Download a PDF version of this letter here.
Dear Senators:
The undersigned organizations, representing millions of Americans, urge you to reject efforts to abolish the legislative filibuster. Such a move would effectively stamp out minority rights in the United States Senate and have irreparable, negative effects on our country.
The legislative filibuster is an essential part of ensuring a strong system of checks and balances. While we typically do not weigh in on Congressional procedure, we believe elimination of the legislative filibuster could result in a slew of destructive policy changes.
For decades, members of both parties have sought to protect the rights of the minority party in the Senate to shape policy, including the right of extended debate. This has been the most distinctive feature of the U.S. Senate as an institution for more than 200 years and defines the way that the Senate participates in the legislative process. The legislative filibuster has been used by both parties, and while it can be a frustration to the party in power, it helps to ensure that policy is sustainable and reflective of the entire country – not just those with temporary control in the Senate. As recently as 2017, 61 Senators, including 32 Democrats, stated clear opposition to “any effort to curtail the existing rights and prerogatives of Senators to engage in full, robust, and extended debate as we consider legislation before this body in the future.” The principles of this bipartisan statement ring true today.
Unfortunately, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently declared that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to protecting minority rights in the 117th Congress. This statement makes it clear that Senator Schumer is willing to permanently unravel the core principles of the Senate to pass an agenda written by his party and his party alone. The harmful impact of this short-sighted move on the institution of the Senate cannot be understated. America’s founders designed a legislative branch with two different chambers – different in both their representation and their operation. Short-term political ends do not justify the means of destroying this design.
We urge you to carefully consider the harmful impact that one-party rule in the Senate would have on your constituents, and we urge you to reject attempts to eliminate the legislative filibuster.
Sincerely,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Jessica Anderson
Executive Director
Heritage Action
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
David McIntosh
President
Club for Growth
Edward Corrigan
President
Conservative Partnership Institute
Jason Pye
Vice President of Legislative Affairs
FreedomWorks
Tom McClusky
President
March for Life Action
Heather R. Higgins
CEO
Independent Women’s Voice
Penny Nance
President
Concerned Women for America
Jeffrey Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom
James L. Martin, Founder/Chairman
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis, President
60 Plus Association
Mike Stenhouse
CEO
RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Aaron Withe
National Director
Freedom Foundation
Andrew F. Quinlan
President
Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Robert Alt
President and CEO
The Buckeye Institute
Andrew Langer
President
Institute for Liberty
Judson Phillips
President
Tea Party Nation
James Edwards
President
Conservatives for Property Rights
Charles Sauer
President
Market Institute
James Taylor
President
Heartland Institute
Robert Roper
President
Ethan Allen Institute
Susan W. Gore
Founder
Wyoming Liberty Group
Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
Mario H. Lopez
President
Hispanic Leadership Fund
Will Swaim
President
California Policy Center
John R.Toedtman
Executive Director
Caesar Rodney Institute
Ryan Ellis
President
Center for a Free Economy
Brent Wm. Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer
Americans for Prosperity
Seton Motley
President
Less Government