[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 164 (Sunday, December 18, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S13972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have said on previous occasions how much I 
care about this institution, but I have trouble expressing how 
disappointed I am as to what is going on. The arrogance of power of the 
Republicans in the House and the Senate is beyond my ability to 
comprehend. The Republican leadership now is attempting to impose the 
most cynical and I believe abusive practice in this pending conference 
report that, if successful, has the potential of changing the way this 
body operates forever. We will become another House of Representatives.
  Any conference report can set the tone of debate, the hours of 
debate, the parameters of debate. If the Senate does that, it will no 
longer be the Senate that was led by some of the greats such as 
Mansfield and Dirksen. I say this respectfully. I do not know how 
anyone would allow this to happen, those who have the ability to do it. 
There have been issues I felt strongly about, but I always played 
within the rules. That is not what is happening here. The game is being 
changed, the rules of the game are being changed in the middle of the 
game.
  In the Senate and the House, the rules are that the conferees are not 
allowed to include in the conference report any matter that was not 
submitted to the conference by either House. This avoids the 
possibility of conferees including legislation that would not pass 
either one House or the other on its own and forces the Congress to 
reach a consensus on controversial legislation. This process has served 
the Senate well for more than 200 years.
  But the Republicans in Congress and the White House simply do not 
care about rules and they break them when it suits their interests. 
This conference report violates Senate rules on scope and is a cynical 
attempt to leverage support for funding our troops at war in order to 
include numerous extraneous items for special interests that could not 
pass the Senate on their own.
  They have included--and we all know what this is about--the authority 
for oil companies to drill in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, I say to the 
American people, that this year are making $100 billion. But that is 
not enough. This abuse of power will have long-term ramifications in 
this body and is as bad or worse than anything ever attempted before, 
including the nuclear option. But in the future, if this goes forward, 
any matter, including nominations of a Secretary of State--you could 
limit debate for our giving consent on a Secretary of State to 20 
minutes equally divided. All you have to do is stick it in a conference 
report.
  There has never been an attempt in the Senate like this to similarly 
abuse our practices. When they have occurred, they have been ruled out 
of order or the leaders of the respective parties in this body have 
said you are going too far. The Senate has a series of precedents 
prohibiting bootstrapping a procedural fix in the same bill that 
violated the particular rule. Those precedents should be applied here 
to prevent this abuse of practice. If this practice is allowed to 
stand, then the Republican majority, or any majority, can change the 
rules in the Senate procedure prospectively in a conference committee 
without any say by the minority party by a simple majority vote on an 
unrelated conference report.
  To show the cynicism of this whole charade, in the same conference 
report they reverse the rule. Now, try that one on. These rules mean 
nothing. It is like a game of Monopoly with grade school kids. But this 
is the Senate. It is not a Monopoly game.
  This next few days is going to take longer than a Monopoly game, and 
some of those take a long time. If the rules are going to be played 
with--and they are being played with--then they are going to have to 
follow every rule. If you want a vote on a nomination, then invoke 
cloture on it.
  This is a dark day in the history of the American constitutional form 
of government.
  We become the House of Representatives. The Founding Fathers didn't 
want two House of Representatives. They wanted a bicameral legislature. 
But we become the House of Representatives, and the possibilities are 
endless in an institution that exists to forge a consensus and not act 
on the whims of whichever majority party is in control at the time. We 
become similar to the House of Commons. Whoever has the most votes 
wins. We haven't worked that way for 216 years.
  This abusive practice will allow any majority to alter any rule at 
any time for the consideration of any measure to advance its short-term 
political interests and will change the very nature of the Senate.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Burns). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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