On the recordJanuary 2, 2013
The Senator from Alabama, my good friend and former attorney general colleague, asked the question--when he was answering the last question I asked--has this constitutional procedure for determining Senate rules at the beginning of a Senate ever been used? Yes, in fact, it has been used, and it has been used a number of times. I would point the Senator from Alabama to 1975. In 1975, we had the situation where a number of Democratic Senators were pushing for a change in the rules. The filibuster threshold at that point was 67 votes, unlike 60 today. Actually, that was the time period when they moved that threshold from 67 to 60. What happened was 51 Senators took to the floor and three times voted down the attempt to move away from changing the rules. Now, I would also note that three Vice Presidents--sitting up where Senator Cardin, the Presiding Officer, is right now--have ruled that at the beginning of a Congress--at the beginning of a Congress--you are allowed, the Senate, 51 Senators, to step forward and say: We would like new rules. What is being advocated on this side is putting rules in place and following the rules for a 2-year period of time.
