Jeff Merkley, Tom Harkin and Tom Udall say their filibuster reforms can be passed with 51 votes. | AP Photos 3 Dems demand filibuster vote

The three Democrats who proposed sweeping changes to Senate filibuster rules balked Monday at a scaled-down package negotiated by Senate leaders and called for a vote this week on their own reform plan.

Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Tom Harkin of Iowa are adamant that their proposal can be adopted by a simple majority of 51 senators rather than the usual 67 required for rules changes, using a controversial legislative tool known as the “constitutional option.”


“Senator Udall and others are still advocating for the strongest package that can be put forward. That is still the goal,” said Udall spokeswoman Marissa Padilla. “There is no doubt that rules reform is a heavy lift but they are in it for the long haul, trying to make the Senate more transparent and efficient in how it operates.”

It’s unclear, however, if all the talk is simply posturing. And others have warned that invoking the constitutional option – and holding a party-line vote on the changes – could come back to haunt Democrats if they lose the majority in 2012, leaving Republicans with broad authority to set rules.

When their caucus meets for the first time Tuesday after a two-week recess, top Democrats hope that Udall, Merkley and Harkin recognize that their effort lacks 51 votes, abandon their push, and live with the more modest changes.

That bipartisan agreement, still being negotiated by Senate Rules Committee Chairman Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), is expected to include cutting back the total number of executive nominations, along with a more workable process for judicial nominations, and eliminating or restricting the use of so-called “secret holds.”

“We’re still working,” Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told POLITICO Monday night after he and other Democratic leaders emerged from the office of Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Another possibility being discussed is getting rid of yet another legislative stalling tactic: a senator’s right to request that a bill be read on the floor.

Democrats are still hopeful they can get Republicans to agree to the “talking filibuster,” which would mandate that senators actually speak continuously on the floor if they wish to block or hold up legislation or a nomination, but it seems doubtful the GOP would agree to that.

Alexander and other GOP critics have dismissed proposed changes to the filibuster as a “brazen power grab” by the majority. And they say they’ve had to turn to the filibuster because Reid routinely “fills the tree,” preventing Republicans from offering amendments.

The Udall-Merkley-Harkin plan would ensure the minority has the right to offer at least some amendments. And while it would require talking filibusters, the proposal also would end the use of filibusters on procedural votes. Such changes, supporters say, would curb abuse of the filibuster, which only can be defeated with 60 votes.

After the November election, the Senate Democratic caucus shrunk to 53 members.

The Udall package also would do away with secret holds, or the right of an individual senator to anonymously block or stall a bill or nomination. And it would significantly cut debate time on nominees after a cloture vote, helping the Senate’s send more nominations to the floor.

For Merkley, the bipartisan proposal being negotiated by leadership is no substitute for the type of lasting reforms he and others have been advocating in the Senate, said a senior aide familiar with the senator’s thinking.

“Any changes on the margins are positive but they are not the kind of substantial reforms that would change the culture of the Senate and make it more responsive to the will of the American electorate that puts them into power,” the aide said. “They may be good, but they certainly are not a substitute for more meaningful reform.”

“Whether or not we’ve got the votes now, he certainly thinks it’s an important priority to get people on the record, and he will keep the fight up long after the dust settles this week,” the aide added.

Harkin spokeswoman Kate Cyrul said that her boss will continue to push for filibuster and other rules changes “to see if senators stand for obstruction or solutions to the nation’s problems.”

Manu Raju contributed to this story.