TPMDC Filibuster Reform
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Republicans Make Power Play To Gut Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL)
On Thursday, while House Republicans were dealing with a small Medicare privatization snafu, their Senate counterparts laid down an impossible marker. Forty four of their 47 members have signed on to a letter threatening to filibuster any nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unless it is dramatically weakened.
"We will not support the consideration of any nominee, regardless of party affiliation, to be the CFPB director until the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reformed," reads a letter, co-authored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), ranking member of the Banking Committee.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chris Dodd, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Elizabeth Warren, Filibuster Reform, Financial Crisis, John Ensign, Lisa Murkowski, Olympia Snowe, Scott Brown, Susan Collins, Wall Street
Filibuster Reform
Tom Harkin Looks To Courts To Reform The Filibuster
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), a long-time advocate of filibuster reform, was the lone senior senator to publicly align himself with Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in their effort to change the Senate's rules.
Those efforts were neutered this week by the leaders of both parties. With the exception of some modest tweaks, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) agreed that the rules would remain largely unchanged. Beyond that, though,they shook hands and agreed that for the next several years, neither party will attempt to change the filibuster rules on a majority-vote basis -- what's known as the "Constitutional option."
Under these circumstances, Harkin has given up hope that the Senate will ever reassess itself, and is looking to the courts to step in and shake things up.
"It's clear now that the Senate can not change its rules," Harkin told me in an interview Thursday evening. "It can not."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chuck Schumer, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Harry Reid, Jeff Merkley , Mitch McConnell, Secret Holds, Tom Harkin, Tom Udall
Filibuster Reform
Filibuster Reform Effort Falls Short In Senate
Senator Tom Udall (D-NM)
An effort to change the Senate's filibuster rules on a majority-vote basis ended Tuesday evening under growing pressure from Democratic and Republican party leaders.
In its place, senators from both parties will soon consider a bipartisan framework, negotiated by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), which include a handful of more modest reforms.
"We don't have an agreement yet," Alexander told reporters Tuesday afternoon. "We're still having discussions. Several of our members, and several Democratic members still have decisions to make. And when we finish, Senator Reid and Senator McConnell will go to the floor and announce an agreement when there is an agreement.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chuck Schumer, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Harry Reid, Jeff Merkley , Lamar Alexander, Senate, Tom Udall
Filibuster Reform
Senators Near Consensus On Filibuster Reform Alternative
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)
A quick update on the substance, as opposed to the process, of filibuster reform in the Senate.
Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) will pick up where he left off in pursuit of his filibuster reform proposals when the Senate reconvenes this week. But parallel negotiations between Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) on a more modest rules reform framework are ongoing. And there's emerging consensus on three flanks.
New to that slate, according to a Senate aide, is a proposal to that would forbid "individual senators [from forcing] the reading of certain pieces of legislation, if they've been posted for certain periods of time." There's still no clarity on what categories of legislation would be exempted from this, or how long they'd have to be public.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chuck Schumer, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Lamar Alexander, Nominees, Secret Holds
Filibuster Reform
Joe Biden: The Key To Filibuster Reform?
Vice President Biden
This week, a group of Democratic filibuster reformers will face the first big test of their effort to invoke the "Constitutional Option" -- a process by which members can change the Senate rules by a majority vote. The theory underlying their efforts is that the previous Senate's rules aren't really valid until the new Senate has intentionally adopted them.
That's leading to confusion over whether they're truly on the path to invoking the Constitutional Option -- and that, in turn, means Vice President Joe Biden might have to weigh in and settle the dispute.
Here's the issue under contention.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Constitution, Constitutional Option, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Jeff Merkley , Tom Udall
CT-SEN
CT-SEN Candidate Chris Murphy: 'The Filibuster Is In Dire Need Of Reform'
Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT)
On a conference call with reporters this afternoon, Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT) laid out some key priorities of his newly-launched campaign for the Senate seat held by retiring independent Sen. Joe Lieberman -- with filibuster reform being one of his top concerns.
Murphy said that during his travels throughout his House district, "I've heard a real frustration with the U.S. Senate, and how it too often stands as an unjustifiable barrier to positive change." He said that his campaign would discuss issues such as the economy, but also reforming the Senate so it is no longer, in Murphy's words, "an old boys' club" that stops progress on key issues.
"Part of the reason that reform can't occur in the Senate is because of the way they do business," Murphy laster said, during the Q&A. "The filibuster is in dire need of reform. Whether or not it needs to go away, we need to reform the way the filibuster is used, so it is not used in the order of everyday policy, but is only used in exceptional circumstances."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012 elections, CT-SEN, Chris Murphy, Filibuster Reform, Joe Lieberman, Senate '12
Eric Cantor
Republicans Discover Their Love For Filibuster Reform -- House Republicans, That Is
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Senate Democrats who want to reform the filibuster may have found an unlikely ally: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).
"I've got a problem with the assumption here that somehow the Senate can be a place for legislation to go into a cul-de-sac or dead end," Cantor told reporters this morning.
He's referring specifically, of course, to the Repealing the Job Killing Health Care Law Act, which the House will pass tonight. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says the bill is a partisan exercise, and a non-starter -- thus, Cantor and other Republicans want the upper chamber to discover its populist side.
Topics: Eric Cantor, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Harry Reid, Health Care, Repealing health care
Filibuster Reform
Republicans 'Giddy' About One Proposed Filibuster Reform
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
In a bid to attract Republican support for filibuster reform, Democrats led by Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Jeff Merkley have proposed a new rule that would guarantee the minority party the chance to offer three amendments to any legislation.
It may have worked too well. A senior Senate Republican leadership aide says GOP members would be "giddy" if they were given that right.
Here's why. Those amendments would be filibuster-proof -- among the only pieces of legislation in all the Senate to enjoy that privilege -- and would therefore be a recipe for poison pill amendments on both sides.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Jeff Merkley , Republicans, Tom Udall
Filibuster Reform
How Senate Filibuster Reform Could Invite A Flood Of Poison Pills
Harry Reid (D-NV)
A provision in a new package of Senate filibuster reforms meant to protect the minority from the majority's power has supporters both on and off the Hill nervous about its potential to invite poison pills.
One of the GOP's main criticisms of Harry Reid's leadership is that he too often "fills the amendment tree," which essentially eliminates the minority's power to offer amendments. To address that, reform leaders Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) included a measure in their rules package that would have guaranteed the majority and the minority votes on three germane amendments, regardless of whether the "amendment tree" was otherwise filled.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Health Care, Jeff Merkley , Repealing health care, Tom Udall
Filibuster Reform
BREAKING: Senate Filibuster Reform Package
Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Harry Reid (D-NV)
Here are the specific filibuster reforms that Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), will be pushing beginning this afternoon, obtained by TPM. Spoiler: they include at least one little-discussed item meant to appeal to the minority.
As promised, Udall proposes ending secret holds and the right of the minority to filibuster the start of debate, and demanding the "talking" filibuster.
But, according to documents provided by Udall's office in advance of his floor speech, it also includes a proposal that guarantees both parties the right to amend legislation -- limiting the majority leader's power to "fill the amendment tree" and block extended debate.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Judicial nominees, Nominees, Tom Udall
Filibuster Reform
Filibuster Reform Effort Kicks Off Today
Senator Tom Udall (D-NM)
Today, a number of Democrats will launch their attempt to amend the filibuster.
Wednesday afternoon on the Senate floor, armed with a package of reforms, Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) will take the first in a complicated, unusual series of steps that allows a simple-majority of senators to change the Senate rules.
Topics: Anonymous Holds, Chuck Schumer, Constitutional Option, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Harry Reid, Lamar Alexander, Mitch McConnell, Secret Holds, Senate, Tom Udall
Filibuster Reform
The Senate's Long, Twisted, Bumpy Road To Filibuster Reform
Vice President Biden
At some point on January 5, Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) will take the Senate floor and begin a process that he hopes will end in the successful use of the "Constitutional option" -- the prerogative of a majority of the Senate's members to rewrite its rules on the first day of a new Congress.
He and his allies have been vocal about their plan. But the actual sequence of events that starts with him giving a speech, and ends with filibuster reform, is obscure, fragile, and extremely complicated. In fact, it's so involved that the "first day" of the 112th Senate could actually last for weeks.
There are myriad unknowns and X-factors that could change the course of events, and even upend Udall's ambitions altogether. But what follows is a list of steps he and the Senate will have to take to succeed in exercising the "Constitutional option," so called because the Constitution empowers the Senate to write its own rules.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Constitution, Constitutional Option, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Joe Biden, Tom Udall
Filibuster
How Harry Reid And Mitch McConnell Could Upend Filibuster Reform
A handful of junior Democrats, including Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), have done an impressive job building momentum for a package of modest, but meaningful, changes to the Senate's filibuster rules. But their plan could be completely upended and replaced by even more modest reforms, if Democratic and Republican leaders successfully negotiate a bipartisan rules reform compromise.
In a phone interview with me Wednesday, Udall described negotiations between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) as a "separate track" from his own efforts.
A Senate Democratic aide confirms that those discussions are ongoing, and haven't yet yielded consensus. But if they do, that consensus would serve as a stand-in for Udall's approach, not as an endorsement of it, as previous reporting has suggested.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chris Dodd, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Harry Reid, Jeff Merkley , Mitch McConnell, Tom Harkin, Tom Udall
Tom Udall
Paging Mr. Smith! How The Senate May Return To The Old-School Filibuster
Still from "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" (1939)
On January 5, 2011 -- the first day of the 112th Congress -- Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) will touch off a long debate, which he hopes will result in a majority-rules vote on a package of meaningful changes to the Senate rules. After a series of private conversations with Democratic members, he and his allies have settled upon a framework including three distinct reforms designed to unclog the Senate and scale back the minority's power.
The consensus package will aim to put an end to "secret holds" (anonymous filibuster threats) and disallow the minority from blocking debate on an issue altogether. Those two reforms are fairly straightforward. The third is a bit more complex. Udall, along with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), say there's broad agreement on the idea to force old-school filibusters. If members want to keep debating a bill, they'll have to actually talk. No more lazy filibusters.
But how would that actually work? In an interview Wednesday, Udall explained the ins and outs of that particular proposal.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Jeff Merkley , Tom Udall
Filibuster Reform
Report: Reid 'Devising A Plan' For Filibuster Reform
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Is momentum building for Senate Democrats to change the filibuster rules, following the past two years in which Senate GOPers used their reduced numbers to throw up more procedural blocks than in any past Congress?
As Greg Sargent reports:
At a caucus meeting this week attended only by Senators and no staff, Reid and fellow Dems devoted a significant chunk of time to a discussion about specific ideas on how to proceed, the aide says.
...
"They are already talking it through and devising a plan," the aide said of Reid and fellow Dems, adding that Reid is having "conversations" with other members of the caucus "about the best way to move forward."
Sargent reports that various ideas have made the rounds, including efforts to do away with the modern phony filibuster and force Senators to actually talk on the floor. But how would they change the rules? Sargent reports: "Dems are also coalescing behind the so-called 'constitutional option,' which has it that each new Congress has the right to set its own rules by simple majority vote."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Harry Reid, Senate, Tom Udall
Filibuster Reform
111th Senate Breaks A Filibuster Record
Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Harry Reid (D-NV)
If you're wondering why Dems are all of a sudden smitten with the idea of reforming Senate rules, check out this chart, passed along by a Democratic source.
Over the last two years, Dems broke more filibusters than any Senate in recorded history. In fact the only other Senate that comes close was the last Senate, right after the GOP lost its controlling majority on the Hill.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Cloture, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Harry Reid, Senate
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Obama Hoping For Low-Profile Hawaiian Vacation
The Associated Press reports on President Obama's Hawaiian vacation: "A politically rejuvenated President Barack Obama arrived here late Wednesday for an 11-day family vacation in his home state....He begins his vacation on a high note, having secured victories on a nuclear arms treaty with Russia and the repeal of the military's ban on gay service members. He also struck a deal with Republican lawmakers to allow tax cuts for all income earners to continue, a compromise that angered some liberals but won Obama rare support from the GOP."
Obama In Hawaii
President Obama is now spending the holiday season in Honolulu, Hawaii. He will receive the presidential daily briefing every day, but has no public events scheduled.
Topics: Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, George W. Bush, Joe Biden, Redistricting, Roundup, Senate
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Obama Looks To Reenergize Youth Vote
The Washington Post reports: " President Obama will swoop into the heartland this week in a high-stakes bid to boost enthusiasm for Democrats by reigniting the coalition of young and minority voters who were critical to his success two years ago. With polls showing independent voters swinging toward Republicans in Wisconsin and the nation's other battlegrounds, Democrats are turning elsewhere to make up ground. So on Tuesday in Madison, Obama will stage the first in a series of rallies on college campuses designed to persuade what some call his 'surge' voters - the roughly 15 million Americans who voted for the first time in 2008 - to return to the polls this fall."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama was interviewed live on the Today Show at 8 a.m. ET. He will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10:15 a.m. ET, and meet at 10:45 a.m. ET with senior advisers. At 12:10 p.m. ET, he will hold an on-the-record conference call with college and university student-journalists. He will sign the Small Business Jobs Act at 1:45 p.m. ET. He will depart from the White House at 5 pm. ET, and depart from Andrews Air Force Base at 5:15 p.m. ET, arriving at 8:55 p.m. ET in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Israel, Israel/Palestine, Joe Biden, Roundup
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
AP Poll: BP Image Recovering From Spill, Still Low
The Associated Press reports: "BP's image, which took an ugly beating after the Gulf oil spill, is recovering since the company capped the well, though the oil giant's approval level is still anything but robust. A majority of Americans still aren't convinced it is safe to eat seafood from parts of the Gulf or swim in its waters, a new AP poll shows."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will depart from the White House at 12:35 p.m. ET, and depart form Andrews Air Force Base at 12:50 p.m. ET. He will arrive at 2 p.m. ET in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and will arrive at 2:15 p.m. ET in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Topics: 2010 elections, Alaska, BP, Barack Obama, Filibuster Reform, Financial Reform, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Oil Spill, Roundup
Filibuster Reform
Freshman Dems Push To End The Filibuster, Face Dem Opposition
Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM)
With a depleted majority expected next January, Democrats will have a decision to make: accept (no) business as usual in the Senate; or change the rules to erode Republicans' ability to obstruct legislation. It's an issue that few in the caucus are prepared to grapple with, and many would prefer to ignore, but a cadre of Democratic freshman plan to force it on day one of the 112th Congress. At stake will likely be the functioning of the federal government, and the party's ability to restore the economy and deliver on their agenda. Yet despite such a stark choice, some in their own party are encouraging them to back off, and even supporters are damping expectations of success.
The leader of the push for rules reform is Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), whose black cowboy boots and western twang complement his rebellious streak: he thinks the Senate is enamored of itself, hostile to change, and that it's time for all that to end.
"You have to be responsive to what you see, and what you see is a broken institution, and you have to reform that institution," Udall told TPMDC in his Senate office this week.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Al Franken, Chris Dodd, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Senate, Tom Udall
Dick Durbin
Durbin Backs Filibuster Reform
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
The Senate's second highest ranking Democrat lent his support today to a growing effort, spearheaded by more junior members, to eliminate or diminish the power of the minority to enforce a 60 vote requirement on Senate business.
"I think there is a high level of frustration and a feeling that we missed many opportunities," Durbin told reporters this afternoon, in response to a question from TPMDC. "And also a lot of us have been completely worn down by a requirement of 60 votes on everything. This was rare when I got here 14 years ago and now it is rare otherwise".
Durbin used as an example one of his own initiatives, which was nearly killed by the supermajority requirement.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Cloture, Dick Durbin, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, GOP, Republicans, Senate
Barack Obama
Obama On Boehner's 'Ant' Remark: I'm 'Stunned' He's That 'Out Of Touch'
President Barack Obama
President Obama will say that he "was stunned to hear the leader of the Republicans in the House say that financial reform was like using a nuclear weapon to target an ant," according to his prepared remarks for a Town Hall event today.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Filibuster Reform, John Boehner
DNC
DNC: Boehner's Critique Of Financial Reform Turns 'A Mountain Into An Ant-Hill'
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)
The DNC is hitting back at House Minority Leader John Boehner for comparing financial reform to "killing an ant with a nuclear weapon," saying Boehner is turning "a mountain into an ant-hill by diminishing the need for reform."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: DNC, Filibuster Reform, John Boehner
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
GOP: Dems 'Lucky' In Arrest of Shahzad
The Washington Post reports that Republicans are spinning the government's arrest of Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad as a product of luck, rather than any effectiveness on the part of the Obama administration. "Yes, we have been lucky," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said Thursday, "but luck is not an effective strategy for fighting terrorism."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will make a statement at 11 a.m. ET, on the monthly job numbers. Joining him will be Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Budget Director Peter Orszag, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Romer and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers. There are no other public events scheduled.
Topics: 2010 elections, BP, Barack Obama, Filibuster Reform, Goodwin Liu, Joe Lieberman, Mike Pence, Roundup, Sherrod Brown, Ted Kaufman
Bipartisanship
Dodd: Republicans Are Getting Tired Of The 'Just Say No' Strategy
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
With the final health care reform bill about to pass, and a financial reform bill already out of committee, some Republicans are rethinking their party's "just say no" strategy to legislating, according to Sen. Chris Dodd.
Dodd (D-CT) told reporters this morning that "The health care thing kind of changed the atmospherics around here."
"I think, frankly, there are a number of Republicans who went along with the strategy of 'just say no' who were never really happy with it, but if it worked they would go along," Dodd said. "They saw it fail. And now they've had enough of it. and they really want to be involved in crafting things."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Bipartisanship, Bob Corker, Chris Dodd, Filibuster Reform, Health Care, Republicans
Filibuster
Schumer To Hold Hearings On Undoing Filibuster Rules
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said at a summit for progressive reporters, pundits and bloggers today that he is going to hold Rules Committee hearings on filibuster reform to dramatically change the process.
At the gathering where other Democrats said they will highlight Republican obstruction, Schumer announced he will examine the legal way to "undo, modify or lessen the filibuster rule."
The remarks came after Democratic leaders complained the Republicans have slowed down the Senate's work and Majority Leader Harry Reid called for reform.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Chuck Schumer, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform
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