MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for the information of our colleagues on both sides, as a result of this procedural obstruction, let me explain where we are.

By refusal to allow us to take this first step, which would have still given them plenty of time to negotiate, we have put the Senate in the following position: If any 1 of the 100 of us chooses to object, we can't deal with this until Friday or Saturday at the earliest. If any 1 of the 100 of us objects to some of the procedural hurdles we have to overcome as a result of this mindless obstruction--absolutely mindless obstruction going on on the other side, while the public is waiting for us to act, while people are losing their jobs, losing their income, and shutting down the economy, which we have had to do to deal with this public health crisis, they are fiddling around with Senate procedure that could, if 1 Senator objected, take us all the way to the end of the week to solve this problem.

I am beginning to think our Democratic colleagues don't understand the procedure in the Senate. I am not sure you understand the position your leader has put you in. He loses nothing--nothing--in terms of negotiating leverage by letting us get through these procedural hoops sooner rather than later--sooner rather than later.

The American people have had enough of this nonsense. They wonder where we are. They are looking to us to solve this problem.

The Secretary of the Treasury keeps going into the Democratic leader's office, and the list keeps getting longer and longer and longer. The bazaar is apparently open on the other side. Never let a crisis go to waste, one former President's Chief of Staff famously said.

So, look, I hope my colleagues will come out here and express themselves in the course of the afternoon. The American people would like to hear from us. They would like to know what is going on here. So let's tell them.

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Mr. McCONNELL. Will the Senator yield for a question?

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, beyond what the Senator is accurately pointing out, they put us in the following procedural position. By refusing to jump over some of these procedural steps along the way--it would not disadvantage their negotiating one bit--they have put us in a position where one Senator 1 of 100--1--could keep us here until Friday or Saturday.

Our constituents are saying to act now--as the Senator from Ohio was pointing out--minus procedural roadblocks in a time of national emergency.

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I say to my friend from Nebraska that I will be very brief. Cloture Motion

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, just one further observation, we will not be having any votes tonight.

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