Republican Filibusters

Floor Speech

REPUBLICAN FILIBUSTERS -- (Senate - April 17, 2008)

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today the Senate had a historic moment. We passed a bill that has been long awaited across America--one that was read about and heard about. It finally passed this afternoon. It was a bill called the technical corrections bill.

It was a bill that changed and corrected the punctuation and references in a highway bill we enacted several years ago. It was not that historic. In fact, it is fairly routine. You see, after you pass a bill that affects the whole United States and billions of dollars, sometimes, on reflection, you find some of the facts were wrong, some of the words were wrong; and you have to clean it up. And so a technical corrections bill is very common around here. It happens to correct mistakes, to make sure things are done well and done accurately. It is the kind of bill that historically would pass without any debate whatsoever. Many times it would pass by a voice vote late at night when no one is here because there is so little controversy attached to it.

So despite what I said at the outset, it is not that historic. But what made this process historic, and we are researching this, but we believe for the first time in the history of the Senate, the Republicans initiated not one but two filibusters on our effort to pass this technical corrections bill.

We brought this bill to the floor a week ago today, asked that it pass, and then faced a filibuster from the Republicans. That filibuster was broken on Monday, with a 93-to-1 vote, and then a second filibuster had to be initiated by the Republicans before we could finally pass the bill today.

For those following this from the outside, I am afraid I might have lost some of them. But what it boiled down to was that the Republican minority was determined that we would burn 1 week of Senate activity on a bill that should have taken 5 minutes. They were determined that we would have a succession of rollcall votes on a bill which by and large had no controversy. There was one little issue that could have been resolved quickly, perhaps in an hour, in a good-faith debate with a vote. They stretched it out for a week.

Why are we in this stall? Why do the Republicans want to slow us down? It is part of a strategy. Republican filibusters this Congress, as of today, went up to 66; 66 Republican filibusters this Congress and still counting. Is that a lot? Historically, the Senate has never had more than 57 filibusters in any 2-year period. We have had 66 in a matter of a year and 3 or 4 months. So they are about to break all records with filibusters in an attempt to slow down the Senate. They can't even come to a bipartisan agreement on a technical corrections bill. The Republicans insist on these filibuster rollcalls on a technical corrections bill. Why?

First, they want to slow the Senate down as much as possible so we don't act on issues that really count. They don't want us to take up an energy bill to talk about energy tax credits so that we can expand renewable sources of energy. They don't want us to take up a bill to deal with children's health insurance, a bill vetoed twice by President Bush, which would provide health care protection for many children not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, not fortunate enough to have parents with health insurance. They don't want us to take up important legislation dealing with the state of our economy, legislation to extend unemployment benefits to the millions of Americans who are out of work. Those numbers are reaching modern records. We know many of these families are struggling to find a job. We want to extend benefits so these people can feed their families while they are looking for work. Republicans don't want us to take up that legislation. So they keep throwing filibusters in our path, slowing down the Senate, making sure the Senate never gets to the issues that are critically important. Whether it is funding our schools or paying for health care, taking care of unemployed workers, providing money for medical research, trying to bring down the high cost of gasoline, the high cost of health care and college, they continue to throw filibusters in our path.

GOP is shorthand for the Republican Party. It technically used to stand for Grand Old Party. The Republicans in the Senate have created a new GOP. They want the Senate to be a ``Graveyard of Progress.'' They don't want us to take up this legislation. They don't want us to take up these issues. They don't want to see any change. They don't want to see any progress. That is why their message at this point is so empty. All they can do is say no, no to the issues that really count with American families.

Eventually the American people will speak, in November, in an election. They will decide whether this Republican approach of filibusters and stopping progress and stopping change is what they want to see or whether they want to bring to the Senate new people who can start moving this country forward. Eventually the American people have the last word. I am sorry we have virtually wasted a week and the time of this great institution with more Republican filibusters. But it is their strategy; it is their plan. It is the way they address the serious issues facing America.

Source