Majority Leader McConnell: How the Senate Is Supposed to Work

 U.S. Senate 1880s. Source: U.S. Senate Historical Office
U.S. Senate 1880s. Source: U.S. Senate Historical Office

Majority leader McConnell wrote for the May 30, 2016 copy of the Wall Street Journal a piece titled, “How the Senate Is Supposed to Work.”

His statements include:

“As someone who cares deeply about the Senate, I also believe this law [The Affordable Care Act] has played an underappreciated role in eroding the Senate’s core function as a place where great national challenges are hashed out openly, and ultimately resolved.” (Emphasis added.)

“On issues of great national significance, one party should never simply force its will on everybody else.”

“What seems to have been forgotten is that it’s not an act of betrayal to work with one’s political adversaries when doing so is good for the country.”

“Despite huge differences between the two parties, we’ve had success, passing, among other legislation, a bill aimed at curbing the scourge of human trafficking, a free-trade agreement that would enable a president of either party to expand the market for U.S. goods, the first five-year highway bill in nearly two decades, and a rewrite of No Child Left Behind that some have described as the biggest devolution of power from Washington to the states in memory.”

“I love the Senate. It’s the one institution that best combines Madison’s realistic recognition of human frailty with the lofty aspirations of a society that’s ordered toward liberty and opportunity for all. At its best, it is a place where the divisions and hopes of our big, messy, pluralistic country are channeled and resolved into something resembling consensus. And if you believe as I do that consensus among bitterly disputing parties is not only possible but also necessary for America to flourish, the Senate is something we need now more than ever.”

Read more at http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-senate-is-supposed-to-work-1464643132

Filed Under:
Topics: Reform Efforts
Tags: Kevin R. Kosar Mitch McConnell