That was fast.
Acting on a promise to put the Senate back to work after a lazy 2014 when just 15 assorted amendments were debated in the grand body, the new GOP leadership has pushed through 38 amendment votes in less than three weeks.
The return to regular business is a success for the GOP leadership, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who promised an end to the chokehold that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid had on the body last year when he was the majority leader.
The shift has promised much more action in Congress, said Rep. Steve Scalise, the House Whip.
In an address this week to the Republican Ripon Society, he cheered the 24 amendments that had passed by Tuesday as a sign of new House-Senate cooperation.
“One number that’s really interesting is the number 24,” said Scalise on Tuesday. “Yesterday marked 24 different amendments that have been voted on by the Senate. That is more amendment votes than the Senate took in the entire 2014 calendar year. On one bill over the course of three weeks, the Senate has already had more amendments on the floor that have been voted on than all of 2014.”
He also noted that 45 Senate Republicans joined 200 House members at a recent retreat.
“That was very historic. You had the House and Senate there together. That was not only a good symbol, but it was a good opportunity for a lot of us to build even stronger relationships with senators. That bodes well for our ability to advance the issues that we think are important to get the country back on track, because I think people have been frustrated by the slow pace over the past few years,” said the Louisiana lawmaker.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
