Senate Rules

GOP Senator: 'I Would Look At' Filibuster Reform

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.15.2012

WASHINGTON -- One of the Senate's departing moderate Republicans expressed openness on Tuesday to the idea of filibuster reform, lamenting the ideolog...

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Reid Blasts Republicans For Blocking Jobs Bill

The Huffington Post | Luke Johnson | Posted 12.11.2011

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) criticized Republicans for holding up President Barack Obama's jobs legislation and defended his precedent-...

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The Filibuster: So Much for the "Gentlemen's Agreement"

Bob Edgar | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Filibuster, Harry Reid, U.S. Senate, Senate Rules, Mitch McConnell, Politics News

The deal that Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell promised would break the gridlock of 2010 is as good as dead, just five weeks after it was announced.

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Friday Talking Points [153] -- SOTU-palooza

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Mark Udall, White House, Tea Party, Competitiveness, President Obama, Speech, Mccaskill, Udall, Narrative, Storytelling, Democratic, Obama, Charles Schumer, Republican, Dennis Kucinich, Midotw, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Ryan, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Merkley, Race Card, Bachmann, Story, Steve Cohen, Tea Party Republicans, House, Senate Rules, Rules, George Lakoff, Post-Partisan, Democrat, Congress, Democrats, Cohen, Barack Obama, Moran, Schumer, Lakoff, Michele Bachmann, Response, Mddotw, Rahm Emanuel, Chris Weigant, Sotu, State of the Union, Jeff Merkley, Paul Ryan, Messaging, Friday Talking Points, Claire McCaskill, Chuck Schumer, Senate, Jim Moran, Communication, Politics News

The past week in politics was, quite obviously, dominated by President Obama's "State Of The Union" speech to Congress. For those of you who may have...

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Senator Talks Failure Of Rules Reform Package, Predicts Future Success

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Politics News, Senate Rules Committee, Senate Filibuster Reform, Tom Udall, Udall, Filibuster Reform, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform Senate, Tom Udall Filibuster Reform, Tom Udall Filibuster, Senate Rules, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), one of the chief proponents of the kind of rules reform that died in the upper chamber this week, said Friday t...

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'Cleaning the Gunk' out of Washington With Transparency and Accountability

Sen. Jon Tester | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Transparency, Financial Disclosure, Secret Holds, Filibuster, Obstructionism, Jon Tester, Senate Rules, Congressional Pay, Accountability, Politics News

Accountability goes hand-in-hand with transparency--and Washington needs more of both. That's why I introduced two bills this week to boost accountability and shine more sunlight on government.

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Senate Dem, GOP Leaders Broker Rules Reform Deal

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Politics News, Senate, Tom Udall, Senate Rules Committee, Tom Udall Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, 112th Congress, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform Senate, Senate Filibuster Reform, Senate Rules, Tom Udall Filibuster Reform, Udall, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have reached an agreement on a set of relatively ...

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Escaping the Black Hole in the Heart of DC

Carl Pope | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Senate Rules, Politics News

Washington, DC — The black hole, of course, is the Senate Rules. Efforts to make major reforms in the Senate this week -- reforms that would all...

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Senate Democrats Forfeit 50-Vote Option For Rules Changes

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Politics News, Tom Udall, Senate Rules Committee, Tom Udall Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform Senate, Senate Filibuster Reform, Senate Rules, Tom Udall Filibuster Reform, Udall, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- The window to change the Senate rules during this session through a simple majority vote ended without action last night as lawmakers in...

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Schumer Outlines Rules Reform Deal, Dems Divided

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Schumer, Tom Udall, Senate Rules Committee, Tom Udall Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform Senate, Senate Filibuster Reform, Senate Rules, Schumer Msnbc, Tom Udall Filibuster Reform, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) predicted on Tuesday morning that Democrats and Republicans would come to an agreement on revamping some bas...

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Aiming For 67 Votes, Dems Water Down Rules Reform Package

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Tom Udall, Senate Rules Committee, Tom Udall Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Filibuster Reform Senate, Filibuster, Senate Filibuster Reform, Senate Rules, Udall, Tom Udall Filibuster Reform, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Hoping to craft a set of rules changes that will have the support needed to get through the chamber, Senate Democrats have begun scaling...

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One Senate Rule That Has to Pass

Sen. Claire McCaskill | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Anonymous Holds, Senate, Senate Rules, Claire McCaskill, Accountability, Secret Holds, Politics News

Those in Congress who want to stay in the shadows and avoid accountability have managed to derail our efforts to stop secret holds many times before -- but this time I think we can finally get this important change passed.

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Senate Dems Introduce Rules Reform Package: Keep Filibuster But Make It Old School

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Tom Udall, Senate Rules Committee, Tom Udall Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform Senate, Senate Filibuster Reform, Senate Rules, Tom Udall Filibuster Reform, Udall, Video, Politics News

With Reporting By Ryan Grim WASHINGTON -- The handful of Senate Democrats proposing to overhaul the upper chamber's rules and procedures released the...

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Shaking up the Senate

Jonathan Richards | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Udall Senate Rules, Filibuster, Senate, Tom Udall, Senate Rules, Politics News

Senator Tom Udall (D, NM) gets ready to take on the filibuster and shake up the Senate. ...

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Returning The Senate To Majority-Rule

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: U.S. Senate, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Senator Jeff Merkley, Filibuster, Senate Rules, Udall Senat Rules, Democrats Filibuster Reform, Tom Udall, Bernie Sanders, Politics News

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A group of reform-minded senators believe they have a strong chance of changing the way the Senate does business in the next year, wi...

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Bipartisan Support Building Around Three Changes To Senate Rules In New Congress

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: U.S. Senate, Jeff Merkley, Udall Senate Rules, Filibuster, Senator Jeff Merkley, Senate Rules, Senate Democrats, Tom Udall New Mexico, Tom Udall, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats met for their second caucus meeting about reforming chamber rules Friday, beginning to converge on three changes that s...

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Senate Rules Must Be Reformed in January

Robert Creamer | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Senator Harry Reid, Filibuster, President Obama, Senate Rules, Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Mitch McConnell, Tax Deal, Politics News

Next year the Republicans will have ironclad control of the House. It would be outrageous if Democrats allowed a minority of Republican Senators to use the current rules to limit what the Democratic majority can do in the Senate.

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It's Time to Fix the Filibuster

Jeff Merkley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Tax Cuts, Filibuster, Obstruction, Senate Rules, Senator Jeff Merkley, Politics News

We all know that America is facing a number of big long-term challenges. If the Senate can't pass bills, it's not the Senators who will pay a real price -- it's the American people.

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Proposed Tax Deal Shows Sharp Contrast in Republican and Democratic Priorities

Robert Creamer | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: President Obama, Tax Bill, Progressives, Filibuster, Economic Stimulus, Senate Rules, Tax Breaks for Rich, Job Creation, Estate Tax, Tax Cuts for Rich, Tax Cuts, Mitch McConnell, Middle Class Tax Cuts, Politics News

Let's be clear. The Republican Party has only one core value: massive economic benefits for the wealthiest Americans. And they'll sacrifice the welfare of everyone else who is gullible enough to vote for them in order to get it.

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Tom Daschle On Senate Dysfunction: I Didn't 'Have A Clue' What I Was Voting For A Lot Of The Time

The New Yorker | George Packer | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Senate Republicans, Senate, Republican Obstructionism, Obstructionism, Gop Obstructionism, Senate Rules, Democrats, Republicans Senate Rules, Republicans, Politics News

[Former Senate Majority Leader Tom] Daschle sketched a portrait of the contemporary senator who is too busy to think: 'Sometimes, you're dialling for ...

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Ezra Klein: How To End The Filibuster With 51 Votes

The Washington Post | Ezra Klein | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Filibuster Nuclear Option, Nuclear Option, Removing Filibuster, Senate, Filibuster Reform, Filibuster, Senate Rules, Tom Udall, Politics News

If you can't manage the 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, you can't manage the 67 votes to change the rules and end the filibuster. At least in theor...

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Momentum For Senate Filibuster Reform Builds

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Elaine Marshall, Senate, Tom Udall, Paul Hodes, Al Franken, Roxanne Conlin, Filibuster, Jeff Merkley, Senate Filibuster, Senate Rules, Ben Cardin, Politics News

Momentum is building to reform Senate rules that allow silent filibusters and force a 60-vote requirement for virtually any action, interviews with De...

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Senators Engage In Bipartisan Civil Disobedience, Refuse To Halt Hearing

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Congress, Veterans Administration, Va, Jim Webb, Democrats, Veterans, Veteran Health, Senate, Lindsey Graham, Gop, Obstructionism, Senate Rules, Bipartisanship, Claire McCaskill, Partisan, Republicans, Politics News

Jim Webb and Lindsey Graham had an unorthodox answer to a Republican parliamentary maneuver that blocked committees from meeting on Wednesday: Biparti...

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The Filibuster and Its Consequences

Sen. Robert Byrd | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Filibuster, Robert Byrd, Senate Rules, GOP Filibuster, Politics News

A true filibuster is a fight, not a threat or a bluff. For most of the Senate's history, Senators motivated to extend debate had to hold the floor as long as they were physically able.

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Alan Frumin, Senate Parliamentarian, Is A Health Care Rock Star

AP | LAURIE KELLMAN | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Alan Frumin, Senate Parliamentarian, Health Care, Health Care Reform, Frumin Senate, Senate Procedure, Senate Rules, Politics News

WASHINGTON — In some ways, Senate parliamentarian Alan Frumin has accomplished every senator's dream without the chores of fundraising and vote-...

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