To: The United States Senate
Demand Your Senator Support the Harkin Diminishing Obstacle Filibuster Proposal
Currently, the filibuster has been misused by the GOP minority to block many vital pieces of legislation from reaching the U.S. Senate floor because 60 votes are needed bring them up. Short of eliminating the filibuster, the best reform idea is Sen. Tom Harkin’s Diminishing Obstacle Filibuster Proposal, under which the filibuster threshold would gradually diminish from 60 to 51 over 8 or 9 days, so after 3 days, the requirement would be 57 votes; if that’s not met, then 54 votes after 3 more days, etc. Time is of the essence, since this rule change can be effected by a simple majority, but only on Jan. 3rd, the 1st day of the new session!
Why is this important?
This petition is to demand that U.S. Senators support Sen. Tom Harkin's proposal on filibuster reform, under which legislation can be slowed down, but not kept from the U.S. Senate floor, by the supermajority requirement. The GOP has misused the filibuster rule to block not only tax reform and jobs bills, but judicial nominations as well.