There was talk Thursday at the Republican retreat in West Virginia about urging the Senate to consider changing its filibuster rule that often leads to squabbling between parties over issues such as the budget, which shut down the government last month.
"There is no question that process reform is going to be the long pole in the tent for what drives my chairmanship, because we all know based on what we've been through recently, a three-day shutdown," Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., told The Hill. 'The process we're working with right now is a broken process."
Womack chairs the House Budget Committee and spoke with Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., about filibuster reform at the Greenbrier resort Thursday.
"It is a strong opinion on our side of the Capitol . . . that, six months ago, House appropriators finished their work in committee, four months ago we got our work done on the floor of the House, and nothing happened in the Senate, and we know why," Womack said.
Last month's three-day government shutdown occurred after both parties could not come to an agreement on a spending deal. Democrats were not in favor of a Republican proposal because it did not take care of DACA recipients, people who came to the country illegally as children with their parents.
President Donald Trump referenced the 60-vote threshold recently, asking why the Senate needs to secure three-fifths of the chamber's vote in order to stop filibusters and pass legislation. He suggested the Senate switch over to the nuclear option, which is a simple majority vote.
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