Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 21, 1994 TAG: 9411220072
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Frustrated to the point of sputtering rage by Republicans' repeated use of rules allowing unlimited debate to delay or kill Democratic initiatives in recent years, Democrats are now in a position to use the filibuster rule to block the agenda of the new GOP congressional majority.
Many Democrats have said they are reluctant to turn the filibuster tables on the Republicans, but none has gone as far as Harkin in urging repeal of the rule, under which it takes 60 votes, rather than a simple majority of 51, to invoke cloture: limit debate and force a bill to a vote.
``I'm one of the few individuals who can do it, because I'm in the minority and I've used the filibuster'' a time or two, said Harkin, who plans a news conference Tuesday to launch his crusade.
Harkin acknowledged that it may be a lonely fight, at least at the start.
Even senators who rail at filibusters by others are loath to give up a weapon of political war that they might sometime want to use themselves. Moreover, the ability to threaten a filibuster - and bring the Senate to a halt - enhances the power of every senator, regardless of party, seniority or stature.
But there has been mounting pressure from outside the Senate - from the House as well as reform-minded groups - to end or at least modify the filibuster rule. Even several prominent former senators, including Charles McC. Mathias, R-Md., have rallied to the cause of repeal.
Critics claim that filibusters, once used only for major legislative battles, are used almost routinely in petty and parochial disputes as well as partisan warfare. According to one study, there were 35 filibusters in the 102nd Congress, compared with 16 during the entire 19th century.
While he is still working on final details, Harkin said he anticipates keeping the rule requiring 60 votes on an initial cloture motion but gradually ratcheting the number down for subsequent cloture votes, providing eventually for passage by a simple majority.
``There is legitimate reason for a minority to slow things down to alert the public and the media to what the majority is trying to do,'' he said. ``But there has to be some point where the majority rules.''
Under Senate rules, it takes a two-thirds vote - or 67 senators - to break a filibuster against changing the rules.
by CNB