the current system is broken.

Examining the filibuster is essential to understanding how it has shaped our legislative process.

We will feel it next year for that reason.

Rather than accept the will of the voters who are rejecting the policies enacted by the 111th Congress, the senator from New Mexico and many of our colleagues on the other side simply want to abolish the Senate as we have understood it for…

Democrats say, 'It is delay, delay, delay, even over trivial things.'

It is clear that the topic of right to debate and the use of the filibuster are of deep interest to members of this Committee.

While the membership of the Senate will change, problems posed by the abuse of the filibuster are not going away.

I do believe the Senate has the right to change its rules and I do believe the Senate has the right to say we will do it at the beginning of each term.

I can testify that the majority is better. I can testify firsthand that the House is the institution for the will of the majority.

Partisanship seems to have enveloped our politics over the last 30 years.

at the essence of the Senate is the ability of the Minority to amend.

Senator Alexander, you know, calculated it would take us eight days to do four nominees, or four days to do eight nominees.

Only one really is horrible, and it is not in the Senate at either side.

Our appointments process now undermines the very purposes it was designed to serve.

It is not unconstitutional to create a barrier that is very hard to overcome.

The Constitution's framers never intended the Senate to function like the House of Representatives.

There is no former living Senator who can give us more insight into the evolution of the filibuster and the cloture rule than our first witness, who we are so honored to have, and that is former Vice President and former Senator Walter…

I think the committees should look at their nominees and then make a concerted effort to reduce the number.

I do not want to get rid of the filibuster, but as I will argue, I think we need a different number.

We appreciate that they took time to appear before us to explain their proposals.

The whole idea of the Senate is not to have majority rule. It is to force consensus.

Is this different than the moments with Bill Frist and the nuclear option?

the old idea that if you wanted to filibuster, you had to get on the floor and make a spectacle of yourself... had been replaced by a more subtle, silent filibuster.

It is ingenious, and many people say, well, if you are going to filibuster, you ought to get up there and be required to talk about it.

The secret holds a courtesy granted to Senators at the expense of our democracy.