Tagged: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

A coalition of labor and environmental groups are targeting Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's self-filibuster, saying it underscores the need for reforms.

Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, McConnell challenged Senate Democrats to support his proposal to give President Obama the power to raise the U.S. debt limit unilaterally.

Mr. Obama is asking for the power as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations. But when Democratic Leader Harry Reid proposed passing the measure by a simple 51-vote majority, McConnell quickly objected.

Instead, he argued, such a controversial decision required a filibuster proof 60 vote majority.

"Mitch McConnell has been the chief opponent of fixing the Senate and reforming the filibuster. And this is a prime example of why the filibuster needs to be fixed," says Melinda Pierce, a spokeswoman for Sierra Club, which is a member of the Fix the Senate Now coalition.

For the second day in a row, Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell had a tense exchange on the Senate floor over filibuster reform.

Observers have decried gridlock in the Senate, especially since the 2010 election and many have pointed to the need to either end or change basic rules on how chamber uses the delay tactic.

In a joint interview with Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell that CBS News described as "exasperating," 60 Minutes took on the gridlock in the U.S. Senate.

The piece noted that the Senate was once the chamber of Congress where deals were made, but that in recent years the ability to find common ground has been lost.

Reid said that compromise is not something the Senate does anyone, highlighting McConnell’s comment after the 2010 mid-terms, where he said that the chief GOP goal was to limit President Obama to one-term.

McConnell added that the Senate has met the president halfway on a number of bills , but acknowledged the difficulty in forging bipartisan measures.

Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist predicts Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will use the same tactics that the GOP criticized Democrats for using if he is elevated to majority leader.

McConnell needs either three of four Republican victories this fall depending on the outcome of the presidential race and even with the Todd Akin controversy there's still a "50-50" shot, he believes.

Norquist provides a teaser that could lead to procedural reforms.