The Senate Must Reform Cloture

Floor Speech

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But this principle assumes it is an actual debate where Members are talking to one another, and it requires that the debate be germane to the question at hand and that it is not dilatory. That is how cloture started. But over the 20th century, it degenerated into a 60-vote administrative threshold just to consider legislation. Ironically, a procedure designed to protect debate has now morphed into a procedure that very effectively prevents debate.
The two Houses of Congress are designed to disagree with each other, but once the House and the Senate independently exercise their best judgment on a particular matter, there is a conference process developed over centuries to resolve their differences. This process cannot function if one House simply refuses to consider the other House's work.

The modern notion of cloture prevents that process and the system breaks down. During the last several Congresses, the House has sent hundreds of bills--including the appropriations bills that fund this government--to the Senate; but instead of amending their ideas into those bills or sending us bills of their own, they have simply refused to consider them by a minority denying cloture.
Now, some Senators have said that this mechanism is necessary to preserve collegiality and encourage compromise, but how can you have collegiality when one side simply refuses to talk to the other? How can you have compromise when the matter to be compromised cannot be taken up and discussed?
Others have said that since most legislation grows the powers of government, it is an effective brake on that tendency. It is true this rule effectively blocks bad legislation. It also very effectively blocks good legislation that is necessary to reverse this trend. The current cloture rule provides a ratcheting effect that locks in every expansion of government over the past century. Now, some Republicans have said that it has been most useful when they have been in the minority. I have to ask them, do you want to be a successful majority or a successful minority? You cannot be both as long as cloture exists in its current form. Voters elected Republican majorities in both Houses of Congress, and they expect action. They will get it from the President and from the House. But in order for the Senate to rise to this occasion, it must reform its cloture rule when it organizes in January.

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