Political Quotes

“I appreciate the question from my friend, the Senator from Iowa. That is not what I am suggesting. But I do think we need to have a process which allows for an opportunity for amendments and debate. And if we do not have a process requiring a threshold of 60 votes, the temptation is going to be, again, for the majority leader to deny the opportunity for amendments, constrict time allowed for an amendment, for debate, by filing cloture, and we are going to see things shooting through here that have not had an adequate opportunity for deliberation. This institution has famously been called the world's greatest deliberative body, but I daresay we have not demonstrated that in recent memory. And, again, I think, as the Senator from Tennessee and others have observed, this is not a problem with the rules. This is the way the rules have actually been implemented. I think we have learned an important lesson from this and one I hope will help us respect the rights of all Senators, whether they be in the majority or the minority, to offer amendments and to debate these amendments not because they are about our rights but because they are about the rights, for example, of the 25 million people I represent. They have the right to be heard. They have a right to have any suggestions or improvements to legislation be considered. That is all I am saying.”