[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S83-S84]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               FILIBUSTER

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Madam President, there is a lot going on in the Senate, 
a lot of activity behind the scenes right now. Leadership of both 
parties is negotiating a 50-50 power-sharing agreement, which is very 
important for the Senate and very important for our Nation.
  One issue that is being discussed is the status of what is going to 
happen, possibly--hopefully, nothing is going to happen--with a really 
important element of the U.S. Senate: the legislative filibuster--
something that has been a hallmark of this body almost since the 
founding of the Republic. This shouldn't be a hard issue.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a letter, led 
by Senator Collins and Senator Coons, dated April 7, 2017, to the then-
majority leader, Senator McConnell, and the Democratic leader, Senator 
Schumer
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                    Washington, DC, April 7, 2017.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     Majority Leader,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Charles E. Schumer,
     Democratic Leader,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Democratic Leader 
     Schumer: We are writing to urge you to support our efforts to 
     preserve existing rules, practices, and traditions as they 
     pertain to the right of Members to engage in extended debate 
     on legislation before the United States Senate. Senators have 
     expressed a variety of opinions about the appropriateness of 
     limiting debate when we are considering judicial and 
     executive branch nominations. Regardless of our past 
     disagreements on that issue, we are united in our 
     determination to preserve the ability of Members to engage in 
     extended debate when bills are on the Senate floor.
       We are mindful of the unique role the Senate plays in the 
     legislative process, and we are steadfastly committed to 
     ensuring that this great American institution continues to 
     serve as the world's greatest deliberative body. Therefore, 
     we are asking you to join us in opposing any effort to 
     curtail the existing rights and prerogatives of Senators to 
     engage in full, robust, and extended debate as we consider 
     legislation before this body in the future.
           Sincerely,
       Susan M. Collins, Orrin Hatch, Claire McCaskill, Lisa 
     Murkowski, Christopher A. Coons, Joe Manchin, III, John 
     McCain, Patrick J. Leahy, Roger F. Wicker, Luther Strange, 
     Angus S. King, Jr., Michael F. Bennet, Amy Klobuchar, Robert 
     P. Casey, Jr., Martin Heinrich, John Boozman, Lindsey Graham, 
     Richard Burr, Mark R. Warner, Jerry Moran.
       Roy Blunt, Marco Rubio, Jeanne Shaheen, Thom Tillis, 
     Sherrod Brown, Shelley Moore Capito, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, 
     Brian Schatz, Michael B. Enzi, Dean Heller, Cory A. Booker, 
     Mazie K. Hirono, Dianne Feinstein, John Thune, Bill Cassidy, 
     Heidi Heitkamp, Jeff Flake, Chuck Grassley, Maria Cantwell, 
     Rob Portman.
       Lamar Alexander, John Kennedy, Jon Tester, Thomas R. 
     Carper, Pat Roberts, Margaret Wood Hassan, Tammy Duckworth, 
     Jack Reed, Thad Cochran, Joe Donnelly, Ben

[[Page S84]]

     Sasse, Todd Young, Kamala D. Harris, Bill Nelson, Johnny 
     Isakson, Edward J. Markey, Mike Lee, Debbie Stabenow, Sheldon 
     Whitehouse, Robert Menendez, Tim Kaine.

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Over 60 Senators in the U.S. Senate--the majority of 
Republicans and the majority of Democrats--sent this letter to who was 
then leadership of the Senate, writing, in essence: Don't change the 
legislative filibuster.
  A bunch of Democrats and a bunch of Republicans--I was going to read 
the names, but they know who they are--the majority on both sides in 
this body, from both parties, in 2017 said: Don't change it. This 
shouldn't be something the U.S. Senate changes.
  Part of the reason this was going on was that, at the time, then-
President Trump was pressing Senators, particularly Majority Leader 
McConnell, to change the filibuster. The filibuster requires 60 votes 
to move legislation in the Senate. It requires compromise. It requires 
bipartisanship. It is what makes us different from the House. At the 
time, then-Republican President Trump was saying: Change it. I want 
legislation to move more quickly.
  The Republicans and then-Majority Leader McConnell said that it was 
not a good idea. As a matter of fact, most of us said that it was not a 
good idea, so we didn't do anything. We didn't change it because we 
didn't want to change the nature of the U.S. Senate.
  This is one of the issues being discussed right now, but it shouldn't 
be a difficult issue because, as I said, the vast majority of Senators 
in this body, a couple of years ago, said: Don't do it. We don't want 
the Senate to just become a smaller version of the House, because that 
is what would happen if you were to get rid of the legislative 
filibuster.
  I do want to extend my congratulations to the new majority leader as 
of yesterday, Senator Schumer, but to the new majority leader: This 
should not be a difficult issue. This should not be something that we 
are having a problem with in terms of the negotiations between the 
Democrats and the Republicans that delays the power-sharing agreement. 
This should be a piece of cake. Just a couple of years ago, the vast 
majority of Democrats and Republicans said: Don't change the 
legislative filibuster. We want to make sure that remains the case.
  I think, for the new majority leader, this would be an act of 
statesmanship, an act of compromise, and would certainly make the 
statement that he is going to keep the Senate the same as it has been 
for decades, for centuries. Changing the legislative filibuster would 
change the entire structure, history, and precedent of this very 
important body in our country, so it shouldn't be hard. The vast 
majority of the Democrats and Republicans has already agreed to this.
  To our new majority leader: Do what you know is right--an act of 
statesmanship and compromise. We have all been talking about it. It 
should not be a difficult decision, particularly given that so many 
Senators on both sides of the aisle feel strongly enough to have 
written Senator Schumer and Senator McConnell just a couple of years 
ago on this.
  To all of my colleagues who signed that letter--you know who you 
are--make sure you are pressing the new majority leader to stick to 
what you pressed him on just a couple of years ago. It is important.

                          ____________________