Another Wasted Morning?
December 12, 2007
‘They have set aside this time, as if magically in the next three hours, they will somehow pass the litany of things they have not been able to accomplish over the past three months’
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks [as prepared] on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the Majority Leader’s decision to delay the farm bill in favor of spending hours of valuable floor time trying to score political points: “It is now December 12, nearly a quarter of the way through the new fiscal year.
“To date, we’ve only had one spending bill signed into law, the troops in the field haven’t been funded, the energy bill is still pending, updates to the laws governing our terrorist surveillance program—so that we can track terrorists and prevent attacks—haven’t been addressed, and the farm bill still isn’t finished.
“Christmas is less than two weeks away. So you’d think there’d be a flurry of activity here on the floor; you’d think that we would be doing everything possible so that we could finish our work before New Year’s Eve. But so far this week, we’ve had a grand total of ONE vote. One.
“So surely the majority has scheduled votes all day today, right?
“Wrong. We will not even consider the pending business, the farm bill, until this afternoon.
“And why do we have to wait until the afternoon? Is it so that we can spend the morning addressing tax relief, or the cost of gasoline, or our troops and veterans?
“It is none of the above. We are gathered here this morning so that the majority can spend hours of valuable floor time trying to score political points—instead of trying to make law.
“They have set aside the next three hours to try and show that this session’s limited accomplishments haven’t been their fault; that the endless investigations and midnight Iraq votes weren’t the cause.
“They have set aside this time, as if magically in the next three hours, they will somehow pass the litany of things they have not been able to accomplish over the past three months.
“So let’s not waste even more time relearning the lessons of the past. Partisanship and refusal to work with the minority may get you headlines, but it won’t get bills signed into law. If you're serious about accomplishments, let’s get back to work. Let’s work together so that instead of just pointing fingers, this Congress can actually point to some accomplishments.
“It’s December 12. There is simply no time for political exercises on the Senate floor. We simply don’t have the luxury of putting off our fundamental responsibilities any longer.”
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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks [as prepared] on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the Majority Leader’s decision to delay the farm bill in favor of spending hours of valuable floor time trying to score political points: “It is now December 12, nearly a quarter of the way through the new fiscal year.
“To date, we’ve only had one spending bill signed into law, the troops in the field haven’t been funded, the energy bill is still pending, updates to the laws governing our terrorist surveillance program—so that we can track terrorists and prevent attacks—haven’t been addressed, and the farm bill still isn’t finished.
“Christmas is less than two weeks away. So you’d think there’d be a flurry of activity here on the floor; you’d think that we would be doing everything possible so that we could finish our work before New Year’s Eve. But so far this week, we’ve had a grand total of ONE vote. One.
“So surely the majority has scheduled votes all day today, right?
“Wrong. We will not even consider the pending business, the farm bill, until this afternoon.
“And why do we have to wait until the afternoon? Is it so that we can spend the morning addressing tax relief, or the cost of gasoline, or our troops and veterans?
“It is none of the above. We are gathered here this morning so that the majority can spend hours of valuable floor time trying to score political points—instead of trying to make law.
“They have set aside the next three hours to try and show that this session’s limited accomplishments haven’t been their fault; that the endless investigations and midnight Iraq votes weren’t the cause.
“They have set aside this time, as if magically in the next three hours, they will somehow pass the litany of things they have not been able to accomplish over the past three months.
“So let’s not waste even more time relearning the lessons of the past. Partisanship and refusal to work with the minority may get you headlines, but it won’t get bills signed into law. If you're serious about accomplishments, let’s get back to work. Let’s work together so that instead of just pointing fingers, this Congress can actually point to some accomplishments.
“It’s December 12. There is simply no time for political exercises on the Senate floor. We simply don’t have the luxury of putting off our fundamental responsibilities any longer.”
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