Analysis · Floor speech · beta

Richard J. Durbin

Democrat on Cloture Motion (Executive Calendar) 2026-07-20

88 words · 12 sentences · 16 clauses

Statement grade

C+

66 / 100, held down by Signal

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Procedure 64%Claims 36%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Procedure · 51 wordsI announce that the Senator from Nevada (Ms.³ Cortez Masto), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr.⁴ Fetterman), the Senator from California (Mr.⁵ Padilla), the Senator from Nevada (Ms.⁶ Rosen), the Senator from Vermont (Mr.⁷ Sanders), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs.⁸ Shaheen), and the Senator from Minnesota (Ms.⁹ Smith), are necessarily absent.Procedure Claims · 10 wordsThe yeas and nays resulted--yeas 43, nays 40, ¹as follows: Procedure · 5 wordsThe PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ricketts).¹⁰Procedure Claims · 22 wordsOn this vote, the yeas are 43, the nays are 40, ²and the motion is agreed to. The motion was agreed to.

At a glance

Lost points for
Little substanceMuch of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 36

11 of 11 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I announce that the Senator from Nevada (Ms.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Cortez Masto), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Fetterman), the Senator from California (Mr.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Padilla), the Senator from Nevada (Ms.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Rosen), the Senator from Vermont (Mr.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Sanders), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Shaheen),”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “and the Senator from Minnesota (Ms.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Smith), are necessarily absent.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Ricketts).”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · no score

Not applicable: nothing to answer. Excluded from the average.

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue.

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 100

0 of 11 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Nothing lost points.

Claims · 10

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“yeas 43, nays 40”On the cloture motion considered by the Senate on July 20, 2026, the vote result was 43 yeas and 40 nays.search
2“On this vote, the yeas are 43, the nays are 40, ”The cloture motion pending before the Senate on July 20, 2026 was agreed to.search
3“I announce that the Senator from Nevada (Ms.”Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada was recorded as necessarily absent from the July 20, 2026 Senate vote.search
4“Cortez Masto), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr.”Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was recorded as necessarily absent from the July 20, 2026 Senate vote.search
5“Fetterman), the Senator from California (Mr.”Senator Alex Padilla of California was recorded as necessarily absent from the July 20, 2026 Senate vote.search
6“Padilla), the Senator from Nevada (Ms.”Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada was recorded as necessarily absent from the July 20, 2026 Senate vote.search
7“Rosen), the Senator from Vermont (Mr.”Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont was recorded as necessarily absent from the July 20, 2026 Senate vote.search
8“Sanders), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs.”Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire was recorded as necessarily absent from the July 20, 2026 Senate vote.search
9“and the Senator from Minnesota (Ms.”Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota was recorded as necessarily absent from the July 20, 2026 Senate vote.search
10“Ricketts).”Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska presided over the Senate during the July 20, 2026 vote.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15