Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I am very troubled by this process. We are taking up a $463 billion appropriations bill. There is no amendment on the…”

“I am very troubled by this process. We are taking up a $463 billion appropriations bill. There is no amendment on the House side and no amendment on the Senate side being allowed. We are going to cloture with no capability of amendments. Yet the deadline for this bill is February 15. We have several days in which we could offer amendments, debate amendments, and go back to the House, if we set our minds to doing it. And if there was a true bipartisan spirit, we would be able to do that. It has been said we didn't pass these appropriations bills last year, and that is correct. We didn't for a variety of reasons, some of which was obstruction from the other side and some of which was obstruction on this side. I understand that. But now we are where we are. We have been here before. When the Republicans took control in 2003, after the Democrats had the majority, we didn't put a continuing resolution forward for the 11 appropriations bills that had not been passed. We put forward an Omnibus appropriations bill, a bill that was amendable. There were, in fact, 100 amendments offered. There were 6 days of debate, and the bill was passed with mostly Democratic amendments. I do think, in a sense of fairness, that is what was expected when the majority switched, that we would have an Omnibus appropriations bill with some reasonable number of amendments. Our leadership certainly offered a limited number with a limited time for debate.”