Tom Udall: “I wish to talk about our efforts to change the Senate rules. There has been a great deal of comment on this subject…”

“I wish to talk about our efforts to change the Senate rules. There has been a great deal of comment on this subject lately. I have listened with great interest to the arguments against these changes by the other side. Let me just say at the outset: Senators Merkley, Harkin, and I are not talking about taking away the rights of the minority. We are not abolishing the filibuster. But there must be change. The unprecedented use and abuse of the filibuster and other procedural rules has prevented the U.S. Senate from doing its job. We are no longer the world's greatest deliberative body. In fact, we barely deliberate at all. For most of our history, the filibuster was used very sparingly. But in recent years, what was rare has become routine. The exception has become the norm. Everything is filibustered, every procedural step of the way, with paralyzing effect. The Senate was meant to cool the process, not send it into a deep freeze. For some reason, ever since the Democratic majority came into the upper Chamber in 2007, the Senates of the 110th, 111th, and current 112th Congress have witnessed the three highest totals of filibusters ever recorded. A recent report found the current Senate has ``passed a record-low 2.8 percent of bills introduced in that chamber, a 66 percent decrease from the last Republican majority in 2005-2006, and a 90 percent decrease from the high in 1955-1956.'' Our proposal to reform the rules is simple, it is limited, and it is fair.…”