Major Science Advocacy Organization Joins Call for Senate to Eliminate Filibuster

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a subject advocacy organization, has joined the telephone for the Senate to destruct the filibuster arsenic calls turn for Democrats to instrumentality decisive steps to codify their astir fashionable proposals into law.

“The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) understands that conscionable arsenic subject is needed to guarantee that the nationalist argumentation process is effective, a steadfast and functioning ideology is needed to guarantee that policies are just,” the enactment said successful a property release.

Johanna Chao Kreilick, president of UCS, besides provided a connection successful which she derided the filibuster for lacking a Constitutional basis. 

“The filibuster has nary Constitutional ground and was ne'er intended to beryllium a de facto supermajority request for the U.S. Senate to transportation retired its work—but that is precisely what it has go successful practice, and arsenic specified it has go 1 of the large impediments to responsive, accountable, and antiauthoritarian governance,” she said, adding that the filibuster has often been utilized for undemocratic reasons, specified arsenic erstwhile it “has often been deployed against civilian rights legislation.”

“Every scientist, engineer, and subject advocator understands that plan principles matter, and the aforesaid holds for the plan of governmental institutions. If the theoretical intent of the filibuster is to make bipartisan consensus, it has intelligibly failed connected its ain terms,” she continued. “Our absorption to the filibuster, and principled stance to abolish, is some science-based and evidence-backed; by privileging a number that supports the presumption quo and predetermination subversion, the filibuster distorts the policymaking process and inhibits our capableness to code the country’s astir pressing challenges—from clime alteration to safeguarding our democracy.”

UCS’s connection comes aft much than 30 erstwhile apical Senate Democratic aides called for changes to the filibuster rules.

“Over the people of the past 20 years, the filibuster has enactment a chokehold connected the Senate,’’ 31 erstwhile chiefs of unit to Democratic senators said successful an unfastened letter. “Legislation is present routinely filibustered, transforming the Senate from a spot of meaningful statement and advancement into a legislative graveyard.”