Washington, D.C. – Today the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution approved Senator Russ Feingold’s proposed amendment to the United States Constitution to end gubernatorial appointments to vacant Senate seats.  After the vote, Senator Feingold released the following statement.

“I applaud my colleagues on the Subcommittee for passing the Senate Vacancies Amendment, which will end an anti-democratic process that denies voters the opportunity to determine who represents them in the U.S. Senate.  The nation witnessed four gubernatorial appointments to Senate seats earlier this year, some mired in controversy, and we will soon see another one in Texas.  This will leave more than 20 percent of Americans represented by a senator whom they did not elect.  It is time to finish the job started by the great progressive Bob La Follette of Wisconsin to require the direct election of senators.  No one can represent the American people in the House of Representatives without the approval of the voters.  The same should be true for the Senate.  I hope the full Senate Judiciary Committee will soon get the chance to consider this important constitutional amendment to entrust the people, not state governors, with the power to select U.S. senators.”  

Feingold’s proposed constitutional amendment now heads to the full Senate Judiciary Committee.  Feingold’s amendment is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Mark Begich (D-AK), John McCain (R-AZ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).  A companion version of the amendment was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. David Dreier, ranking member of the House Rules Committee, and cosponsored by the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Lamar Smith (R-TX), respectively, as well as Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Bob Filner (D-CA), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Pedro Pierrluisi (D-PR).