The Senate GOP debate over potential rules changes for the next Congress continues to heat up, with Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) revealing their latest proposals on the amendment process in a letter sent to fellow Republicans on Thursday.
The letter, obtained by POLITICO, comes as GOP senators are hoping to take back the majority this November — and weighing who to elect as their next leader between Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Proposed rules changes have become a central factor in the race, with a number of rank-and-file GOP senators debuting similar rule-change proposals in recent months.
“I’m talking to people who are running, just sort of opening up this process, and I think there’s a bubbling up among members” of discontent over the Senate’s current amendments process, Schmitt told POLITICO.
The duo’s proposals would allow senators broader access to offering amendments on legislation, a desire many Republicans have echoed in recent years. They broke down their asks into three points:
- Allowing any senator who wishes to make an amendment on a piece of legislation to do so: “Let the cards fall where they may. We all came to the Senate expecting to take tough votes, and it is antithetical to this body to have Senators vote on something they had no opportunity to effect on the floor,” they wrote.
- Adopting a GOP conference rule that will order members to block procedural votes to advance a bill — also known as cloture — if senators are unable to offer amendments to it.
- Ensuring the amendment “tree” is not clogged up, and “committing each of us to also not reflexively objecting to amendments from our colleagues.”
The proposed blanket blocks on advancing bills that do not have an open amendment process could be tricky with legislation like government funding, which come with built-in deadlines. But Schmitt said he views it as a matter of scheduling — and argued collaborating on amendments ahead of time could ease the flow.
Many amendments stack up until the last moments on pieces of legislation, causing delays in passage.
“I think if we actually were committed to being here and working like you have plenty of time to do all this stuff,” Schmitt said. “You could set aside an entire afternoon and into the evening to work through a lot of amendments. The problem is we don’t do any of that.”
Grassley added in a statement: “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.”
