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Frist's Past Actions Do Not Support Today's Words

Date: May 18, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Legislative Branch


FRIST'S PAST ACTIONS DO NOT SUPPORT TODAY'S WORDS -- (House of Representatives - May 18, 2005)

(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, it is not in the American people's interest to change Senate rules that assure that all points of view are heard and which have been in place for over 200 years.

Mr. Speaker, today Senator Frist is prepared to take the extreme action of upending historic Senate rules under the guise that he says all judicial nominees are entitled to an up or down vote.

That is what he is saying today, but he was singing a different tune back when President Clinton was in the White House. Back in 2000, Republican Senators attempted to filibuster two of that administration's appointments to the 9th Circuit. Senator Frist joined some of his Republican colleagues back then in continuing a filibuster of nominee Richard Paez.

There are also other ways to prevent up or down votes on the floor. They can stall them in committee, and that is what happened to President Clinton's nominees. More than one-third of Clinton's appeals court nominees during the last 4 years of his presidency were never given an up or down vote on the Senate floor.

We did not hear Senator Frist demanding an up or down vote then, and while Democrats and President Clinton complained about the treatment of Clinton's nominees from Republicans at that time, they never came close to subverting 200 years of historic rules that have been in place to assure majority and minority opinions in that Chamber are heard.

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Sometimes, with one party rule, the majority becomes abusive in its use of power. This is just such an instance. The Senate as an institution belongs to the American people, to those who agree with the majorty and those who hold minority opinions all have a right to be heard. Under our Constitution and time-tested institutional procedures, let all our people's voices be heard.

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