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Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, yesterday I voted against cloture on the bankruptcy reform bill. I voted against cloture even though I support bankruptcy reform, and even though I supported this legislation when it originally passed the Senate.
However, I oppose the motion to invoke cloture because I am troubled by some of the actions of the Republican majority. Neither the House nor the Senate ever formally named any conferees. Instead, the majority created a sham conference, hollowing out the State Department authorization bill and inserting the provisions of the bankruptcy reform. And even though the original bankruptcy reform bill that passed the Senate was a product of bipartisan input, the majority party did not include any Democrats in the discussions regarding the final package. Negotiators made significant changes to the bill without any input from Democrats. Important provisions were dropped; others were changed dramatically. All of this without the benefit of a formal conference that allows for debate and compromise by both parties. Under these circumstances, I could not support cloture.
I still support efforts to reform our bankruptcy laws, and I hope we can achieve this goal before the Senate adjourns sine die. I am disappointed by the way in which the legislative process has been twisted and broken by the majority in the development of this bill. That is why I opposed cloture.
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