Weakened Filibuster Reform Plan Unveiled In Congress By John McCain, Carl Levin

 Weakened Filibuster Reform Plan Unveiled In Congress By John McCain, Carl Levin

WASHINGTON -- "In a bid to head off the "nuclear option" for changing the Senate filibuster, a bipartisan group of senators Friday offered watered-down reforms they suggested would restore Washington to a place the fabled Mr. Smith of the 1939 movie would recognize."What we're proposing on a bipartisan basis is a way to end the major sources of gridlock around here," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), one of eight senators who crafted the proposal that would give the Senate two new ways to end filibusters.
The filibuster has been used nearly 400 times in the 112th Congress, which will go down as the least productive since the 1940s. The classic filibuster -- made famous in the film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" starring Jimmy Stewart -- involves a lawmaker taking to the floor and doggedly making his point.
In the modern Senate, the invoking of cloture to stop such debating requires 60 votes. But it's been decades since the objecting senator has had to take floor..."