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The Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate have agreed on language reforming filibusters, and after presenting the proposal to their respective caucuses Thursday afternoon the measures appear poised for passage.

Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a list of reforms that would curb the use of filibusters and streamline other procedures in order to speed up floor action. The measures would require the support of each party's caucus, and will be subject to a series of floor votes, which could happen later Thursday.

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In the first path, Reid would allow two amendments from both parties to be presented, with the caveat that if an amendment isn't relevant to the legislation at hand, it would be subject to a 60-vote threshold.

On measures where Reid and McConnell agree, a second path allows votes to overcome filibusters to be held the day after Reid files a procedural petition, instead of the two-day period currently in place. That change would disallow stalled votes on consensus legislation.

The proposal will also limit debate on some presidential nominations that require Senate approval.

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The key new proposal allows the elimination of one filibuster vote during the “motion to proceed” to a bill, when the chamber begins considering legislation. Republicans have increasingly filibustered the motion to begin debating legislation to either slow passage of or block bills altogether.

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The biggest effect of the changes would be to thwart the power of a small band of conservatives who have used the Senate’s complicated rules to their advantage. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a staunch anti-spending conservative, has blocked or delayed hundreds of popular bills that he considers wasteful spending by threatening to use every procedural hurdle to slow-walk the bill, even if it was expected to pass by more than 90 votes.

So, Reid had to decide whether to devote an entire week or more to pass such non-controversial measures, often choosing to hold off on a bill. Under the new proposal, Reid could likely move those pieces of legislation in a day or two.

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Liberal activists and some junior Democrats said they were disappointed that the proposal did not fundamentally alter the filibuster practice. They pushed to include a “talking filibuster” provision that would have forced the minority to hold the floor for old-fashioned, marathon speaking sessions or else the majority would be able to pass legislation on a simple 51-vote margin.

“The agreement avoids measures that would actually raise the costs of Senate obstruction,” the group Fix the Senate Now said in a statement Thursday. “Neither the talking filibuster provision nor the shifting the burden provision is expected to be included in the final package.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-leaders-reach-deal-modif
ying-filibuster-procedures/2013/01/24/48a8ca16-6648-11e2-85f5-a8a9228e55e7_story.html]
Their excuse?

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Senior Democrats emphasized making the chamber more efficient. These Democrats have served in both the majority and minority, and they view the 60-vote threshold as a bedrock principle of the Senate. As Levin explained, his group’s goal was to “get rid of the gridlock” that has jammed up the Senate in a way that actual voting had become a rarity.

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Oh, goodie. So you get rid of some of the gridlock, but the minority can still filibuster without the public knowing what's going on.

I think the talking filibuster is the ONLY measure that would really change things substantively. If the public were aware of who is filibustering, and got to watch them waste the Senate's time, surely there would be less of it. This other stuff is procedural bullshit, to me; I don't care who's in the minority, they should be held accountable for efforts to stymie votes being held on measures.