Senator Thomas Daschle (D - SD)

Statement on the Federal Marriage Amendment
July 12, 2004

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Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I know the majority leader is expected on the floor of the Senate shortly to file cloture on the resolution currently pending. I must say I am baffled by the decisions and actions taken by the majority on occasions such as this. I am baffled because when I left on Friday, I had made a proposal to the majority leader that we were prepared for an up-or-down vote on this resolution, with 2 days of debate, and we would move on, preferably, hopefully, to homeland security. I left with the understanding that would be the order.

I find now, for reasons that are still unclear to me, it is the majority that is unwilling to accept that unanimous consent request. We have no objections on our side, none. We could go to that resolution under unanimous consent, with no amendments, with an up-or-down vote. I have told several of our colleagues that would be the order, having had the conversation I did with Senator Frist. So it is an amazing position to be in to come back today and realize that it is the majority that cannot produce the unanimous consent request that would allow us the vote we expected we would have on Friday. Of course, this is on top of the unanimous consent vote we were expecting to have last week with regard to amendments and an ultimate final passage on class action. So we will have wasted a couple of weeks once again. I don't know how many weeks we have wasted this year. I am going to go back and try to find out how many weeks have been totally devoid of any legislative accomplishments.

In spite of the fact that we have agreed, I hear all these charges of obstructionism. The obstructionism oftentimes is on the other side. They cannot get their act together. That is clearly the case here. No one should be misled. No one should misunderstand why we are having to deal with a cloture motion on the motion to proceed, because our Republican friends don't have one version, they have now several versions they would like to bring to the Senate floor to have voted on because they cannot agree on one version. That is the truth.

It is all the more ironic and troubling because this is legislation that ought to go through the committee, if any should go through. We are treating this as a sense-of-the-Senate resolution. We are amending the U.S. Constitution, and we are bringing language to the floor of the Senate that hasn't had the benefit of consideration in committee, hasn't had the hearings, hasn't had the vote. We are treating it as just another old amendment.

This is an amendment that will be added to a document that is precious, that we treasure, that we ought to have respect for. Frankly, to be in a situation like we are in now, to be forced into a debate under these circumstances, is just wrong.

I intend to make a unanimous consent request. I will wait until the majority leader comes to the Senate floor to do so, but I will then ask unanimous consent that we have an arrangement like I thought we were scheduled to agree to last Friday; that is, we take up this resolution, we have a good debate, we have a vote, and then we move on. Under these circumstances, we could be at this for weeks, if not months, given all of the other pressing issues we must face. We have yet to deal with appropriations bills. We have just been briefed about the serious threat our country is facing--arguably as great a threat as any we have seen since 9/11--and we have yet to pass a homeland security bill. We have yet to pass the railroad security bill. We have yet to pass legislation to deal with our porous borders, our ports, our railroad tunnels. We have yet to find ways in which to help first responders. But somehow we can add amendment after amendment on gay marriage.

Mr. President, this is a matter that Lynne Cheney had right this weekend. The wife of the Vice President said this ought to be left to the States. The wife of the Vice President was right. We ought to listen to her advice and let the States continue to make these decisions, and we ought to get on with the business of the Senate.

I yield the floor.