I am writing to encourage Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell to remove the Senate filibuster, a rule that requires a minimum 60 votes to pass the Senate. Unfortunately, the filibuster isn’t constructive, it is not being used to promote debate but to stop new ideas and much-needed reform. This can be illustrated by looking at congressional productivity. According to Brookings, the 84th (1955-56) Congress passed 2,360 bills; in contrast the 113th (2013-2014) passed just 223 bills. No offense, we did not elect you to go to the Senate to write and support bills that don’t go anywhere.
As a country we are facing a lot of tough issues like climate change, voting rights, and racial justice. Georgia has already passed new voting restrictions and the Brennan Center for Justice reports Texas has introduced 49 bills and Arizona 23 new bills on voting restrictions. We can’t afford the filibuster. Please vote to end the filibuster and support HR/S1.
