Genius Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, let me just say that the Democrats have just used the filibuster for the fourth time this year. Why? Well, in this case, no one really knows.

This is a bipartisan issue. It is a bipartisan bill, and it had a bipartisan process from the very beginning. And if Democrats were interested in further changes, as they claim, they would have had the chance to make those changes on the floor. All they had to do was vote for cloture.

Not every bill that comes to the floor is a final bill. Now, that may be how it worked when they were in control, but Republicans are doing it differently. We are determined to restore the Senate to what it was meant to be.

The floor is where every Senator gets a chance to give his or her input on legislation. That is what would have happened today if cloture had been invoked, the motion the Democrats just voted against. It would have meant open debate, further deliberations, further modifications. But the Democrats refused to even begin that debate.

I don't know what Democrats would change about the process this bill has gone through. It had a 3-hour markup in the Banking Committee that considered 40 amendments. That is what we used to call regular order around here.

It was reported out of the Banking Committee by a vote of 18 to 6, with 5 Democrats supporting the bill. And since the markup, Senators have been meeting nonstop to modify the bill on both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans--countless meetings.

In fact, there have been fully six versions of this bill and numerous modifications made, many of them to satisfy the Democrats' demands--six versions of this bill based on feedback and input from Members on both sides and, in many cases, modifications made that were done in response to demands made by Democrats in the bill--six versions.

I don't know how you can have any more process than that. Democrats have been accommodated every step of the way, up to and including long sessions yesterday and late into the night last night.

Mr. President, I just have to say, frankly, I just don't get it. I don't know what more they want. I don't know why you vote against proceeding to a bill on the floor after you voted to refer that same bill to the floor, as a number of Democrats, as I just said, did coming out of the Banking Committee, which, of course, makes you wonder if this is about the bill at all or if it is simply Democrats obstructing because they want to deny Republicans or President Trump a bipartisan win. Given the fact that the Democrats keep moving the goalposts, it is hard not to suspect that is the case, and I have to say that is deeply disappointing.

I strongly support this bill, but I have now changed my vote to no today so that we can bring this legislation up again if and when Democrats are ready to get serious. Clearly, today, they are not.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source