Russ Feingold: “I hope today the Senate will side with rules, history, and future when it is time for this Senate to go on record as to…”

“I hope today the Senate will side with rules, history, and future when it is time for this Senate to go on record as to whether it is okay to break the rules to do something you cannot otherwise get done. My colleagues know I do not support drilling in the Arctic Refuge. But this is not simply a debate about oil, wildlife, and energy policy. The debate we are having and the vote we are about to have is about how this institution and this democracy operate. Some have said there is precedent for violating rule XXVIII. My response is simple: Abusing the process and breaking the rules in the past does not justify doing so now, especially knowing it was a mistake. We worked in a bipartisan fashion to reinstate these very rules in 2000. We did this because these rules are designed to protect all of us against abuses of power. If Senators do not stand up to the current and very troubling tactics we are seeing, what hope is there of stopping future attempts to hijack other legislation to pass proposals that cannot stand on their own merits? There are clearly Members who are determined to open the Arctic Refuge to drilling. I suspect every Member also has a couple of things we desperately want signed into law. However, we have a responsibility to respect the rules and traditions of the Senate. I urge my colleagues to vote against cloture and to vote to uphold the rules of this institution in which we are honored to serve. I yield the floor. The PRESIDENT pro tempore.…”