Vern Buchanan Wants Mitch McConnell to bring Iran Deal Debate to Senate Floor

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., urged U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to bypass a filibuster and bring a measure against President Barack Obama’s deal with Iran to the Senate floor. 

“The Senate’s refusal to debate or vote on the most important nuclear arms agreement in decades is appalling and a national embarrassment,” Buchanan wrote in a letter sent to McConnell on Monday. “As Senate leader, you have the power to revise Senate rules and circumvent the filibuster – which is precisely what Sen. Harry Reid did when he was the majority leader in 2013.”
 
“National security is too important to be held hostage by partisan obstructionists who won’t even allow a debate on the issue,” Buchanan added. “It’s time to play hardball and break the filibuster – too much is at stake.
 
 “Whether Congress can change its rules for debate was addressed in 1892 when the Supreme Court (in United States v. Ballin) made clear that the Senate leader has the authority to set the rules for debating important matters before that chamber,” Buchanan continued. “In that case, Justice Brewer noted: ‘The Constitution empowers each house to determine its rules of proceedings.’”