[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S130-S131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Filibuster

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, last year ended with the best 
Christmas present that this Congress could have given to the American 
people--the Democrats' failing to pass President Biden's reckless tax-
and-spending spree. But, sadly, the Democrats' failure doesn't seem to 
have made them realize the reality they are operating in: a 50-50 
Senate, where they have to actually work with both sides of the aisle 
to deliver bipartisan wins for the American people.
  They have now pivoted from a reckless tax-and-spend spree that would 
break the piggy banks of Americans to wanting to break the longstanding 
rules of the U.S. Senate. They have set their sights on changing the 
very core of this institution by eliminating the legislative 
filibuster.
  Some Americans may not even know what the filibuster is. The Senate 
follows many rules and procedures to pass legislation, and the 
filibuster is an important tool that gives the minority party the 
ability to voice concerns and help shape any bill the majority party 
may bring up.
  The filibuster serves as a check against the majority party wishing 
to act without input from the minority. Basically, with the filibuster, 
the majority has to work with the minority. That is the bottom line.
  Voting to end debate on a bill is commonly referred to as ``ending a 
filibuster.'' It simply means that the Senate agrees that there has 
been enough debate, including amendments, and it is now time to take a 
vote. And as one of the Senate rules, it requires 60 votes to end 
debate and move to passing the bill.
  Even if you aren't familiar with complicated Senate procedures, just 
know that the filibuster is important because it protects the 
deliberative nature of the Senate.
  It ensures we function as an institution rooted in compromise, common

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ground, and a sense of unity. We represent all Americans, not just a 
few.
  Looking back on the history, you will see it has been utilized as a 
standard Senate practice by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents 
alike.
  It is so important that in 2005, Senator Schumer, whom you just heard 
speak, said: ``The ideologues in the Senate want to turn what the 
Founding Fathers called `the cooling saucer of Democracy' into the 
rubber stamp of dictatorship.''
  Yes, he said that doing away with the filibuster would effectively 
create a dictatorship.
  More recently, in 2017, Senator Schumer doubled down on the need to 
keep the filibuster in a letter to Leader McConnell. In his letter, 
Senator Schumer argued for the protection of ``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.''
  To sum that up, he said no way should we cancel the filibuster.
  That letter was signed by 33 Democrats, many of whom are still 
serving in this Senate as we speak. One of the signers who served at 
that time who signed this document is now the Vice President of the 
United States.
  And it is not just the Vice President who has warned against ending 
the filibuster. In 2005, on this very floor, Senator Joe Biden warned 
that if the ability to filibuster were abolished, done away with, the 
Senate would become the House of Representatives.
  I recognize that both sides of the aisle have, at some point, 
diminished the filibuster on nomination votes. In 2013, then-Senator 
Harry Reid lowered the vote threshold for Presidential appointments, 
other than Supreme Court nominees, to 51. In 2017, the Republicans 
turned around and lowered the standard to 51 for Supreme Court 
nominees.
  Based on that, the left may call our opposition now hypocritical. But 
there is a big difference between legislation and nominations, 
including policy and our budget and nominees.
  Debating legislation should include input from all Senators and be 
subject to compromise through the amendment process in order to be made 
better.
  A nominee's qualifications are not subject to input or change. Voting 
on a nominee is a take-it-or-leave-it vote. You can't change their 
background or qualifications with more debate or more amendments. That 
is why they moved the vote to 50.
  But the filibuster on legislation forces the majority to take into 
account the minority's position and to make the changes necessary to 
earn their support.
  So now that the Democrats seem to be changing their tune on the 
legislative filibuster, it might be worth asking what has caused the 
Democrats to flip-flop and why now?
  Well, there is one notable reason. Between 2017 and 2022, who is in 
control of the White House and Congress now?
  Back in 2017, when the Democrats were in the minority, they 
understood the value of the minority's vote. But now they are in the 
majority, and all bets are off. They want to race through their party's 
Big Government socialist agenda with as little or no debate or 
opposition as possible. And Senate Democrats have embraced a radical, 
win-at-all-cost game plan for passing their progressive agenda, and 
they intend to and will break the Senate if they do it.
  Democrats say their war on the filibuster has to do with 
strengthening voting rights, and they want to make it easier to vote 
and harder to cheat. If that were true, Democrats wouldn't have any 
problem passing this on a bipartisan level.
  We all want to safeguard our elections so that all Americans have 
confidence in the integrity of our country's election process. But if 
access to the ballot box were an issue, it might come as a surprise 
that the 2020 election saw the largest voter turnout in over a century.
  The Democrats are simply operating under a false idea. The States 
should run our election system, not the Federal Government.
  What is more is, they will tell you they are embarking on this 
crusade to ``save our democracy.'' But the problem is, they want to do 
it by blowing up our democracy, blowing up this room.
  Ending the filibuster means we would govern only by majority rule, 
stifling the voice of all minority and millions and millions of people 
who voted for the people who are in here in the minority.
  Instead of saving it, this one-party rule would be the end of our 
democracy as we know it.
  Instead of including the minority's voice in legislation that should 
serve all Americans, we would have radical swings back and forth every 
time the majority changed hands in this room.
  Right now, there are few Democratic Senators who have stood up for 
the filibuster. They understand the important role of the minority's 
voice. This is not the House of Representatives. They understand the 
importance of making sure we listen to the voices of the millions of 
Americans who voted for the minority party, whoever it is. They know 
what even a small ``exemption,'' or what they call a ``carve-out,'' 
could lead to--devastation to this room.
  So I ask the rest of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: 
Why not join us and save the filibuster? That is what makes us the 
voice of all Americans. Why not focus on what you can do to lead in the 
face of many crises actually facing the American people?
  In a recent poll, nearly 50 percent of Americans disapproved of 
President Biden's handling of COVID. The disapproval ratings were even 
higher when it came to the economy, taxes, crime, government spending, 
and immigration. It is clear that, right now, Americans need more 
adults in this room and more leadership, and I can guarantee that the 
American people do not want leadership that resorts to changing the 
rules to get their way, to notch a win. The American people want 
leaders who actually address the problems they face, like COVID and 
inflation.
  We cannot allow the failed leadership of Big Government socialists to 
be a scapegoat for eliminating the filibuster and fundamentally 
changing our country for the worse.
  I yield the floor.

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