Petitioning the Senate to Return to Collegiality

Common Cause has set up a petition addressed to the Senate to fix the broken filibuster rules.

We the undersigned call on the United States Senate to reform its filibuster rules when the 112th Congress convenes in January.

It's time for the Senate to stop the partisan posturing and gamesmanship. Sixty-vote supermajorities have become the de facto rule – but they are not what the Founding Fathers intended and they do not serve the needs of 'we the people'.

With all that's facing our great nation, America cannot afford rampant obstructionism. It's time to break the gridlock by fixing the Senate rules now.

Sign it won't you?

CREW has laid out a straightforward list of filibuster reforms.

1. On the first legislative day of a new Congress, the Senate may, by majority vote, end a filibuster on a rules change and adopt new rules.

2. There should only be one opportunity to filibuster any given measure or nomination, so motions to proceed and motions to refer to conference should not be subject to filibuster.

3. Secret "holds" should be eliminated.

4. The amount of delay time after cloture is invoked on a bill should be reduced.

5. There should be no post-cloture debate on nominations.

6. Instead of requiring that those seeking to break a filibuster muster a specified number of votes, the burden should be shifted to require those filibustering to produce a specified number of votes to continue the filibuster.

7. Those waging a filibuster should be required to continuously hold the floor and debate.

8. Once all senators have had a reasonable opportunity to express their views, every measure or nomination should be brought to a yes or no vote in a timely manner.

This sums it up pretty nicely:

This is neither a partisan nor an ideological issue. The question is not whether legislation or nominations blocked by filibuster are good or bad, but whether the American people will be better served by up or down votes that will allow voters to hold senators accountable on Election Day. Staying the course is unacceptable.