Claire McCaskill Quotes

This has not been a legislative process worthy of the Senate. Members of the Judiciary Committee, as I just said, were implored to save their amendments for the floor. Then, when we got here, we were told no amendments could be accepted.

If one of my colleagues wants to block a bill, they should stand up in front of the American people and explain why.

There are two ways of looking at the talking filibuster. My way is as a form of unanimous consent.

I mean, if you go back to 1960 on major pieces of legislation, the filibuster was used about eight percent of the time.

My view of the filibuster is either you've got to lower vote edge or make people really filibuster if they feel that seriously about a piece of legislation.

Since I joined Congress, I've been shocked at how many times we were forced to vote on 1,000-plus-page bills without ample time to read or review what was in the final legislation. It's no wonder Congress doesn't enact good policy.

About all I can say for the United States Senate is that it opens with a prayer and closes with an investigation.

We've seen filibusters to block judicial nominations, jobs bills, political transparency, ending Big Oil subsidies - you name it, there's been a filibuster.

The Senate must stop doing so much of its business in secret, behind closed doors…. A bill that affects the nation’s security has been held up for months by a secret hold and cannot see the light of day…. There is no accountability…. The person who exercises a hold ought to be identified…. Secret holds have been the bane of the United States Senate for decades. So much for sunshine in the United States Senate.

If I have to invade the sacred precincts of the White House to find out what is behind this paralysis of the Senate, I will.

Filibuster is nothing less than a formula for tyranny by the minority

Public business in the United State Senate should be done in the public.

What has the filibuster become? The filibuster has become a tool for slowing everything down…a tool by which one senator who announces that his object is to impose gridlock on the Senate, can do so.

Let the filibuster be no more. Let the people decide.

I don’t care how long it takes. I don’t care if the Senate doesn’t do one other piece of business this year. You’ve got to keep this bill on the floor. You can tell Mansfield [the Senate Majority Leader] … The President of the United States doesn’t care if this bill is there forever. We are not going to have anything else hit the floor until this bill is passed.

The role of Senators has abruptly gone from "Advise and Consent" to "Sit Down and Shut Up"

I firmly believe the Senate should see more voting and debate and less standing around and waiting for backroom deals.

There is a limitation on debate, which is unlike other bills, for 20 hours, but there is no limitation on amendments. In other words, Republicans if they wanted to, and I suspect they do, could offer literally thousands of amendments and keep Senate in session for weeks and months.

Jon Kyl did a really good job of presenting a case and moving issues. John McCain probably is one of the more effective legislators, getting things on through the process. I always thought, too - and this may seem kind of odd - Richard Shelby was just an effective guy a lot of times at stopping things.

It is time to move away from advise and obstruct and get back to advise and consent.

We must keep the pressure on Congress to curb Obama's continued abuse of power. We must always expose that abuse to fellow citizens.

The Office of Congressional Ethics was created to provide more transparency in the House of Representatives. It was a commendable goal.

We shouldn't have to pass a bill to find out what's in it.

It's mystifying to me why the House leadership will not allow a straight up-or-down vote on a pay raise. I vote against every pay raise because taxpayers deserve better.

It should be mandatory that any tax breaks go through appropriate committees and be voted on separately by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.