05 March 21
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FOCUS: Norman Ornstein | Democrats Can't Kill the Filibuster. But They Can Gut It.
Norman Ornstein, The Washington Post
Ornstein writes: "Three reforms Manchin and Sinema might consider."
emocrats won both Georgia Senate seats in January’s runoffs, giving them control of both houses of Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade. But their ability to advance legislation — from raising the federal minimum wage to democracy reforms in the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act — can be thwarted by the Senate’s 60-vote supermajority filibuster rule.
Progressives’ anger at Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his caucus, who use the filibuster to block every initiative they can, is nearly matched by their frustration with Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin III (W. Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), whose opposition to getting rid of the filibuster means Democrats are stuck with it, since they’d need all 50 votes in their caucus, plus Vice President Harris as a tiebreaker, to do it. Last month, the progressive No Excuses PAC, whose leaders helped elect Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) in 2018, said Manchin and Sinema “stand in the way of progress” by abetting Republican efforts “to shrink their own party’s pandemic relief, climate, and economic investment plans.” The political action committee has talked up primary challenges to both of them to show “‘how angry Democratic primary voters are going to be’ if they continue to support the filibuster.”
Manchin hasn’t budged, though. Monday, when asked if he’d reconsider his stance on eliminating the filibuster, he shot back: “Jesus Christ, what don’t you understand about ‘never’?”
Democrats are right to see the urgency: Republican state lawmakers around the country are moving to enact voter suppression measures that will, if passed, put the slender Democratic majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives in jeopardy in 2022 and beyond. Without democracy reform, and with the Supreme Court’s recent assaults on the Voting Rights Act, sticking with the filibuster could make it nearly impossible for the Biden administration to pursue its agenda.
But Democrats should proceed with caution: In 2001, I warned that if Republicans harangued Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) over his apostasy on their party’s policy priorities, they would regret it. He would switch parties and, in a 50-50 Senate, shift the Senate majority. The next month, it happened. The same concern now applies to Democrats with Manchin. Push too far, and the result could be Majority Leader McConnell, foreclosing Democrats’ avenue to pursue infrastructure, tax reform and health reform legislation.
So, what can Democrats do?
For a West Virginia Democrat, heavy criticism from key members of his own party, up to and including President Biden, might wind up working to Manchin’s advantage. That was true of an earlier apostate, Sen. Richard C. Shelby (Ala.), who’s been reelected several times after switching from Democrat to Republican in 1994, after butting heads with President Bill Clinton.
Instead of naming and shaming them, Democrats might consider looking at what Manchin and Sinema like about the filibuster. Sinema recently said, “Retaining the legislative filibuster is not meant to impede the things we want to get done. Rather, it’s meant to protect what the Senate was designed to be. I believe the Senate has a responsibility to put politics aside and fully consider, debate, and reach compromise on legislative issues that will affect all Americans.” Last year, Manchin said, “The minority should have input — that’s the whole purpose for the Senate. If you basically do away with the filibuster altogether for legislation, you won’t have the Senate. You’re a glorified House. And I will not do that.”
If you take their views at face value, the goal is to preserve some rights for the Senate minority, with the aim of fostering compromise. The key, then, is to find ways not to eliminate the filibuster on legislation but to reform it to fit that vision. Here are some options:
Make the minority do the work. Currently, it takes 60 senators to reach cloture — to end debate and move to a vote on final passage of a bill. The burden is on the majority, a consequence of filibuster reform in 1975, which moved the standard from two-thirds of senators present and voting to three-fifths of the entire Senate. Before that change, if the Senate went around-the-clock, filibustering senators would have to be present in force. If, for example, only 75 senators showed up for a cloture vote, 50 of them could invoke cloture and move to a final vote. After the reform, only a few senators in the minority needed to be present to a request for unanimous consent and to keep the majority from closing debate by forcing a quorum call. The around-the-clock approach riveted the public, putting a genuine spotlight on the issues. Without it, the minority’s delaying tactics go largely unnoticed, with little or no penalty for obstruction, and no requirement actually to debate the issue.
If Republicans won’t risk defeat to tell the truth, Trump will own their party
One way to restore the filibuster’s original intent would be requiring at least two-fifths of the full Senate, or 40 senators, to keep debating instead requiring 60 to end debate. The burden would fall to the minority, who’d have to be prepared for several votes, potentially over several days and nights, including weekends and all-night sessions, and if only once they couldn’t muster 40 — the equivalent of cloture — debate would end, making way for a vote on final passage of the bill in question.
Go back to the “present and voting” standard. A shift to three-fifths of the Senate “present and voting” would similarly require the minority to keep most of its members around the Senate when in session. If, for example, the issue in question were voting rights, a Senate deliberating on the floor, 24 hours a day for several days, would put a sharp spotlight on the issue, forcing Republicans to publicly justify opposition to legislation aimed at protecting the voting rights of minorities. Weekend Senate sessions would cause Republicans up for reelection in 2022 to remain in Washington instead of freeing them to go home to campaign. In a three-fifths present and voting scenario, if only 80 senators showed up, only 48 votes would be needed to get to cloture. Add to that a requirement that at all times, a member of the minority party would have to be on the floor, actually debating, and the burden would be even greater, while delivering what Manchin and Sinema say they want — more debate.
Narrow the supermajority requirement. Another option would be to follow in the direction of the 1975 reform, which reduced two-thirds (67 out of a full 100) to three-fifths (60 out of 100), and further reduce the threshold to 55 senators — still a supermajority requirement, but a slimmer one. Democrats might have some ability to get five Republicans to support their desired outcomes on issues such as voting rights, universal background checks for gun purchases or a path to citizenship for Dreamers. A reduction to 55, if coupled with a present-and-voting standard would establish even more balance between majority and minority.
In a 50-50 Senate, and with the GOP strategy clearly being united opposition to almost all Democratic priorities, Biden and Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) need the support of Manchin and Sinema on a daily basis. They won’t be persuaded by pressure campaigns from progressive groups or from members of Congress. But they might consider reforms that weaken the power of filibusters and give Democrats more leverage to enact their policies, without pursuing the dead end of abolishing the rule altogether.
Sen. Bernie Sanders. (photo: Getty)
RSN: Bernie Sanders | I Am Urgently Asking You to Sign My Petition
Bernie Sanders, Reader Supported News
Sanders writes:
ow, more than any moment in recent history, is the time to think big, not small. And that is why the U.S. Senate must, this week, pass the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan — the most consequential piece of legislation in modern times.
Today, we are in the midst of an unprecedented fight not only for economic, social, racial and environmental justice — but to determine whether the United States of America remains a functioning democracy. The stakes could not be higher. We cannot lose. We must keep faith with the American people. And that's what this legislation is about.
The simple truth is that the last year has been, in so many ways, the worst year in our lifetimes. The working families of our country are hurting in a way they have not hurt since the Great Depression, and they want their government to come to their aid. That’s not too much to ask. That’s what democracy is supposed to be about. And that’s what we’ve got to do.
During the last year, over 500,000 Americans have died of COVID and millions more have been made ill. COVID has not only caused massive death and sickness, it has resulted in social isolation and fears that have substantially increased mental illness in this country.
Many Americans — young, old and middle age — are now dealing with depression, anxiety disorders, addictions and even suicidal ideation.
But this has been not only a public health crisis. The pandemic has led to a terrible economic downturn which has resulted in millions of Americans losing their jobs and their incomes, and the closing of one out of four small businesses. Real unemployment is now over 10 percent.
Further, countless Americans face the threat of eviction and are frightened about the possibility of joining the ranks of the 500,000 who are already homeless. Millions more are unable to feed their kids, and hunger in America is at the highest level in decades. And, in the midst of this terrible pandemic, over 90 million Americans find themselves uninsured or underinsured and are unable to get to a doctor when they get sick.
As a result of the pandemic, education in this country from childcare to graduate school is in chaos. The majority of our young people have seen their education disrupted and it is likely that hundreds of colleges will soon cease to exist.
Meanwhile, the wealthiest people in this country are becoming much richer, and income and wealth inequality is skyrocketing. Incredibly, during the pandemic, over 650 billionaires in America have increased their wealth by more than $1 trillion. The 50 richest people in America today now own more wealth than the bottom half of American society — 160 million people.
The bottom line here is very simple. In this moment of unprecedented crises, the U.S. Senate must respond to the pain of the American people through unprecedented action. As most Americans understand, for too long Congress has responded to the needs of the wealthy and the powerful. Now it is time to respond to the needs of a desperate working class — Black, White, Latino, Native American and Asian American.
The American Rescue Plan that the Senate is debating this week under the Budget Reconciliation process, which has already been passed by the House, will enable us to begin, in a comprehensive manner, to address the myriad problems our country is facing. Let me just touch on some of what is in this legislation.
First, this bill will give us the tools we need to aggressively crush the COVID pandemic and allow the American people to return to their jobs and schools. Our health policies must be based on science, not politics — and that is what this bill is all about.
The American Rescue plan will establish a national emergency program to produce the quantity of vaccines that we need and get them into the arms of our people as quickly as possible. In the last month we have made progress in this area, but much more needs to be done if businesses and schools are to re-open safely. Every day that we delay in vaccinating people is a day of unnecessary deaths.
This legislation will also provide strong economic support for working families. At a time when 63 percent of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, this legislation will allow us to keep the promises we made to the American people and increase the $600 in direct payments for working-class adults and their children that we passed several months ago to $2,000.
I understand that for those people who have a lot of money, $1,400 might not seem like a lot. But for a struggling family of four, that $1,400 check, for a husband, wife, and two kids — $5,600 in total — may be the difference between dignity and desperation.
The Budget Reconciliation bill that we are considering this week will also provide $400 a week in supplemental unemployment benefits to over 10 million Americans until the end of August. And what a relief that will be to unemployed workers who worry that they might soon be losing their only source of income.
To all of the struggling parents in this country, this legislation will expand the child tax credit from $2,000 to $3,000 and to $3,600 for kids under the age of 6.
Sadly, the United States today has one of the highest rates of childhood poverty of any major country on earth. A number of studies have shown that by expanding the child tax credit, as we do in this bill, we will be cutting the level of child poverty in half.
This bill will also provide very substantial help to K-12 schools as well as a higher education system currently in crisis.
Further, this bill will take a major step forward in addressing the childcare crisis we now face and will provide the resources necessary to provide childcare to 875,000 kids in America.
This Budget Reconciliation bill will provide $350 billion to prevent mass layoffs of public sector workers in state and local governments.
At a time when over 90 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, this Budget Reconciliation bill will substantially increase access to health care for millions of Americans, including a significant expansion of Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
Today, while our overall health care system is dysfunctional, our primary health care system is even worse. This legislation will substantially increase funding for community health centers, and will address the serious shortage of doctors and nurses in underserved rural areas and inner cities by greatly expanding the National Health Service Corps. And it will make sure our veterans receive the health care they have earned and deserve by increasing funding at the VA by $17 billion.
Needless to say, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, we can no longer tolerate hunger in America and the long bread lines that have stretched mile after mile during the pandemic.
This bill will provide nutrition assistance to tens of millions of hungry families with children, the disabled and the elderly by providing billions of dollars for SNAP, WIC and the pandemic nutrition assistance program.
This bill will also provide rent relief, utility assistance and mortgage assistance to millions of tenants and homeowners who are in danger of eviction and foreclosure. And it will begin to address the crisis of homelessness in America.
In addition, this bill will protect the retirement benefits of millions of retirees in troubled multi-employer pension plans.
Is the American Rescue Plan perfect? No! Is it a major step forward in beginning to address the health, economic and educational crises facing working families? Yes!
Will the passage of this bill be a victory for the values of the progressive movement? You bet it will.
At a time when the Senate is divided evenly, 50-50, between Democrats and Republicans, and when the Vice President will cast the deciding vote, we cannot afford to lose one vote on this bill.
That is why today I am urging my colleagues to stand up for the working families of this country who are hurting like never before in our lifetimes. Let's act immediately to pass the American Rescue Plan.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
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