WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) are urging a renewed emphasis on the Senate’s debate and amendment processes. In a letter to the Senate Republican Conference, the senators request their colleagues adopt legislative procedures that guarantee every senator ample opportunity to make their constituents’ voices and priorities heard when considering major pieces of legislation.

“Iowans at my town meetings often wonder why those of us in Washington can’t seem to get along,” Grassley said of the letter. “A lot of the dysfunction here in the Senate has to do with the slow disintegration of the deliberative process. For starters, it’s hard to get much done when the Majority Leader only calls votes for two-and-a-half days a week. And, when the Senate is voting, the debate and amendments process are extremely limited, if not totally nonexistent. Our Founders did not intend this body to act as a rubber stamp. We in the Senate ought to return to regular order and start living up to the obligations assigned to us in the Constitution.” 

“The role of the Senate is to serve as the world’s most deliberative body, yet, under the leadership of Sen. Schumer, the Senate has become allergic to any sort of deliberation or debate on the Senate floor. I was elected by Missourians to fight for their best interests on the Senate floor – not to sit idly by and allow must-pass legislation to be crafted through backroom dealmaking with zero input from others,” Schmitt said of the letter. “Reforming the Senate and moving away from this bureaucratic-style legislating process requires buy-in from Republicans. I’m proud to co-lead this effort with Senator Grassley, who has pushed for important reforms like the Stop Cloture Abuse Resolution or reforms to add transparency to this chamber.”   

Grassley and Schmitt suggest the Senate Republican Conference commit to abiding by the following procedural rules in the 119th Congress:

  • Allow each senator to offer an amendment on any given piece of legislation; 
  • Allow each senator to amend legislation on the Senate floor and prevent the Senate from moving to a final vote on a piece of legislation until all senators’ amendments have been offered and debated; 
  • Avoid procedures that inhibit senators’ freedom to debate and amend, such as blocking consideration of certain amendments by filling the “amendment tree” or reflexively objecting to colleagues’ amendments.  

Read the senators’ full letter HERE. 

Background

Grassley has defended Senate procedure for years. In the 111th Congress, he called for hearing witnesses to disclose outside affiliations and potential conflicts of interest before testifying to Congress. The Senate in the 112th Congress passed Grassley’s resolution abolishing the secret placement of holds on legislation, necessitating a senator to make his or her opposition to a bill public. Grassley proposed the Stop Cloture Abuse Resolution in the 113th Congress to force publication of and deliberation on all amendments before ending debate and proceeding to a final vote on a bill. He has supported the Balanced Budget Amendment for several Congresses because, among other reasons, the measure would encourage a return to regular order legislating on annual appropriations.

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