The author of the Political Animal blog on Washington Monthly, Steve Benen, blogs about much needed reform in the U.S. Senate (Bringing Institutional Reform to the Senate, July 27) . Benen is a credible, logical voice who worked for former President Clinton and received his bachelor’s and master’s in political science. In his blog Benen discusses the frustrations the Senate deals with on a daily basis when it comes to passing legislation. Blame is being thrown back and forth and placed on both sides but nothing is getting accomplished because of the super majority requirement. Benen feels our current Congress has mainly been a success but there is still a lot of potential to be uncovered if the Senate operated under majority rule.
In the past few years, I can think of a few bills (health care reform, being the one that first comes to mind) that have yet to be passed because of the legislation dysfunction that is present in our Senate. Between filibusters and all of the steps a bill has to go through before it even reaches the floor, legislation that is needed and wanted by our citizens will never see the light of day.
Thankfully our current system is getting a second look and those that are higher up are beginning to realize that we can’t carry on the way that we have been and still expect to get results. Benen states that “momentum” is rising to change certain senate rules like silent filibusters. Of course like with any reform that occurs in America, no one is sure how the change will come about or how long it will take.
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