced to do this again, but it is important that he stay focused on that agenda and all of us stay focused on the jobs agenda of the American people. At the beginning of this Congress, I, along with Senators Harkin and Merkley, tried to do that. Ultimately, our success was limited. We didn't achieve the broad reforms we wanted . . .…
