(Host) Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders say they’ll support efforts to reform the filibuster rules of the U.S. Senate.
As VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports, both senators think Republicans have grossly misused the procedure to block consideration of important legislation in the past year.
(Kinzel) When you think of a filibuster in the U.S. Senate, you probably have an image of senators speaking on the floor throughout the night trying to block debate over a specific bill.
But the procedure has been adapted for modern times. Now, if a group of senators threatens a filibuster over a bill, a vote is held to see if there’s enough support to cut off debate.
It takes 60 votes to end a filibuster and that’s a big problem according to Senator Patrick Leahy.
Leahy is the chairman of the Judiciary committee and he says Republican leaders have turned to the filibuster more than 100 times in this session of Congress. He says this means that a controversial bill needs 60 votes to pass – not the traditional majority of 51 votes.
Leahy says he’s upset, that in the last week, Republicans used the filibuster three times – to block debate over a campaign finance reform bill, on legislation to end "the don’t ask -don’t tell rule" concerning gays serving in the military and on an overseas jobs bill.
(Leahy) "It is irresponsible and it doesn’t help the country and it shows that as we know in a democracy you have to have self restraint to protect everybody. This is not self restraint this is more self indulgence."
(Kinzel) Senator Bernie Sanders also supports efforts to reform the filibuster because he says Republicans have repeatedly misused this rule.
(Sanders) "So they have been to a significant degree successful doing what they have wanted to do – to slow down progress, make sure that we don’t pass the kind of legislation that should be passed and then they go to the American people and say ‘see Obama hasn’t delivered’. I think that’s a very cynical strategy, I think it’s unfortunate for our country and I do think we have to change that approach."
(Kinzel) Not everyone supports a change. Several months ago, former Governor Howard Dean warned that making it easier to end a filibuster could be a mistake.
(Dean) "I think you’ve got to be careful of that…a lot of people in this town that think you should do that are Democrats. I just remind them what it’s like to be in a minority – you know, the filibuster rule could be used by us to stop some right wing stuff that we don’t like."
(Host) One plan under consideration would reduce the number of votes needed to cut off debate from 60 to perhaps 55.
Democratic leaders say they plan to pursue this issue if they retain control of the Senate after the November election.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.