One Senator's modest proposal: Force Senators to actually filibuster

[babylonsister]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/12/one_senators_modest_proposal_f.html

One Senator's modest proposal: Force Senators to actually filibuster
By Greg Sargent


The problem for those who want to do away with the filibuster and restore some functionality to the Senate is that some argue it requires a two thirds vote to make it happen -- a virtual impossibility given today's Senate math. (Update: See below.)

But Senator Jeff Merkley, one of a younger crop of reform-minded Democrats, has thought of a way around this problem: Start with a smaller reform that could make filibustering much more politically difficult than it is right now. Merkley is working behind the scenes to build support for a rules change that would force Senators to actually filibuster on the floor.

Merkley is distributing a memo making this case to colleages, which was sent my way, and I'm told Merkley will bring the idea up at a Senate caucus meeting today. Merkley notes that it's a myth that there's currently a way to force Senators to filibuster on the floor, and proposes:

The public believes that filibustering senators have to hold the floor. Indeed, the public perceives the filibuster as an act of principled public courage and sacrifice. Let's make it so.

Require a specific number of Senators -- I suggest five for the first 24 hours, 10 for the second 24 hours, and 20 thereafter -- to be on the floor to sustain the filibuster. This would be required even during quorum calls. At any point, a member could call for a count of the senators on the floor who stand in opposition to the regular order, and if the count falls below the required level, the regular order prevails and a majority vote is held.

Under Merkley's proposed change, if a party or group of Senators oppose bringing a bill to the floor for debate -- or opposes ending debate -- they will have to sustain continued opposition on the floor of the Senate. If they don't, the filibuster collapses. The idea is to force the filibuster out into the light of day, where the public can see what's happening.

Merkley's office believes such a change to the rules could be accomplished with a simple majority vote in the Senate, and Merkley will be pushing colleagues to join his effort to make such a vote happen at the outset of the new session in January. Read his full memo here.

UPDATE, 12:55 p.m.: The question of whether two thirds are needed to do away with the filibuster is actually up for debate. Senator Tom Udall, for instance, has argued that each Congress has the right to change its rules under a simple majority vote, and he has vowed to try to force such a motion on the first day of the new Congress, doing away with the 60-vote threshold for procedural motions.

Merkley's contribution to this debate is suggesting a somewhat more modest rules change -- forcing Senators to actually filibuster on the floor -- that might gain more support in the Senate than a wholesale nixing of the filibuster might.

[stray cat]

1. Fllibuster tax cuts - they should be made to do it

[badtoworse]

3. That is a two-edged sword

Given the number of seats we will have to defend in 2012, there is a significant chance we will lose the Senate. The onus of actually fillibustering would then be on us.

[thanks_imjustlurking]

5. Fine. I'm sick and tired of maneuvering for partisan advantage, on either side. nt

[Recursion]

2. The filibuster is broken

I'm glad to see talk about reforming it.

[Bluenorthwest]

4. Jeff is wasting no time

we sent him there to work, and he is working.

[thanks_imjustlurking]

6. My hero!

I've been complaining about the "courtesy filibuster" for years. Didn't know until today that actually getting up and blathering was not actually required. Too bad someone in the Senate didn't notice this sooner.

[awoke_in_2003]

7. I have been saying this for years...

go back to the old rules. Should have been done the second we took the senate- oh, I forgot, Harry Reid is the majority "leader". The backbone of a jellyfish that one has.