 |
| He had to work to filibuster a bill. |
That's exactly what a minority of anti-worker senators have done. Last year, only 2.8 percent of all bills introduced in the Senate passed. The filibuster choked debate on 400 bills passed by the House.
One way to fix the problem at the national level is filibuster reform, as Teamsters President Jim Hoffa argues in a recent Detroit News op-ed. It's way too easy for irresponsible senators in the minority to block legislation that doesn't suit the whims of the billionaires and CEOs who back them.
Hoffa argues the Senate rules should be changed to make it harder to bottle up bills. For starters, anyone who wants to filibuster a bill must hold the floor and debate it. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Tom Udall of New Mexico are proposing to do just that. Next week, the new Senate may decide to take up Senate Resolution 4, a bill to reform the filibuster process.
If enacted, senators would be required to speak and debate publicly on the floor of the Senate in order to keep a filibuster going, just like Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. As it stands now, a Senator can simply send an email to continue a filibuster. We need more accountability of our elected officials, and if they wish to block legislation, they should be required to put real time and energy into it.
Call your Senators TODAY and ask that they fix the Senate by fixing the filibuster! Tell them to vote FOR Senate Resolution 4. You can reach your Senators by calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
