Patrick Leahy: “Yesterday the assistant minority leader made some cogent observations about how the Senate is being required to expend…”

“Yesterday the assistant minority leader made some cogent observations about how the Senate is being required to expend hours on matters that are leading nowhere and take away from debate on the Energy bill. If the Republicans were truly serious about finishing the Energy bill this week, they would not be scheduling hours of debate on contentious judicial nominations. Nor for that matter would they break for several hours yesterday to have a pep rally at the White House. From the Senate schedule, an objective observer would have to think it is more driven by partisanship and trying to score political points than a desire to make progress on the business of the Senate and on the issues that are the most important to the American people. This week we have not proceeded to the foreign operations appropriations bill, which contains a number of matters of overriding importance to the country and the world, although Chairman McConnell and I have been ready to proceed. We have not proceeded to the energy and water appropriations bill or the other appropriations matters that need to be concluded soon for the Government and Government programs to continue to operate in the fiscal year that will soon be upon us. Usually we devote July to appropriations matters but the Republican leadership has chosen to take this week off in that regard. Today we must again return to the controversial nomination of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.”