Should the Filibuster Be Eliminated?

AuthorReid, Harry

You've probably heard the phrase "The majority rules!" a million times--in the classroom, at the dinner table, on a movie night with friends. But the U.S. Senate requires more than a majority--60 votes out of 100--to end debate on most legislation. This has allowed the party in the minority to hold up, or filibuster, a bill to keep it from coming up for a simple majority vote. To some, it's an important Senate tradition that helps keep the majority party in check; to others, it's a key reason for the gridlock in Washington. In 2013, Senate Democrats abolished the filibuster for all judicial appointments--except for appointments to the Supreme Court. Four years later, Senate Republicans did away with the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations as well. Now some Democrats want to eliminate it altogether. The current Senate majority leader and a former Senate majority leader face off on whether this is a good idea for American democracy.

Filibuster sleepover Because the Senate requires 60 votes to end debate on a bill, senators in the minority party can talk endlessly as a delaying tactic. Occasionally, these filibusters have lasted days or even weeks, and senators have snoozed on cots during all-night speeches.

YES The Senate was designed to serve as the slower, more deliberative body of the U.S. Congress. But what's happening today is a far cry from what the Framers intended, and that's because of a procedural rule known as the filibuster.

Not part of the Framers' original vision, the filibuster was created in 1917. The recent abuse of the filibuster rule means that virtually all Senate business requires 60 of the 100 senators' votes to proceed. This means a simple majority isn't enough to advance even the most bipartisan legislation. The result has been gridlock.

The Senate is now a place where the most pressing issues facing our country are ignored, along with the will of the American people overwhelmingly calling for action.

Something must change. That's why I'm now calling on the Senate to abolish the filibuster in all its forms.

It's time to allow a simple majority vote instead of the 60-vote threshold now required. When the American people demand change and elect a new Senate, a new majority leader must be able to respond to that call and pass legislation.

The list of issues stalled by the Senate filibuster is enormous--and still growing: a plan to address climate change, immigration reform, gun control measures, and many more. If the...

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