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Sen. McCaskill [D-MO]: Mr. President, there are times since I have been here that I have been surprised and shocked. This week was one of them, when I saw the leader of my party rise to ask...

Record Text

Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-MO]: Mr. President, there are times since I have been here that I have been surprised and shocked. This week was one of them, when I saw the leader of my party rise to ask the body to send S. 1 to conference. Keep in mind what S. 1 is. S. 1 was the first piece of legislation we passed in the Senate this year. That is why it is called S. 1. Keep in mind what the vote was. It was 96 to 2. There are not going to be very many times that we do anything 96 to 2. That was months ago.

Now, all this time we have been waiting to send this bill to conference so we can move ahead and make it law. This is ethics reform. This is the essence of what we should be about. We are here to do the people's business, not big money's business. We are here to protect average people in these United States, not the lobbyists in the hallway.

Ethics reform should be at the top of our list. What happened when our leader asked for this bill to go to conference? The Republican leader objected. What in the world is going on that we would pass a bill 96 to 2 and then the Republican leader would say, "I object to it going to conference"?

The American people have been very engaged on the immigration issue for weeks. That bill has come to its conclusion. I urge every American out there to use those same fingers and those same phones, to use those same e-mails and those same letters, to immediately begin calling their Senator and say to them: Why in the world would you be blocking ethics reform in the Senate? There is no good excuse--except politics. If we cannot get beyond politics to reform ethics, then I think the people have a right to give us an approval rating in the cellar.

So I call on the Republican leader, I call on our Republican colleagues: Stop playing games with ethics reform. Let's move forward. Let's make this happen on behalf of the people we came here to represent. If we cannot do this, we ought to put our tail between our legs, be ashamed, and go home.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Chair: The clerk will call the roll.

Sen. Jefferson Sessions [R-AL]: Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Chair: Without objection, it is so ordered.