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Save the Date: Tell Your Lawmaker to Fix the Senate on Dec. 19

The Fix the Senate Now coalition is planning a full-scale lobby day next Wednesday to urge senators to adopt real reform of the Senate rules.

On Dec. 19, members of CWA, Sierra Club, United Auto Workers, Common Cause, NAACP, AFL-CIO and more will be calling their senators. For a reminder and instructions on how to participate in the call-in, text FIXIT to 49484.

"We had enormous majorities. A great Congress. The best speaker ever, Nancy Pelosi — that's what we call her. And Pelosi and the Congress passed 435 pieces of legislation that never got discussed in the Senate for a second," CWA President Larry Cohen told The Daily Beast. "At least the American people will see a debate. We are entitled to a debate. We are entitled to make people talk."

Here's how a simple majority of senators (at least 51 votes) can change the rules on the first day of the new Congress:

1. End the filibuster on the motion to proceed. Currently, a single senator can block Senate discussion of critical issues.

2. Require senators who want to filibuster a bill to have 40 other senators with them. The current rules put all of the burden on the majority, it's time that those who want to hold up debate prove they have the votes.

3. Streamline the process for approving judicial nominations and executive branch appointments.