Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to talk about our continuing effort to change the Senate rules as we begin the 114th Congress. This is the same process Senators Merkley, Harkin, and I used at the beginning of the last Congress when we introduced a similar resolution. At that time, Majority Leader Reid wanted to have the debate about reforming our rules after the inauguration. He was willing to work with us and protect our interests until we could debate our proposal. By doing so, he preserved the right of a simple majority of this body to amend the rules in accordance with article I, section 5 of the Constitution. I hope Majority Leader McConnell will extend to us this same courtesy if he chooses to address other issues before rules reform. It has been the tradition at the beginning of many Congresses that a majority of the Senate has asserted its right to adopt or amend the rules. Just as Senators of both parties have done in the past, we do not acquiesce to any provision of Senate rules--adopted by a previous Congress--that would deny the majority that right. The resolution I am offering today is based on proposals we introduced at the start of the 112th and 113th Congresses. At that time, many called our efforts a power grab by the majority. But we were very clear. We would support these changes even if we were in the minority, and here we are today, reintroducing the reform package as Members of the minority. These changes do not strip minority rights.…”