Tag Archives: Jeff Merkley

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blocked


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Going Nuclear on GOP Obstruction

On three recent occasions — January 2011, January 2013, and July 2013 — Senate Democrats threatened to make changes to the Senate filibuster rules in order to stop Republicans from obstructing even the most routine business of the Senate and slow-walking or simply blocking the president’s nominees. Each time, Democrats agreed to very modest changes to the rules or even simply a gentleman’s agreement with Republicans and each time Republicans broke their word and went back to their same old obstructionist ways.

In the past few weeks, things have gotten even worse than usual. Senate Republicans have embarked on an unprecedented campaign of obstruction:

  • Republicans blocked the nomination of Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the agency that oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He is the first African-American nominated to head the agency and the first sitting Member of Congress denied confirmation since the Reconstruction Era.
  • Leading Republicans have already announced their plans to block two more top Obama nominees: Janet Yellen to head the Federal Reserve (the first woman in the world ever selected to lead a central bank) and Jeh Johnson, the first African-American nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

Republicans have reveled in this disturbing pattern of partisan obstruction, daring Democrats to change the Senate rules in order to eliminate the filibuster on nominations.

Well, it appears Republicans have made their bed and now they may have to lie in it.

A parade of Democrats, including some who have previously expressed strong opposition to the idea, have come forward in recent days to support changing the Senate rules:

  • Sen. Barbara Boxer ((D-CA): “I am very open to changing the rules for nominees. … I was not before, because I felt we could work with them. But it’s gotten to an extreme situation where really qualified people can’t get an up-or-down vote.”
  • Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA): “If ever there’s evidence for [a rules change], it is now.” Feinstein said she changed her position after a compromise deal reached last year to push through nominees did not stop obstruction from leaving crucial seats vacant. She told the Huffington Post it is “unconscionable” that Senate Republicans are now allowing a vote on Obama’s cabinet and judicial nominees.
  • Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “So far they have shut down the government, they have filibustered people [President Obama] has nominated to fill out his administration and they are now filibustering judges to block him from filling any of the vacancies with highly qualified people: We need to call out these filibusters for what they are: Naked attempts to nullify the results of the last election.” She added, “If Republicans continue to filibuster these highly qualified nominees for no reason other than to nullify the president’s constitutional authority, then senators not only have the right to change the filibuster, senators have a duty to change the filibuster rules. We cannot turn our backs on the Constitution. We cannot abdicate our oath of office.”
  • Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), one of the original proponents of filibuster reform, said recently: “The Senate rules must change … This is a war on the other two branches of government and their ability to do the jobs the American people need them to do.”
  • Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is another longtime supporter of filibuster reform. He said last month: “We keep getting up to the edge of it, and then we make some, quote, gentleman’s agreement … and then you find out the gentleman’s agreement doesn’t hold. … I’ve been so frustrated by it.”
  • Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): The Senate majority leader holds the ultimate authority on whether Democrats invoke the nuclear option. He said Tuesday he is actively weighing a rules change, and won’t accept a deal to avert the nuclear option that includes anything less than confirmation of all three D.C. Circuit nominees stalled over the past few weeks. In July, Democrats scored a short-term victory with a deal to confirm seven executive branch nominees in exchange for dropping filibuster reform. But just a few months later, they ended up facing the same sort of Republican obstruction.

Sen. Reid reportedly may move to end the GOP’s partisan obstructionism as soon as this week. We’ll be sure and bring you the latest updates.

BOTTOM LINE: We simply cannot allow a minority in Congress to retroactively veto laws and the results of elections. This is unfair, makes a mockery of our constitutional system, and represents the worst kind of partisan gridlock that the American people are sick and tired of. It’s time for the GOP’s unprecedented campaign of obstruction to end.

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Fix the filibuster !


On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 11:44 AM, Tim Leahy, Team Merkley <campaign@jeffmerkley.com> wrote:

Friends,
Senator Merkley’s campaign to fix the filibuster is gaining momentum. Over 200,000 people have now signed our petition to the U.S. Senate, and our campaign is getting noticed all across America!
Senator Merkley is working hard to convince his colleagues in the Senate that the time is now for filibuster reform. And it makes a huge difference when he can point to a groundswell of grassroots support.
We can do this!
Tim Leahy
Team Merkley
—— Forwarded Message ———
From: Senator Jeff Merkley
Subject: Take Action: Fix the Filibuster
Date: Nov 15, 2012 19:14 a.m. PST

To: Friends

Join Elizabeth Warren, Tom Harkin, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tom Udall, and Jeff Merkley.
Friends,
Our country faces serious problems. And serious problems deserve serious consideration.
But far too often, we’ve seen good ideas stall in the Senate because a single Senator can stop everything and block an up-or-down vote without a single word uttered on the Senate floor.
Passionate debate is a good thing. Which is why I’ve proposed a “talking filibuster” — a requirement that if a Senator is going to block a vote by arguing that more debate is needed, then he or she must do so by taking the floor and making a case to the American people. That way, the American people can judge for themselves whether the obstruction makes those Senators heroes, or bums.
And when debate stops, it’s time for an up-or-down majority vote.
Please join me and Senators Tom Udall, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tom Harkin and Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren in this fight to reform the Senate by signing our petition.
In a few short weeks, we can make this change happen. But it won’t be easy. And it’s going to require that the American people speak with one, clear, loud voice.
Thank you.
Onward,
Jeff Merkley
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Chase forecloses on Oregon soldier … Jess Kutch, Change.org


Tell Chase: Don’t foreclose on soldier’s family

Sign the Petition

In one month, soldier Aaron Collette will return from Iraq for two weeks’ leave. By the time he does, he won’t have a home — and neither will his family.

Tim Collette, Aaron’s dad, did everything right. He put $100,000 down on his home in Bend, Oregon, when he purchased it in 2006.

In 2008, after the economic crisis devastated his small flooring and countertop business, Tim realized he needed a loan modification and went to Chase Bank for help.

Chase told him he had to miss two payments to qualify for a loan modification. But once Tim did that, they began foreclosure proceedings instead of helping him.

Local non-profit Economic Fairness Oregon has been helping Tim stand up to Chase, but they need a surge in public support right now to save his home. Please sign their petition to help Tim and his family keep their home.

Banks across the state — and country — are taking advantage of homeowners in Tim’s situation all the time. Economic Fairness Oregon is pushing state legislators to pass a bill that will address the housing crisis and help people like Tim stay in their homes.

In the meantime, Tim needs public support to pressure Chase to stop the foreclosure.

When news of this story broke earlier in June after Senator Merkley spoke about it on the Senate floor, Chase agreed to delay the foreclosure and told the press they’d work to find a solution for Tim and his family.

But as soon as media attention faded, Chase called Tim and rescheduled the foreclosure for August 9 — just 10 days before Aaron returns from Iraq.

Every day that this issue is not resolved Aaron has to worry about his family and where they’ll live even as he’s risking his life in Iraq.

Sign here to tell Chase that we’re still watching and urge them to honor their promise to find a solution for the Collette family:

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-chase-bank-dont-foreclose-on-soldiers-family

Thanks for taking action,

– Jess and the Change.org team

P.S. To start your own campaign against an unjust foreclosure, just click here and follow the steps to create a Change.org petition.

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Congress- the Republican led House defunds – the Senate


the Senate Convenes at 10:00amET June 16, 2011

      • Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.782, the Economic Development Act. The Feinstein amendment #476 and McCain amendment #411 will be debated concurrently with up to 4 hours of debate with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.
      • Upon the use or yielding back of time (at approximately 2pm if all time is used), the Senate will proceed to 2 roll call votes in relation to the amendments in the following order:
          • Feinstein #476, as modified (to repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit)
          • McCain #411 (prohibit Federal funds to construct ethanol blender pumps/storage facilities)
        • Each amendment will require 60 votes in the affirmative. Upon disposition of the McCain amendment, the Majority Leader will be recognized.
      • There will be no further roll call votes this week.
      • During Thursday’s session of the Senate, Senator Reid filed cloture on S.782, the Economic Development Act.
      • Senator Reid then made a motion to proceed to Calendar #75, S.679, the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act.
      • The Senate is now in morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.
      • Today’s roll call votes:
        • Feinstein amendment #476, as modified (to repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit); Agreed to: 73-27
        • McCain amendment #411 (prohibits Federal funds to construct ethanol blender pumps/storage facilities); Not Agreed to: 41-59
      • The following amendments are pending to S.782, the Economic Development Act:
        • DeMint amendment #394 (to repeal Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act)
        • Paul amendment #414 (to increase debt limit by $2.406 trillion)
        • Cardin amendment #407 (prohibition on interest charges for on-time principal payments)
        • Merkley amendment #428 (mortgage servicing)
        • Kohl amendment #389 (NOPEC)
        • Hutchison amendment #423 (delay implementation of health care reform until pending lawsuits are resolved)
        • Portman amendment ##417 (inclusion of application to independent regulatory agencies)
        • Portman amendment #418 (Unfunded Mandates Reform Act)
        • McCain amendment #412(repeal of Davis-Bacon wage requirements)
        • Merkley amendment #440 (Energy Efficient Loan Program)
        • Brown (MA) amendment #405 (repeal imposition of withholding on certain payments made to vendors by government entities)
        • Inhofe amendment #430 (reduce the amounts appropriated for EDA)
        • Inhofe amendment #438 (regulatory assessment)
        • Merkley amendment #427 (technical correction to the HUBZone designation process)
        • McCain 2nd degree amendment #441 (to prohibit federal funds to construct ethanol blender pumps or ethanol storage facilities) to Coburn amendment #436, as modified (to repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit)
    • Unanimous Consent
    • Adopted S.Res.209, Congratulating the Dallas Mavericks on winning the 2011 National Basketball Association Championship.Adopted S.Res.210, congratulating the Boston Bruins for winning the 2011 Stanley Cup Championship.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS
LEGISLATIVE DAY OF JUNE 16, 2011
112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

 

3:37 P.M. – On motion to adjourn Agreed to by voice vote.The House adjourned pursuant to a previous special order. The next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on June 20, 2011.

Mr. Gohmert moved that the House do now adjourn.

2:31 P.M. – SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House has concluded all anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to Special Order speeches.

2:26 P.M. – ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches.

2:06 P.M. – Mr. Lungren, Daniel E. asked unanimous consent that when the House adjourns on Thursday, June 16, 2011, it adjourn to meet at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 20, 2011. Agreed to without objection.

H.R. 1934:
to improve certain administrative operations of the Library of Congress, and for other purposes 

2:05 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.On passage Passed without objection.

H. Res. 299:
permitting official photographs of the House of Representatives to be taken while the House is in actual session on a date designated by the Speaker 

2:04 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

H.R. 1934:
to improve certain administrative operations of the Library of Congress, and for other purposes 

Mr. Lungren, Daniel E. asked unanimous consent to consider as introduced.

Considered by unanimous consent.

H. Res. 299:
permitting official photographs of the House of Representatives to be taken while the House is in actual session on a date designated by the Speaker 

On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.

Considered by unanimous consent.

S.J. Res. 9:
providing for the reappointment of Robert P. Kogod as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On passage Passed without objection.

H. Res. 299:
permitting official photographs of the House of Representatives to be taken while the House is in actual session on a date designated by the Speaker 

Mr. Lungren, Daniel E. asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.

S.J. Res. 9:
providing for the reappointment of Robert P. Kogod as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 

2:03 P.M. – Considered by unanimous consent.Mr. Lungren, Daniel E. asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.

S.J. Res. 7:
providing for the reappointment of Shirley Ann Jacksonas a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On passage Passed without objection.

2:02 P.M. – Considered by unanimous consent.Mr. Lungren, Daniel E. asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.

2:00 P.M. – On approving the Journal Agreed to by voice vote.UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was on the question of the Speaker’s approval of the Journal.

H.R. 2112:
making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and for other purposes 

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 217 – 203 (Roll no. 459).

1:51 P.M. – On motion to recommit with instructions Failed by recorded vote: 185 – 233 (Roll no. 458).

1:33 P.M. – The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection.

1:24 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with ten minutes of debate on the motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to report the same back to the House with an amendment to increase funds in CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) by $11.8 million for enforcement against oil and gas speculators, including establishing limits to diminish, eliminate, or prevent excessive speculation that unnecessarily drives up gas prices, and offsets it with a $4 million reduction in departmental administration, and a 7.8 million reduction in salaries and expenses.

1:23 P.M. – Ms. Hochul moved to recommit with instructions to Appropriations.

Ms. Hocul moves to recommit the bill H.R. 2112 to the Committee on Appropriations with instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith with the following amendment: � Page 55, after line 23, insert the following: � In addition, for carrying out section 4a of the Commodity Exchange Act ***

1:22 P.M. – The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.

1:21 P.M. – The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 2112.On motion to rise and report Agreed to by voice vote.

Mr. Kingston moved for the Committee of the Whole to rise and report.

1:20 P.M. – On agreeing to the Flake amendment Failed by recorded vote: 101 – 314 (Roll no. 457).

1:17 P.M. – On agreeing to the Lipinski amendment Failed by recorded vote: 162 – 254 (Roll no. 456).

1:14 P.M. – On agreeing to the Flake amendment Failed by recorded vote: 186 – 228 (Roll no. 455).

1:11 P.M. – On agreeing to the Flake amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 283 – 128 (Roll no. 454).

1:08 P.M. – On agreeing to the Blackburn amendment Failed by recorded vote: 109 – 310 (Roll no. 453).

1:05 P.M. – On agreeing to the Campbell amendment Failed by recorded vote: 132 – 287 (Roll no. 452).

12:59 P.M. – On agreeing to the Holden amendment Failed by recorded vote: 84 – 335 (Roll no. 451).

12:55 P.M. – On agreeing to the Hirono amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 288 – 132 (Roll no. 450).

12:51 P.M. – On agreeing to the Jackson Lee (TX) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 182 – 235 (Roll no. 449).

12:47 P.M. – On agreeing to the Scalise amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 238 – 179 (Roll no. 448).

12:44 P.M. – On agreeing to the Jackson Lee (TX) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 181 – 237 (Roll no. 447).

12:41 P.M. – On agreeing to the Garrett amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 231 – 189 (Roll no. 446).

12:37 P.M. – On agreeing to the King (IA) amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 240 – 176 (Roll no. 445).

12:34 P.M. – On agreeing to the King (IA) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 155 – 262 (Roll no. 444).

12:29 P.M. – On agreeing to the Blumenauer amendment Failed by recorded vote: 154 – 262 (Roll no. 443).

12:26 P.M. – On agreeing to the Gibson amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 221 – 198 (Roll no. 442).

12:21 P.M. – On agreeing to the Jackson Lee (TX) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 167 – 252 (Roll no. 441).

12:17 P.M. – On agreeing to the Dingell amendment Failed by recorded vote: 178 – 241 (Roll no. 440).

12:13 P.M. – On agreeing to the Kind amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 223 – 197 (Roll no. 439).

12:02 P.M. – On agreeing to the Foxx amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 212 – 201 (Roll no. 438).

11:57 A.M. – On agreeing to the Pingree (ME) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 170 – 238 (Roll no. 437).

11:32 A.M. – UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question of adoption of amendments which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

11:24 A.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Flake amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Flake demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.

11:15 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provsions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Flake amendment under the five-minute rule.Amendment offered by Mr. Flake.

An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out a market access program.

11:14 A.M. – POSPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Lipinski amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Lipinski demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.

11:07 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provsions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Lipinski amendment under the five-minute rule, pending reservation of a point of order. Subsequently, the reservation was removed.Amendment offered by Mr. Lipinski.

An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to be used to alter contract no. GS-35F-4076D with respect to the location of data storage.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Flake amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Flake demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.

10:49 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provsions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Flake amendment under the five-minute rule.Amendment offered by Mr. Flake.

An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to provide any benefit described in section 1001D(b)(1)(C) of the Food Security Act of 1985 to a person or legal entity if the average adjusted gross income of the person or legal entity exceeds $250,000.

On agreeing to the Flores amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

10:43 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provsions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Flores amendment under the five-minute rule.Amendment offered by Mr. Flores.

An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to enforce section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

10:42 A.M. – On agreeing to the Gardner amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

10:40 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provsions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Gardner amendment under the five-minute rule.Amendment offered by Mr. Gardner.

An amendment to increase funds for “Integrated Activities” and to reduce funds for “National Institute of Food and Agriculture-research and education activities” by $4,400,000, respectively.

10:39 A.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Flake amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Flake demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.

10:24 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Flake amendment under the five-minute rule.Amendment offered by Mr. Flake.

An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to be used for the construction of an ethanol blender pump or an ethanol storage facility.

10:23 A.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Blackburn amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mrs. Blackburn demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.

10:14 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Blackburn amendment under the five-minute rule.Amendment offered by Mrs. Blackburn.

An amendment to reduce each amount made available by this bill by 5 percent.

10:13 A.M. – Mrs. Lummis raised a point of order against the Lujan amendment The amendment violates Clause 2 of rule XXI and imposes new duties on the Secretary of Agriculture. The Chair sustained the point of order.

10:09 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Lujan amendment under the five-minute rule, pending reservation of a point of order.Amendment offered by Mr. Lujan.

An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to provide any marketing funds to any entity that advertises, describes, labels, or offers for sale chile peppers as New Mexico chile unless such chile peppers were grown in New Mexico.

10:08 A.M. – On agreeing to the Flake amendment Failed by voice vote.

9:42 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Flake amendment under the five-minute rule.Amendment offered by Mr. Flake.

An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to provide to upland cotton producers counter-cyclical payments for upland cotton, repayment rates for marketing assistance loans at the prevailing world market price for upland cotton, or loan deficiency payments for upland cotton.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Campbell (CA) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Campbell (CA) demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.

9:27 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Campbell (CA) amendment under the five-minute rule.Amendment offered by Mr. Campbell.

An amendment to reduce the amount of funds provided by this bill for “Agricultural Programs, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Salaries and Expenses” by $11,000,000.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Holden amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Holden demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.

9:18 A.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Holden amendment no. 38 under the five-minute rule.Amendment offered by Mr. Holden.

An amendment numbered 38 printed in the Congressional Record to reduce each amount made available by the bill by 5.88% and the amounts may not be used to carry out the limitations contained in paragraphs (1) through (8) of section 728.

9:17 A.M. – The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.

9:16 A.M. – Considered as unfinished business.

9:02 A.M. – ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches, which by direction of the Chair would be limited to five per side of the aisle.PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mr. Walz of MN to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

JOURNAL – The Chair announced that he had examined the Journal of the last day’s proceedings and had approved it. Mr. Poe (TX) demanded that the question be put on agreeing to the Speaker’s approval of the Journal and by voice vote, the Chair announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Poe (TX) objected to the voice vote based upon the absence of a quorum and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of agreeing to the Speaker’s approval of the Journal until later in the legislative day.

9:01 A.M. – Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick J. Conroy.

9:00 A.M. – The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

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We didn’t win on filibuster reform, but three senators fought hard


 Tell Sens. Merkley, Udall and Harkin: Thank you for showing what real leadership looks like on filibuster reform.

http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=6896&id=15715-2591629-a2G1Mzx&t=1

These three champions of filibuster reform deserve recognition for their leadership.

 Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to Sens. Tom Udall, Tom Harkin and Jeff Merkley:

“Thank you for showing what real leadership looks like on filibuster reform. We support you in the continuing fight to fix the Senate.”

  The end game for Senate rules reform has become clear, and it’s not pretty.

Despite the best efforts of Senators Merkley, Tom Udall and Harkin, in the near future we’re likely to see only a weak, bipartisan gesture towards Senate reform. At most there will be a few minor tweaks to how the Senate is run without any attempt to address its underlying dysfunction.

While disappointed, we cannot and will not stop fighting for reform as long as the Senate remains a place where good legislation goes to die. The stakes are simply too high.

And as we recommit to this fight, we should recognize the tremendous effort by Democratic champions for filibuster reform, particularly Sens. Tom Udall, Jeff Merkley and Tom Harkin to put this issue on the table.

Tell Sens. Merkley, Udall and Harkin: Thank you for showing what real leadership looks like on filibuster reform. Click here to automatically add your name to the petition.

http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=6897&id=15715-2591629-a2G1Mzx&t=9

By all accounts, the overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats supported the move known as the “Constitutional Option” to fix the filibuster and other Senate rules by majority vote. This would allow Democrats to change the rules with 51 votes.

However, the Constitutional Option was only available on the first “legislative day” of a new session of Congress (a technical term that does not correspond to a calendar day).

When the Senate adjourned on Tuesday night, the first legislative day ended, and the Democrats lost their only opportunity in this session of Congress to pass Senate rules reform with a simple majority vote. Any rules changes in this Congress now face a 2/3rds supermajority requirement to pass, and nothing significant will have the votes to overcome that threshold.

The inability of the Democrats to capitalize on this opportunity is a substantive failure for all of us who wanted to see Senate reform enacted any time soon. But even more than that, it demonstrates a monumental failure of leadership by the top Democrats in the Senate.

Democratic leaders like Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer have time and again blamed Republican filibusters for their inability to move the Democratic legislative agenda through the Senate.

This was a sentiment shared by their colleagues. Just a month ago, Democrats in the Senate were so fed up with the endless abuse of the filibuster by Republicans that every single returning senator in the Democratic caucus signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid about the need for rules reform.

However, a handful of reluctant Democrats (we’ve been told as few as six or seven) were unwilling to support the Constitutional Option. And Democratic leadership decided it would rather negotiate with Republicans than bring the caucus into line.

Nominally, these holdout Democrats were worried about setting a precedent for the Republicans — under the false notion that not taking action when they had the chance would make Republicans hesitant to change the rules to their own advantage when they eventually regain the majority.

In essence, these weak-kneed Democrats were willing to forfeit any chance at governance in the next two years, including giving up a reasonable chance to address the crisis in the judiciary and end the Republicans hostage-taking approach to judicial appointments. And all in the hopes that when the Republicans take power they will play nice.

The Democratic leadership faced a choice — they could whip the votes for the Constitutional Option and undercut the ability of the Republican minority to abuse the rules, or they could accept the decision by a fraction of their members to give the Republicans what is in effect a veto over the Democratic agenda. I think you know what they chose.

When push came to shove, rather than address the issue of filibuster reform head on, the Democratic leadership forfeited their ability to stop the abuses.

We now face a long-term effort to fix the Senate. Without buy-in from the leadership of the Democratic caucus, we’ll continue to need rank and file Democrats like Sens. Udall, Merkley and Harkin to join us in this fight.

And as they continue fighting, they need to know we support them.

Tell Sens. Merkley, Udall and Harkin: Thank you for showing what real leadership looks like on filibuster reform. Click here to automatically add your name to the petition.

http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=6897&id=15715-2591629-a2G1Mzx&t=10

Thank you for standing up for real filibuster reform.

Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager

CREDO Action from Working