In an effort to improve the efficiency in the Senate, U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Monday to change the Senate filibuster process. Using a filibuster, Democrats in Congress are currently blocking funding for the Department of Homeland Security, threatening to allow the department to suffer a shutdown if Republicans do not stop challenging the executive-ordered amnesty agenda put forth by President Obama.
Last year, then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) changed the rules of order to allow approval of certain appointments by the executive branch on a simple majority of 51 votes, instead of the traditional 60 votes.
Reed is now asking McConnell to make a similar policy change to make 51 votes enough to end a filibuster and move the Senate to debate.
“I am calling on Leader McConnell to follow Harry Reid’s lead and change the rules of the Senate to improve efficiency and ensure that legislation, that the American people support, gets to the Senate floor,” Reed said. “The House has done the people’s work, and it is time the Senate does as well.”
“That is why I am proposing a simple majority to debate a bill in the Senate,” Reed said. “The American people are sick of gridlock and government that cannot get anything done. This is a common-sense reform that is fair to Americans who expect their government to work for them, while also still preserving what makes the Senate a separate and distinct branch of Congress. The time is now to reform the Senate, and I join with my colleagues, both liberal and conservative, that believe that something must be done.”