Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) believes that the Senate should alter the filibuster rule, even though that would result in the GOP passing policy changes that he disagrees with.
Heinrich said that Senate rules should be changed to make it easier for bills to be passed since a lot of legislation can be blocked through either side using a filibuster gridlock.
"We don’t have a choice. It’s either keep the filibuster, or deliver for the American people — we’ve seen it can’t be both. Elections need to have consequences," Heinrich tweeted..
Heinrich said that despite knowing there will be issues he disagrees with, that it is important to have feedback from the American people.
“As much as I know that, at some point, (Republicans) are going to do things that I absolutely disagree with, on climate, on choice, on really important stuff,” Heinrich said, “it is just as important to begin to have the feedback with the American people to tell the difference between the two parties. Elections will have consequences.”
As of right now, the Senate is split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris being able to act as tie-breaker, but Republicans can still block most bills as it takes 60 Senators to vote to end a debate. Changes that could be made to how filibusters work would be by requiring Senators to be physically present during a vote to count.
Heinrich has supported filibuster reform since 2013, where he co-sponsored a resolution that would put an end to filibustering.
“The abuse of the filibuster over the last decade has prevented vital legislation like the DREAM Act and the American Jobs Act from even being considered on the Senate floor," Heinrich said in 2013, according to his website. "This fair and simple proposal clears a path to debate and requires senators who wish to filibuster to actually speak on the floor."
