Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., himself has explained how, by making the Senate "The preserve of minority rights," the "Hallowed process" of extended debate "Often makes better legislation."
Speaking of Schumer, he joined Biden in 2005 to defend extended debate, which he called the "Hallmark of the Senate," as "The guard rail of our democracy." He denounced any attempt to undermine extended debate as a "Power grab" that would destroy the "Checks and balances that are at the core of our Constitution and our Republic."
Schumer went even further, arguing that extended debate is especially important when "The Senate and the Presidency are in the hands of the same party" and when the Senate considers "Controversial matters."
The Senate has changed the vote threshold for ending debate on legislation only through the established, formal process for amending Senate rules and only by wide bipartisan consensus: 76-3 in 1917, 63-23 in 1949, and 72-22 in 1959.
Each time, the Rules Committee held hearings on a resolution to change the debate rule before the full Senate debated and voted on it.
In 2011, the Senate rejected a similar plan by an even more lopsided 12-84; the opposition included 20 current Senate Democrats, including Schumer and President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. When the Senate turned down the same proposal two years later by a simple voice vote, none of the 36 current Democrat senators serving at the time objected.
In May 2017, Then-President Donald Trump demanded that Senate Republicans abandon extended debate in order to enact his legislative priorities.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/01/03/biden-wants-to-in-his-words-eviscerate-the-senate/
No comments:
Post a Comment