Keep the Heat on Your Senators

Activists are keeping the heat on their senators to "Fix the Senate Now," with another Day of Action and phone calls to Capitol Hill underway today.

In fact, you can call right now.

But first, check out this video.

It's the story of why nothing gets done in Congress, and how an individual Senator can block discussion and debate on any measure.

Call Your Senators at 1-888-966-9836 and ask them to vote for meaningful rules reform, including a talking filibuster, when reforms are proposed on the first legislative day of the new Congress. Or text RULESREFORM to 49484, and you'll be patched through to your senators' offices.

Coalition organizations participating include: Sierra Club, CWA, MoveOn, UAW, Working Families Party, Common Cause, AFL-CIO, IBEW, Alliance for Justice, NAACP, Demos and many more.

Real reform should include:

• Ending the filibuster on the motion to proceed. Right now, an individual Senator can block all discussion of any issue.
• Requiring a "talking filibuster," so Senators actually have to hold the floor and speak to the measure.
• Requiring that 41 Senators show they support the filibuster. Right now, the burden is on the majority to get 60 votes to stop a filibuster.
• Streamlining the process for approving judicial nominations and executive branch appointments.

Our window of opportunity to change the rules opens today, when the new Senate convenes for business on its first legislative day, with Senate leaders likely to bring up a reform package in about two weeks. Changes to the rules can be made using the "constitutional option," which requires 51 votes to change the rules for the new session of the Senate.