Friday, February 5, 2021

60+ Groups and Unions to Senate Democrats: End Harmful 'Gridlock and Dysfunction' by Eliminating the Filibuster

 "It is truly outrageous that we still allow a partisan minority to block legislation at will and wholly prevent our government from functioning. Kill the filibuster."



Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a 
press conference about student debt outside the U.S. Capitol 
on February 4, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

A diverse coalition of more than 60 progressive advocacy organizations and labor 

unions representing millions of people across the U.S. sent a letter Friday urging

Senate Democrats to eliminate the legislative filibuster, a procedural relic that the 

groups describe as a "weapon of pure partisan gridlock" and a major obstacle to 

necessary change.


Addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the letter (pdf) from Fix

 Our Senate, Stand Up America, the Sunrise Movement, the Communications Workers 

of America, and dozens of other groups argues that nuking the filibuster "would not be a 

radical step, but a pragmatic response to gridlock and obstruction to help senators 

deliver for their constituents."


"People want a government that works for them, not just the wealthy, well-connected,

and entrenched special interest groups," the letter reads. "That is why we are reaching

out... to call on Senate Democrats to move quickly to fix the broken Senate and 

eliminate the filibuster as a tool that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.]

can use to nullify the results of the election and block progress on popular legislation 

supported by a majority of senators and a majority of the American people."


The letter, first reported by NBC News, comes on the heels of the Senate's marathon

 "vote-a-rama" session, an absurd spectacle of largely meaningless votes required under

 the filibuster-proof reconciliation process, which Democrats are using to push through a

 coronavirus relief package without needing support from obstructionist Republicans.

"It would be easier just to end the filibuster," the grassroots group People for 

Bernie tweeted early Friday morning as the "vote-a-rama" process—which ultimately 

lasted more than 14 hours—dragged on.


New York magazine's Ed Kilgore echoed that point Friday, calling "vote-a-rama" the

 "price Democrats must pay to avoid the filibuster."


"The Senate will get to go through another vote-a-rama later, assuming the budget 

resolution passes and a reconciliation bill is brought to the floor," Kilgore wrote. 

"Avoiding one of the Senate's ludicrous traditions (the filibuster) means indulging

 another."


While Democrats may succeed in passing a robust coronavirus relief package through 

budget reconciliation, the rules of the process would prevent the majority party from 

using it to approve other key priorities, from voting rights legislation to regulations aimed 

at fighting the climate crisis.

Spotlighting the constraints of the expedited budget process, HuffPost reported earlier

 this week that Democrats will likely be forced to drop paid family and medical leave from

 their coronavirus package because it probably would not survive reconciliation rules, 

which require provisions to have a direct budgetary impact.


"You can pass $1,400 checks through budget reconciliation, but you can't pass

 emergency paid leave," New York Times columnist Ezra Klein noted Thursday. "When 

Congress writes laws through budget reconciliation, it writes them with one arm tied 

behind its back."


Scrapping the filibuster, and thereby allowing the majority party to legislate without such 

restrictions, would require the backing of the entire Senate Democratic caucus plus a tie-

breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris—a level of support Democrats don't

currently have, given persistent opposition from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and 

Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and skepticism from others.


In their letter, the coalition of 62 progressive organizations argues that transformative 

progress will only be possible if Senate Democrats unite to change the chamber's rules

 and "end the gridlock and dysfunction."


"The best way to restore a functioning Senate," the letter states, "is to eliminate the

 filibuster as a weapon the minority can use to block an agenda that a majority of

 Americans have just embraced at the ballot box."


Read the full letter:


Dear Majority Leader Chuck Schumer:

Voters across the country have made their voices heard loud and clear

         culminating in the strong message that was recently delivered in Georgia.

         People want a government that works for them, not just the wealthy, well-

         connected, and entrenched special interest groups. They are sick and tired of the 

         gridlock and dysfunction that is keeping the system rigged against them and their 

         families and is preventing progress on the many critical issues facing our nation.


The results of this election have unlocked the door to change, but another

          clear obstacle remains: the rules of the United States Senate that allow a

          partisan minority to block legislation and will prevent the Senate from

         governing and delivering on the promises they made to voters if they are left

         in place.

 

         To be clear, the filibuster was never intended to be used and abused the way

         it has been over the past decade. Despite what some will claim, the filibuster

         isn't in the Constitution. The framers were explicitly trying to avoid supermajority 

        requirements for legislation, and until recently, the filibuster was only very rarely

        used to block ordinary legislation supported by the majority of senators. The 

        notable exception, of course, was its deplorable use as a tool to block civil rights, 

        voting rights, and anti-lynching bills, which is why President Barack Obama 

        correctly referred to it as a "Jim Crow relic" that should be eliminated if it stands in 

        the way of securing the rights of every American.

 

Even those of us who have supported the filibuster in the past now see clearly

         that it has become something very different in recent years. If the filibuster

         was ever effective in promoting bipartisanship and compromise, that is clearly 

         no longer the case as use of the filibuster has skyrocketed while bipartisanship and

        consensus has plummeted. The filibuster has become a weapon of pure partisan

        gridlock and its abuse is a big part of what has broken the Senate.

 

        That is why we are reaching out on behalf of our millions of members across

        the country to call on Senate Democrats to move quickly to fix the broken

        Senate and eliminate the filibuster as a tool that Senate Republican Leader

        Mitch McConnell can use to nullify the results of the election and block

        progress on popular legislation supported by a majority of senators and a

        majority of the American people.

 

This would not be a radical step, but a pragmatic response to gridlock and

          obstruction to help senators deliver for their constituents. Senate rules have

          been changed many times over the years. In 2013, the Senate took some

          initial steps to end the partisan blockade of President Obama’s nominees.

 

And just since 2017, the Republican majority eliminated the filibuster on

         Supreme Court nominees in order to confirm President Trump’s picks, and

 

then changed the rules again to reduce the debate time for other nominees,

 

including District Court judges appointed to lifetime terms. The Republican

 

majority also made use of the budget reconciliation process, first used in

 

1980, to pass their tax bill with a simple majority. And most recently, they

 

changed the so-called "McConnell rule" to advance President Trump's

 

Supreme Court nominee  just weeks before an election after refusing to

 

advance President Obama's nominee during the final year of his term.

 

We urge Senate Democrats, under your leadership, to take speedy action to

 

fix the broken Senate and make progress possible by changing the rules to

 

end the gridlock and dysfunction. The best way to restore a functioning

 

Senate is to eliminate the filibuster as a weapon the minority can use to block

 

an agenda that a majority of Americans have just embraced at the ballot box.

 

Thank you.

 




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