Democrats in the Senate are discussing possible changes to the filibuster rules to make it easier to pass bills through the chamber. The Heritage Foundation hosts a discussion between former Senate staffers and experts on Senate procedure on the proposed changes.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has proposed altering the filibuster rules to allow bills to pass to final votes with a simple 51-vote majority. His plan would retain the traditionally understood filibuster that is achieved by a Senator speaking on the Senate floor for as long as he can.
Brian Darling, senior fellow in Government Studies at The Heritage Foundation; Norman J. Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute; Bill Wichterman, former policy adviser to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist; and James Wallner, executive director of the Senate Steering Committee join in the discussion.