The Public Record
Jeff Alan Merkley is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oregon since January 6, 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley has focused on issues such as healthcare, climate change, and economic inequality throughout his tenure. He has been an advocate for progressive policies and has worked to address the challenges facing working families in Oregon and across the nation. Merkley is known for his commitment to transparency and accountability in government, often speaking out against perceived injustices and advocating for reforms.
Madam President, the Senator from New Mexico is telling me it has become a common practice on the floor of the Senate for an individual Senator who wants to oppose something to not have the courage to stand here and tell the world their…
If I may interrupt for a moment, I wish to clarify what the Senator from New Mexico just said, which is, a supermajority of the Senate, after 1 week of debate, is required just to get to the point where we might start debate on the bill…
Thank you, Madam President. The reason I am rising to talk about rules is because we are at the start of a new 2-year period for Congress. This is the appropriate time to be considering how well the Senate is working and whether we should…
Well, certainly I will tell you that Senator Byrd stood on this floor and said the Senate cannot be bound by the dead hand of the past. You can imagine that any particularly bizarre rule that might have been passed by our predecessors that…
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak on the issue of Senate rules. I will be joined by a few colleagues in a few minutes. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is recognized.
Mr. President, for purposes of having the resolution go over, under the rule, I object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The measure will go over, under the rule.
Certainly. This provision about a talking filibuster says rather than having a situation where a Senator objects to a majority vote and then we delay the work of the Senate for a week, though nobody is here explaining their position to the…
I want to note this is important to both the majority and the minority. For example, we recently had a bill on the floor of the Senate which was a major bill regarding the compromise struck by President Obama with our Republican colleagues…
I wish to note, as Senator Udall observed, Senator Wyden, Senator Grassley, and Senator McCaskill have worked hard on a much more detailed version than we have in S. Res. 10, but the basic notion is the same. If a colleague is going to…
Mr. President, I submit S. Res. 24, on behalf of myself and Senator Tom Udall, proposing a standing order of the Senate, and I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the resolution. The PRESIDING…
Mr. President, for purposes of having the resolution go over, under the rule, I object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The resolution will go over, under the rule.
I think what the Senator from New Mexico has set forward is that we would save 28 hours on each nomination. If the Senate goes around the clock, that is a bit more than a day. If we are doing 10- hour days, that is almost 3 days. We save 3…
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