Lawmaker News

Americans looking for change in Washington have been sadly shortchanged. During an economic crisis that led many to lose their jobs, their homes, or significant chunks of their household budgets, Congress has been busy growing government. Even as private sector jobs disappear, federal jobs and federal salaries are exploding. As deficits and unemployment rise, this credit-card Congress has squandered political capital on job-killing government takeovers and excessive regulation. The current agenda in Washington does not reflect the agenda of the American people.

Across the political spectrum, Americans say they want Congress to cut spending, facilitate job creation, and grow the economy. Instead, Congress has been focused on remaking the auto industry, the banking industry and the health care industry. There is no excuse for the disconnect between the people and their leaders in Congress.

There is a reason so many Americans are organizing to make their voices heard. Neither today's Democratic majority nor the previous Republican one truly reflected the needs of the American people. The time has come to shape a new policy agenda - one that represents the priorities of the people we represent.

It's time for a new set of policy solutions and a new way of fighting for them. If the United States is to remain the world's economic and military superpower, we must change the way we do business in Washington, DC. I represent Utah to Washington, not Washington to Utah, just as every Member of Congress must represent his or her state to the federal government. American citizens are not pawns of government -- they are participants in it.

House Republicans recognize the need to build an agenda driven and shaped by the priorities of the people we represent. We ask Americans to voice their opinions by visiting AmericaSpeakingOut.com, the newest tool to strengthen the link between voters and lawmakers. AmericaSpeakingOut.com is an online forum where Americans can collaborate to suggest policy and promote their own priorities, connecting engaged citizens from all 50 states. It is our vision that AmericaSpeakingOut.com will become a bridge between Americans all across the country, but also between voters and lawmakers.

The need for further engagement is evident. Even as Congress has lurched left, America remains a center-right nation. We seek conservative alternatives to the misguided policies of the current majority. Speaker Pelosi's job-killing policies of taxation, regulation and litigation are not the answer. It's time to let the people drive the policy in this country.

With the challenges we face, we need to work together. We need to build an agenda that will transcend politics and reflect the strong ideas, fierce engagement and great faith of the American people in representative democracy. We invite you to speak out. Share your ideas. Give us a piece of your mind. We hope you'll choose to be part of the positive change that is coming -- both in policy and process. Help is on the way. Choose to be a part of it.

Cross-posted from the Huffington Post

We may disagree when it comes to red vs. blue, but we can all agree on one color: pink.

Congressional offices have long supported the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure®, held each June on the National Mall. This year, in order to increase the buzz – and to generate some friendly competition among congressional offices – I’m asking you and your office to take part in the congressional “State of Pink Challenge” by forming a team for this year’s Race, scheduled for June 5, 2010.

Last year, 35 congressional teams joined nearly 45,000 people in the race to end breast cancer forever, but I’m sure we can surpass that this year.  My team – Connolly’s Cruisers – will hit the course for the second year in a row.

The meaning of the Global Race for the Cure to our community – and to the world – cannot be understated. Last year’s event raised $4.7 million for education and community outreach programs in the National Capital Area and across the globe.

Komen makes grants that provide vital education, outreach, screening and support services to the diverse population of people in need around the DC metropolitan region. Some local organizations that received grants this year include: Food and Friends, Sibley Memorial Hospital and the Breast Cancer Network of Strength. Thanks to a Susan G. Komen for the Cure® grant, wait times for a biopsy at a major cancer center in Washington, D.C., were cut by 17 percent! Let’s make this year’s impact even greater.

Going “pink” is easy. If your office is interested in participating in this year’s Komen Global Race, whether by running, walking, fundraising or even by sleeping-in, you can create a team at www.globalraceforthecure.org. The Race is quickly approaching, so don’t miss out on your chance to turn your office – and state – pink!

On September 30, 1788, Pennsylvania became the first state to elect its United States senators, one of whom was William Maclay.  In his 1789 journal Senator Maclay wrote, “I gave my opinion in plain language that the confidence of the people was departing from us, owing to our unreasonable delays. The design of the Virginians and of the South Carolina gentlemen was to talk away the time, so that we could not get the bill passed.”

Our Founding Fathers intended the Senate to be a continuing body that allows for open and unlimited debate and the protection of minority rights.  Senators have understood this since the Senate first convened.  

In his notes of the Constitutional Convention on June 26, 1787, James Madison recorded that the ends to be served by the Senate were “first, to protect the people against their rulers, secondly, to protect the people against the transient impressions into which they themselves might be led... They themselves, as well as a numerous body of Representatives, were liable to err also, from fickleness and passion.  A necessary fence against this danger would be to select a portion of enlightened citizens, whose limited number, and firmness might seasonably interpose against impetuous councils.”  That “fence” was the United States Senate.

The right to filibuster anchors this necessary fence.  But it is not a right intended to be abused.

During this 111th Congress in particular the minority has threatened to filibuster almost every matter proposed for Senate consideration.   I find this tactic contrary to each Senator’s duty to act in good faith.

I share the profound frustration of my constituents and colleagues as we confront this situation.  The challenges before our nation are far too grave, and too numerous, for the Senate to be rendered impotent to address them, and yet be derided for inaction by those causing the delay.

There are many suggestions as to what we should do.  I know what we must not do.

We must never, ever, tear down the only wall – the necessary fence - this nation has against the excesses of the Executive Branch and the resultant haste and tyranny of the majority.

The path to solving our problem lies in our thoroughly understanding it.  Does the difficulty reside in the construct of our rules or in the ease of circumventing them?

A true filibuster is a fight, not a threat or a bluff.  For most of the Senate’s history, Senators motivated to extend debate had to hold the floor as long as they were physically able. The Senate was either persuaded by the strength of their arguments or unconvinced by either their commitment or their stamina.  True filibusters were therefore less frequent, and more commonly discouraged, due to every Senator’s understanding that such undertakings required grueling personal sacrifice, exhausting preparation, and a willingness to be criticized for disrupting the nation’s business.

Now, unbelievably, just the whisper of opposition brings the “world’s greatest deliberative body” to a grinding halt.  Why?

Because this once highly respected institution has become overwhelmingly consumed by a fixation with money and media.

Gone are the days when Senators Richard Russell and Lyndon Johnson, and Speaker Sam Rayburn gathered routinely for working weekends and couldn’t wait to get back to their chambers on Monday morning.

Now every Senator spends hours every day, throughout the year and every year, raising funds for re-election and appearing before cameras and microphones.  Now the Senate often works three-day weeks, with frequent and extended recess periods, so Senators can rush home to fundraisers scheduled months in advance.

Forceful confrontation to a threat to filibuster is undoubtedly the antidote to the malady.  Most recently, Senate Majority Leader Reid announced that the Senate would stay in session around-the-clock and take all procedural steps necessary to bring financial reform legislation before the Senate.  As preparations were made and cots rolled out, a deal was struck within hours and the threat of filibuster was withdrawn.  

I heartily commend the Majority Leader for this progress, and I strongly caution my colleagues as some propose to alter the rules to severely limit the ability of a minority to conduct a filibuster.  I know what it is to be Majority Leader, and wake up on a Wednesday morning in November, and find yourself a Minority Leader.

I also know that current Senate Rules provide the means to break a filibuster.  I employed them in 1977 to end the post-cloture filibuster of natural gas deregulation legislation. This was the roughest filibuster I have experienced during my fifty-plus years in the Senate, and it produced the most-bitter feelings. Yet some important new precedents were established in dealing with post-cloture obstruction.  In 1987, I successfully used Rules 7 and 8 to make a non-debatable motion to proceed during the morning hour.  No leader has attempted this technique since, but this procedure could be and should be used.

Over the years, I have proposed a variety of improvements to Senate Rules to achieve a more sensible balance allowing the majority to function while still protecting minority rights. For example, I have supported eliminating debate on the motion to proceed to a matter (except for changes to Senate rules), or limiting debate to a reasonable time on such motions, with Senators retaining the right to unlimited debate on the matter once before the Senate.  I have authored several other proposals in the past, and I look forward to our committee work ahead as we carefully examine other suggested changes.  The Committee must, however, jealously guard against efforts to change or reinterpret the Senate rules by a simple majority, circumventing Rule XXII where a two-thirds majority is required.  

As I have said before, the Senate has been the last fortress of minority rights and freedom of speech in this Republic for more than two centuries.  I pray that Senators will pause and reflect before ignoring that history and tradition in favor of the political priority of the moment.

Over the last several weeks, I enjoyed watching each game with my wife Mariama, a Butler graduate, as the Butler Bulldogs made it to their first NCAA Final.  The loss of our hometown team certainly stung, but at the end of the day, it was a great ride and this community was ecstatic to be a part of it. The game itself was nothing short of epic. Fifteen lead changes. One score separating the teams throughout most of the game. Two shots to win it in the final 13 seconds.

But even more important was what Butler and Duke represent academically. Both are top-notch institutions that recruit players who want to succeed on and off the court. In this time of large athletic programs focusing more on attracting pro prospects as opposed to true student athletes, having a championship game feature two schools with 90-percent-plus graduation rates sends a positive message that should be embraced. And I think it was.

The national spotlight allowed the entire country to be introduced to the “Butler Way”—a focus on character, toughness, selflessness and team. The nation responded by rooting hard for the Bulldogs. While Duke took home the National Championship, Butler captured the hearts and minds of people across America.

I’ll vote to support the resolution honoring the Blue Devils. It’s the classy thing to do…and I represent the classiest college basketball program in America.

But mark my word. The Bulldogs will continue to win their way—the Butler Way. And they’ll be back running with the big dogs next year.   

Since I was trapped in Washington in the snow of 1996, I have dreamed of cross-country skiing on the Mall. During that '96 storm, I had great runs through the city, but envied the people who were properly equipped; gliding across the snow, a crystal clear blue sky overhead, tree shadows sharply silhouetted on the fresh snow on the Mall.

As a result, soon after my election, I stored an extra pair of cross-country skis in my office, waiting for the day when I would be in Washington to share in that experience. While there has been lots of snow in my years in D.C., it has always appeared at inopportune times or quickly turned to slush and made skiing impractical. This time, however, I was in luck.

On December 1, 2009, Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) sent a letter to his Republican colleagues outlining what he described as the rights of the minority allowed by Senate rules. What followed was a “how-to” guide explaining tactics to jam up the legislative process, including instructions on different ways to use the filibuster.

I agree that the minority party should always be guaranteed rights and all legislation should always get the thoughtful debate it deserves. What’s troubling is that the filibuster can be abused to prevent legislation from ever being voted on. It allows a single Senator to bring the entire legislative process to a halt.

Use of the filibuster has become so commonplace that it now requires a supermajority in the Senate to pass virtually anything. The framers of the Constitution very clearly outlined the five instances when they believed a supermajority was needed, and the day-to-day business of Congress was not one of them.  In fact, the framers of the Constitution thought that the filibuster was such a critical part of our democracy that the word appears in the Constitution exactly zero times. Read more...

It’s time for Democrats to start issuing an apology or two of their own.

They’ve spent the past week clamoring for Congressman Joe Wilson’s apology, even though the President has accepted his apology, twice now.

While Democrats will not let up on Wilson, one person who needs to not just apologize, but step down, is Congressman Charlie Rangel. Revelations continue to show that he has ignored the country’s tax laws, which, as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, he is responsible for writing.

The Congressman continues to show his disregard for the law, and he should apologize, in addition to stepping down from his chairman position.

Today, America mourns the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy. He was one of the most dynamic and influential legislators in our Nation's history, and his legacy will live on in the work of the colleagues he inspired, and in the lives of the millions of Americans for whom his passion for social justice made a difference. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends; even though this day was anticipated, I am sure that little can soften the blow.

Throughout his final illness, Sen. Kennedy was privileged to have the best doctors and the best treatment. But he never forgot, in this as in all cases, those who were not similarly privileged: those waiting hours in emergency rooms this morning for a doctor's care; those who went to sleep last night unsure that they were covered, uncertain that their families could cope with the financial burden of an illness. For their sake, health care reform was the cause of Ted Kennedy's life. For their sake, and his, it must be the cause of ours.

While Marcelle and I and the country knew this day was coming, our home in Vermont is filled with grief today and our hearts go out to Vicki and to all of Senator Kennedy's family. It is the sad passing of an era.

For 35 years in the Senate Ted Kennedy was a close friend as he led on issues from education to health care. We often talked of the bond of the New England Irish and spoke again of this when we travelled to Pope John Paul II's funeral together. His sense of history and of our country and his firm and constant belief in America's promise and America's future was inspiring. His willingness to spend time with the most junior senators as with all others of both parties made him a senator's senator.

The powerful have never lacked champions. Ted Kennedy was a champion for ordinary Americans and for those who struggle. He believed everyone in this great land deserves the opportunity to pursue the American Dream.

It is easy in politics to appeal to the self-interest in each of us. Ted Kennedy appealed to the best in us, to the American verities that are written not on water but in stone. He appealed to our sense of justice, to our sense of responsibility to each other, and to our uniquely American sense of hope and possibility. In the Senate he labored to help reach bipartisan progress on health care, education, civil rights and voting rights, immigration reform and so much more.

Ted Kennedy was the distillation of America's hope and America's promise. He belongs to each of us, and now he also belongs to the ages.