Chuck Schumer

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor.

Mr. SCHUMER. And, finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, January 20, be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 556.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, ``a denial of this sacred right [to vote] is a tragic betrayal of the highest mandates of our democratic tradition''--``a tragic betrayal of the highest mandates of our democratic tradition.'' Those were the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his speech where he implored the Federal Government--and especially Congress--to take action on a simple request: ``Give us the ballot.'' Today, the American people are saying the same thing: Give us the ballot. Let us not sink into the abyss of voter suppression. Give us the ballot. A few hours ago, this Chamber, with the eyes of the Nation upon it and with the evidence of voter suppression laid bare before it, with very little refutation from the other side--they don't discuss the issues going on in the States--took a vote to move to final passage on the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. It received 50 votes, and with the Vice President, we would have had the majority. Unfortunately, under the current rules of the Senate, the door is closed to moving forward on these laws--so much part of the core values of our country. But make no mistake, on voting rights, inaction is not an option. Inaction is not an option. And now, the Senate must rise to the occasion. The only way to achieve our goal of passing voting rights, ending dark money, and ending partisan gerrymandering is by changing the rules because our colleagues from the other side of the aisle don't want to join us in these noble endeavors. This evening, we have proposed a modest, one-time change of Senate rules to establish a talking filibuster for this voting rights legislation. It fundamentally says: If you want to block something as sacred as voting rights, you must do it out in the open. You must debate it and show the American people where you stand. You can't sit in your office and block everything. In short, every Senator will be allowed to speak twice on final passage of voting rights legislation. They can speak as long as they want--days, if they can muster it--but all other dilatory tactics, any dilatory amendments, motions, and points of order, shall be deemed out of order, and any appeal shall be determined without debate. After each Member has had their say, it will be time to vote, and only 50 votes will be required for passage. Mr. President, this is a very simple, limited proposal, and it only applies to the voting rights bill before us today. Now, look, there is no denying that Members of this body have divergent views about whether the filibuster in the 21st century is a good thing or a bad thing. Some have argued that it actually helps bring us together--something I don't agree with and which I have not seen evidence of, as the eloquent statement by the Senator of Oregon has--we have just seen. But even for those who feel that the filibuster is a good thing and helps bring us together, I would ask this question: Isn't protecting voting rights, the most fundamental wellspring of this democracy, more important than a rule in this Chamber? Let me say that again. Even if you think the filibuster is a good thing, isn't protecting voting rights and preventing their diminution more important, particularly when this rule was not always in existence and was not envisioned by the Founders? That is the key question we should each ask ourselves. To be clear, minority rights are a vital feature of this Chamber, but the Senate was never envisioned to allow an absolute minority party veto--never. In fact, the Founders expressly rejected the inclusion of a supermajority requirement for the Senate. Hamilton called the idea ``poison.'' If there is anything undermining the spirit of the Senate today, it is, frankly, the way things work right now. It is time for the Senate to adapt, to meet the challenge of the modern age. Robert Byrd himself recognized this truth, that Senate rules must sometimes change. And our proposal today is a limited, carefully tailored step we can take to make the rules of the Senate achieve this body's original purpose. Finally, there are some who fear the consequences of passing this bill with no support from the other party. I would certainly prefer that Republicans work with us on this issue, and voting rights has always been a bipartisan issue in the past. But we must be honest. We have made many earnest efforts to draft and debate bipartisan legislation that deals with voter suppression, dark money, and partisan gerrymandering, but those efforts by many Members of our caucus have come up with no takers. The old GOP worked with Democrats on voting rights for decades, but, unfortunately, that is not the case today. In the words of the late Senator Wagner, whose seat I hold, delivered on this floor nearly 80 years ago: Unity in a democracy is not achieved by side-stepping and ignoring issues. That is false unity. That is only the illusion of unity. Unity in a democracy is the unity which is achieved by facing issues, by threshing out our differences, and by standing upon the decision of the majority. Again: Unity in a democracy is not achieved by side-stepping . . . issues. Fittingly, he spoke those words in the face of a filibuster on the anti-poll tax legislation. Tonight, let us sidestep voting rights no more. The question before the Senate is, How will we find a path forward on protecting our freedoms in this turbulent 21st century? The only choice to move forward on these vital issues is to change the rules in the modest way we have proposed. My colleagues--my colleagues--history is watching us. Let us choose in favor of our democracy. Let us stand up and defend the precious right to vote. Motion to Proceed to Motion to Reconsider Mr. President, I move to proceed to the motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 5746, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam Vice President, what kind of democracy shall endure here in the United States long after our times in this Chamber come to an end? Shall American democracy in the 21st century be called a true heir to our Framers' vision--a nation where the people choose their own leaders, forge their own destiny, and add to the great legacies of those who expanded the franchise before us or shall we see American democracy backslide in our time, grow feeble in the jaws of its adversaries, and ultimately succumb to the cancer of voter suppression? The answer, in a large sense, could depend on how we move forward this evening. As we have clearly laid out in over the past 2 days, the laws passed in legislatures throughout the country do nothing less than to discourage and prevent certain kinds of Americans--Black and Brown Americans, young Americans, elderly Americans, low-income Americans-- from participating in the democratic process. My colleagues, my colleagues, we can begin to put a stop to these attacks tonight by voting to proceed to the final passage of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. These are good bills; these are effective bills; and they should be passed by this Chamber as soon as possible. And if cloture is not invoked, we must change the rules of the Senate so we can pass these bills into law. As we cast our votes, I urge every one of us, Democrat and Republican, not to discount our place in history. The story of American democracy is full of contradictions and halting progress. At the time of our Constitution's ratification, you had to be in many States a White, male, Protestant landowner to vote. But ever since the early days of this grand Republic, Americans launched mighty movements, fought a bloody civil war, and, yes, passed Federal election laws to expand the franchise until there were no more boundaries. Today's vote is the next step in that long march. Are we going to let our democracy backslide in the 21st century? Are we going to be dragged back into the abyss of voter suppression? I urge every one of my colleagues, left, right, and middle, for the sake of our democracy, unite, take a stand today. To every Member of this body who treasures our precious experiment in self-rule, to every Member horrified by the muck of voter suppression, and to everyone who believes this Chamber is still capable of defending democracy in its hour of great need, I urge a ``yes'' vote. I yield the floor. Cloture Motion

Mr. SCHUMER. Thank you. I appreciate the courtesy of my colleague. We had no choice but to do it at 6:30.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I make a point of order that for this message from the House, with respect to H.R. 5746, the only debate in order during consideration of the message be on the question of adoption of the motion to concur in the amendment of the House; further, that no further amendments, motions, or points of order be in order and that any appeals be determined without debate.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, before I close the Senate and do that kind of paperwork, I want to just make a few remarks about tonight's vote. So while tonight's vote was disappointing, it will not deter Senate Democrats from continuing our fight against voter suppression, dark money, and partisan gerrymandering. With no support from Senate Republicans, many of whom deny the very existence of voter suppression, we faced an uphill battle, but because of this fight, and the fact that each Senator had to show where they stand, we are closer to achieving our goal of passing vital voter protection legislation. We take inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He kept fighting for voting rights through every obstacle, and we will do the same. We will not quit. Now that every Senator has gone on record, the American people have seen who is on the side of protecting voting rights, and it will only strengthen our resolve as we work to ensure that our democracy does not backslide. This vote is another step forward in the long march for universal voting rights. The Democratic caucus pledges to keep working until voting rights are protected for every American. Unanimous Consent Agreement--H.R. 5746

Mr. SCHUMER. Now, for the information of the Senate, there will be no further rollcall votes tonight. Senators should expect a rollcall vote at noon tomorrow on the confirmation of Holly Thomas to be the U.S. circuit judge for the Ninth Circuit. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I withdraw the motion to proceed to the motion to reconsider the failed cloture vote.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam Vice President, I enter a motion to reconsider the failed cloture vote.

Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be permitted to complete their remarks prior to the scheduled vote: Senator Blunt, Senator Klobuchar, Senator Schumer.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, just for a minute, I want to first salute the amazing speeches by our two Senators from Georgia--Georgia, which has been the crucible in our fight for voting rights, where the attempts to curtail voting rights seem most pernicious. To both of you, your erudition, your eloquence, your passion were amazing. And I want to salute our Republican colleagues who listened to the speeches, and hope that those who weren't here will get a chance to review those speeches as well. Unanimous Consent Agreement Madam President, now, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the pending cloture motion be waived.

Mr. SCHUMER. Will my colleague stop for a brief interruption? Unanimous Consent Agreement Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the motion to concur be at 8 p.m.

Mr. SCHUMER. I just want to thank Senator Whitehouse. He has been a leader on this issue. It doesn't get enough attention. It is very much part of our bill, the Freedom to Vote Act. It is universally or virtually universally supported, and it is one of the great scourges of our politics. If we don't move forward on these bills, we are not going to be able to do this because we will not get the kind of bipartisan cooperation we need on this horrible, horrible thing that I think all 50 of us agree should be changed. So I want to thank him for his efforts--not just his speech today but his amazing efforts over the months and years.

Mr. SCHUMER. Would my colleague yield just for a brief comment?

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent, as if in executive session that the nomination of Arun Venkataraman, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service received in the Senate on January 4, 2022, be jointly referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Mr. SCHUMER

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 20; that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate be in a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, for the information of Senators, we expect a rollcall vote on confirmation of the Thomas nomination at 12 noon.