The Honorable William H. Frist, MD
Majority Leader
Unites States Senate
S-230 Capitol
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators Frist and Reid:

The undersigned 142 organizations that take few, if any, positions on judicial
nominations urge you to oppose any efforts to eliminate the over 200-year-old filibuster in the United States Senate. The framers of the Constitution created the Senate as a deliberative body to check the impulses of the House of Representatives and the appointment powers of the President. The historic intent of the framers of our Constitution was to create the Senate as a body of equals to protect against the tyranny of the majority.

Respect for the rights of the minority is especially critical when the same party rules both the White House and the Senate. Former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker wrote in 1993 that destroying the right to filibuster “would topple one of the pillars of American Democracy: the protection of minority rights from majority rule.” In 1995, when he chaired the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch said the filibuster is “one of the few tools that the minority has to protect itself and those the minority represents.”

The Constitution gives the Senate the responsibility to advise and consent to the
President’s nominees. History has demonstrated the Senate’s unique role as a bulwark against partisan extremism. In fact, columnist George Will recently noted that “[T]he filibuster…enable[s] democratic government to measure and respect not merely numbers, but also intensity in public controversies…Conservatives, who do not think government is sufficiently inhibited, should cherish this blocking mechanism.”

The Republican Senate leadership is threatening to use a simple majority to change
the Senate Rule on the filibuster, even though 67 votes are required under the current rules. There has never been a distinction between filibusters of legislation or nominations. Thus, we are concerned that if the so-called “nuclear option” is exercised to eliminate the filibuster on judicial nominations, it may also be exercised to eliminate senators’ right to filibuster legislation.

We urge you to protect the U.S. Senate’s constitutional role of advice and consent by opposing any efforts to eliminate senators’ right to filibuster. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kevin Curtis, National Environmental Trust Vice President for Government Affairs, at (202) 887-8832; or Virginia Davis, National Congress of American Indians Associate Counsel, at (202) 466-7767.

Sincerely,

National
ACORN National
ADA Watch/National Coalition for Disability Rights
AIDS Action Council
Alliance for Retired Americans
American Academy of HIV Medicine
American Association of People with Disabilities
American Counseling Association
American Humanist Association
American Jewish Committee
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Religious Liberty
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Arc of the United States
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Black Leadership Forum
Bradford Environmental Research
Center for Civil Justice
Center for Community Change
Center for Health and Gender Equity
Center for Justice & Democracy
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
Children's Rights
Citizens Advocating for Responsible Release
Common Cause
Communications Workers of America
Compassion & Choices
Corporation for Supportive Housing
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
DAC (disabled Action committee)
Defenders of Wildlife
Disciples Justice Action Network
Equal Justice Society
Equality State Policy Center
Families USA
Feminists for Free Expression
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quaker)
General Board of Church & Society, The United Methodist Church
Interfaith Alliance
Jewish Labor Committee
Jewish War Veterans
Justice and Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, AFL-CIO
Lambda Legal
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
League of Conservation Voters
League of United Latin American Citizens
Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center
Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation
Mercy Housing
Methodist Federation for Social Action
National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
National Association of People with AIDS
National Association of Social Workers
National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
National Congress of American Indians
National Council of La Raza
National Council on Independent Living
National Education Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Health Law Program, Inc.
National Jewish Democratic Council
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Lawyers Guild
National Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Association
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
National Urban League
National Women's Political Caucus
National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women
Native American Rights Fund
O.N.E. Company
Open Society Policy Center
Parents, Families and Friends Of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)?
Pride At Work
Progressive Jewish Alliance
Public Citizen
Public Justice Center
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Service Employees International Union
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
Small Business Law Center, LLC
Southern Poverty Law Center
Stop Family Violence
Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, National Lawyers Guild
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
United Cerebral Palsy
United States Hispanic Leadership Institute
United Steelworkers of America
Veteran Feminists of America
Violence Policy Center
Women Employed
Women of Reform Judaism
Women's Environment and Development Organization
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Women's Sports Foundation
Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring
Workplace Fairness
YWCA USA

State & Local
Access Now, Inc.
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Children's League of Massachusetts
Citizen Alert
Citizens for a Scenic Wisconsin
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation
Education Law Center of Pennsylvania
Environmental Coalition of Mississippi
Housing Works, Inc.
Inland Empire Communities Action Partnership
Lighthouse Central Florida, Inc.
Living Earth in Portland, Oregon
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
Natural Resources Council of Maine
New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research
New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty
New Mexico Environmental Law Center
Oregon Natural Resources Council
Peace Action Wisconsin
Pennsylvania League of Conservation Voters
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
Residents for Affordable Housing
reStart Inc.
Seacoast Outright
Self-Determination Housing Project of Pennsylvania
Southern Vermonters for a Fair Economy and Environmental Protection
Suburban Essex Housing Development Corp.
Tennessee Health Care Campaign
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
Vote Solar Initiative
Washington Association of Churches
Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility
Women's Leadership Alliance

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