[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           SENATE FILIBUSTER

  (Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, the Republican Congress and Republican 
President are overcome with power, so much so that they want to 
fundamentally change our Nation's government into one where a single 
political party in power holds total control.
  And how do the Republicans want to lay claim to absolute power? In 
order to break down the separation of powers and ram through their 
appointees to the judicial branch, the President and the Republican 
leadership want to eliminate a 200-year-old American rule that permits 
the Senate the right to extend debate in the confirmation of 
Presidential nominees.
  Mr. Speaker, the role of the Senate in the confirmation of 
Presidential nominees is a central element of our democracy. The 
confirmation process underscores our Founding Fathers' commitment to 
the separation of powers and their abhorrence of simple majority rule. 
It provides for essential checks and balances to ensure we remain a 
Nation ruled by laws and not just by men.
  We do not need a monarchy. We need to preserve our Republic.

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