Today, Fix Our Senate released the following statement on the news that Senate Democrats are introducing new compromise legislation to protect voting rights, ban partisan gerrymandering, and take additional steps to protect our democracy.
As the U.S. Senate comes back in session today, Andy Kroll of Rolling Stone reports that President Biden and the White House are preparing a “lobbying blitz” to convince Senate Democrats to finally reform the filibuster to deliver essential voting and democracy legislation.
Leading voices and advocates, including Fix Our Senate, are highlighting how the filibuster stands in the way of important priorities, such as codifying reproductive rights, enacting pro-worker legislation, and delivering on federal voting and democracy legislation.
Today, Fix Our Senate spokesman Eli Zupnick released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court ruling that allows Texas’ ban on abortion to be implemented.
New letter to Senate Democrats: “[N]o amount of citizen engagement and organizing can overcome this harsh reality: if the filibuster is left intact, Republicans will continue to weaponize it to block legislative progress.”
From powerful speakers at Saturday’s March On for Voting Rights to leading observers on the nation’s opinion pages, leading voices are escalating their calls for Senate Democrats to reform the filibuster to pass federal voting rights and democracy legislation.
A poll commissioned by Fix Our Senate and conducted by Global Strategy Group found that 43% of registered voters in West Virginia see the filibuster as a way to create more gridlock.
Unless Democrats take steps to reform or eliminate the filibuster, McConnell can use this obstructionist weapon to block the For the People Act
President Biden’s legislative ambitions face a crucial test in the narrowly divided Congress this month, with key Democratic senators signaling they want to pump the brakes.
Once obscure, the Senate filibuster is coming under fresh scrutiny not only because of the enormous power it gives a single senator to halt President Joe Biden’s agenda, but as a tool historically used for racism.
Gun control groups are joining the progressive fight to end the filibuster as the Senate voting rule threatens their goal of passing comprehensive gun reform.
"Historian of the 20th century South here. I dispute Mitch's statement. The filibuster has a ton of 'racial history.'"
This brief will explore the racist history of the filibuster, how it came to be used as it is today, and outline this history specifically through the lens of gun violence prevention, cataloging legislation that has been impeded by the use of the filibuster, obstructing progress toward safer communities and fewer needless tragedies.
The filibuster is a procedural tool of the Senate that delays or prevents a piece of legislation from being brought to a vote. It is a vestige of a deal made to appeal to segregationists and has historically been used to block passage of civil rights legislation.
