Frist has necessary votes to change filibuster rules

Transcript of Washington Times interview with Sen. Frist

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he has the 51 votes needed to change Senate rules and make it easier for Republicans to overcome Democratic filibusters against President Bush’s judicial nominees, but he hopes such a change won’t be necessary.

“We need to restore the over 200-year tradition and precedent of allowing every nominee of the president who has majority support an up-or-down vote on the floor of the United States Senate,” Mr. Frist told The Washington Times on Thursday.

“It’s consistent with the Constitution, where we are as a body to give advice and consent, and the only way we can give advice and consent is an up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate.”

Mr. Frist said he has not made a decision on whether he will force the rule change the first time that Democrats filibuster a nominee.

The Tennessee Republican is entering his second term as majority leader after having led his party to a four-seat gain in the Senate in November’s election. His first term was marked by a series of Democratic filibusters, varying from judicial nominations to the energy bill.

And although some on the right have criticized him for appearing to move too cautiously, he was willing to take some chances, including breaking with tradition by traveling to South Dakota to campaign against his counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

On Election Day, Mr. Daschle was defeated by Republican John Thune, who helped expand Mr. Frist’s majority.

Judicial nominations and Social Security reform are the two dominant issues looming over the 109th Congress, said Mr. Frist, sitting in his Capitol office moments after 18 Democrats and one independent joined 53 Republicans to approve the most sweeping tort-reform measure in a decade.

Mr. Frist said that bill, which was stalled in the last Congress by Democratic filibusters, is an example of how this new Congress might be different.

“We started with a bill that has — as demonstrated by the vote a few minutes ago — strong bipartisan support yet in a different environment could not be passed,” he said. “With the 109th Congress, some new people and a new spirit and a commitment of leadership on both sides of the aisle, we had the first success.”

Mr. Frist said despite the filibusters, the past two years were marked by successes — including earning the title of “the most pro-family and pro-life” Congress in 30 years.

“We started with the partial-birth abortion; we did pregnant women being two victims; we did the ban on human patenting, which we did in the omnibus. We introduced marriage — or the Senate did — proactively, before the House did and before many people were talking about it.”

He said it remains to be seen whether the next two years earn the same title, but he said the agenda is pro-family.

Story Continues →