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Fix the Senate Now

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Fix the Senate Now (FTSN) is a campaign that promotes changes to the procedures of the United States Senate that would make it easier for lawmakers to pass left-of-center policies. In particular, the campaign blames the “filibuster,” the Senate’s long-standing practice of requiring super-majority votes to end debate on legislation, for preventing the passage of pro-labor union legislation, left-of-center environmental policies, and amnesty for illegal immigrants. 1

FTSN is a project of the Democracy Initiative, a coalition of more than 70 major left-of-center organizations including the Brennan Center for Justice, the AFL-CIO, the NAACP, and the Sierra Club. The National LGBTQ Task Force also backs the FTSN campaign. 2

Background

Communications Workers of America (CWA), a labor union representing employees in the telecommunications, journalism, and other industries, says that it launched Fix the Senate Now in coalition with other left-of-center organizations in 2010. 3 The campaign’s original website now redirects to that of the Democracy Initiative, which was created in 2013. 45 The Washington Free Beacon reported that the Democracy Initiative was partly made up of organizations that parted ways with the Democracy Alliance, another major left-of-center collective. 6

The Sierra Club, one of the largest environmentalist organizations in the country, issued a statement endorsing FTSN in December 2012. Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said that the left-of-center election policy group Common Cause had also endorsed the campaign. 9

FTSN was active in 2013 and 2014, when the Democratic Party controlled the Senate, but appeared to have largely ceased activity between 2016 and 2020, when Republicans held control. 1011 The last update from the campaign’s web page was in 2015, and its last activity on social media was in 2016. 1213 However, FTSN made a statement in January 2021 attacking Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and accusing him of trying to “kneecap” the agenda of President Joe Biden “before it even has a chance to get started.” 14

Initiatives

In January 2013, Fix the Senate Now issued a statement criticizing the Democratic-backed package of Senate rules changes that eliminated the filibuster for almost all presidentially nominated positions. The campaign claimed that the “incremental” changes “do not go nearly far enough” to facilitate passage of left-of-center legislation. 15

In May 2013, FTSN launched a “week of action” to advance its Senate reform objectives, including petitions and visits to Senators’ offices. The campaign blamed Republicans, which it called a “determined minority” with a “radical philosophy,” for blocking the policies and procedural changes that its coalition partners support. 16

In July 2013, FTSN issued a statement calling on then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to take the so-called “nuclear option” on Senate procedural reform: eliminating the legislative filibuster and the 60-vote threshold required to overrule it. 17

In April 2014, FTSN came out in opposition to the informal practice of allowing home state Senators to approve or block judicial picks proceeding to the nomination process. Critics of the rule claim that this requirement, known as the “blue slip” rule after the papers the Senators sign, gives individual Senators too much influence over judicial nominations. 18

References

  1.      “Fix the Senate Now.” National LGBTQ Task Force. Accessed April 15, 2021.

    Fix the Senate Now

  2.    “Fix the Senate Now.” National LGBTQ Task Force. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.thetaskforce.org/fix-the-senate-now/
  3.              “Fix the Senate Now Mobilizes Millions and We Save the NLRB.” Communications Workers of America. Accessed April 15, 2021.
  4.       “About Democracy Initiative.” Democracy Initiative. Accessed April 15, 2021. http://www.democracyinitiative.org/about-democracy-initiative
  5.      Christopher Hayes. “The Nation: U.S. Senate Should Reform Its Rules.” NPR. January 4, 2011. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2011/01/04/132648836/the-nation-u-s-senate-should-reform-its-rules
  6.            Matthew Continetti. “Column: What will it take for the mainstream media to cover the progressive movement?” Washington Free Beacon. January 11, 2013. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://freebeacon.com/columns/a-conspiracy-so-immense/
  9.    Michael Brune. “Fix the Senate Now.” Sierra Club. December 17, 2012. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.sierraclub.org/michael-brune/2012/12/fix-senate-now7

    The Democracy Initiative promotes FTSN as part of its broader campaign to change the United States government along left-of-center principles, and claims that the Senate does not pass enough legislation. The Democracy Initiative also attacked Republicans in the Senate in 2016 for choosing not to hold a hearing on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. 8        “Making Government Work For Us.” Democracy Initiative. Accessed April 15, 2021. http://www.democracyinitiative.org/issues/making-government-work-us

  10.            Burgess Everett. “Nuclear option urged on filibuster.” Politico. July 7, 2013. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/nuclear-option-urged-to-negate-filibuster-rule-093792
  11.      Nicole Gaudiano. “Leahy defends home-state senators’ input on judges.” USA Today. April 6, 2014. Accessed April 15, 2021.https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/04/06/leahy-judges-confirmation-obama-republicans/7320405/
  12.    “Fix the Senate Now.” Democracy Initiative. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.democracyinitiative.org/news-types/fix-senate-now
  13.      Fix the Senate Now. Facebook. Accessed April 15, 2021.https://www.facebook.com/fixthesenatenow/
  14.        Sahil Kapur. “As filibuster clash paralyzes Senate, Democratic frustration grows.” NBC News. January 25, 2021. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-paralyzed-filibuster-clash-democrats-face-dilemma-how-proceed-n1255563
  15.      Alexander Bolton. “Liberals irate as Senate passes watered-down filibuster reform.” The Hill. January 25, 2013. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/279237-liberals-irate-as-senate-passes-watered-down-filibuster-reform
  16.        “Fix the Senate Now Coalition Engages in ?Week of Action? to Support Senate Reform.” Democracy Initiative. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.democracyinitiative.org/news/entry/fix-the-senate-now-coalition-engages-in-week-of-action-to-support-senate-re
  17.            Burgess Everett. “Nuclear option urged on filibuster.” Politico. July 7, 2013. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/nuclear-option-urged-to-negate-filibuster-rule-093792
  18. Nicole Gaudiano. “Leahy defends home-state senators’ input on judges.” USA Today. April 6, 2014. Accessed April 15, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/04/06/leahy-judges-confirmation-obama-republicans/7320405/
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