No. This process makes partisan legislation impossible.
The Bipartisan Priority Reform Commission (BPRC) consists of 16 members, divided as follows:
This ensures that bipartisan agreement across both chambers is required, even though the four legislative members in each chamber do not all have to vote the same way. No single party, leader, or faction can push through legislation alone.
Eight of the sixteen commissioners are Members of Congress:
No proposal can advance unless at least one Democrat and one Republican in each
chamber vote to approve it, in addition to a majority of all 16 commissioners. This
guarantees bicameral, bipartisan consensus without requiring unanimity among legislative
members.
No. Congress retains control at every stage.
Commissioners are either Members of Congress or publicly accountable experts. Every
Member of Congress may propose amendments during the designated Amendment
Window. Any rejected amendment must be accompanied by a written explanation.
Once introduced, legislation is debated on the House and Senate floors, and final passage
still requires a majority vote in each chamber
It is temporary and limited. The Act expires two years after enactment. It is then renewed
once for one additional two-year session unless Congress votes not to renew it. After that
additional period, the authority ends.
This ensures the process is tested, evaluated, and discontinued if it does not work.
Because this is a trial, not a permanent power shift.
Congress gets one additional two-year period to assess results. The process cannot
continue indefinitely without future congressional action. This prevents entrenchment
while ensuring the experiment is not undermined by inaction.
Multiple statutory safeguards:
No single party, leader, or faction can dominate the process.
No. This process is more transparent than the status quo.
The Act requires at least three public hearings, a 60-day public comment period,
publication of minority views, and public posting of Oversight Board actions within 72
hours.
Through public hearings, public comment submissions, and full access to Commission
reports, proposed legislation, and minority views.
Yes. Every Commission report must include minority views and alternative proposals.
Dissent cannot be suppressed.
The enabling legislation lists eight specific Priority Issues:
Congress selects one or at most two of these Priority Issues at the beginning of each twoyear session for Commission review.
If Congress does not act within 60 days, the first unaddressed Priority Issue is
automatically designated for Commission review. This prevents delay through inaction.
To ensure Congress is not overwhelmed and that attention and debate are focused, while
allowing the Commission to deliver meaningful, high-quality proposals.
However, nothing prevents Congress from addressing the other Priority Issues through
normal order.
Yes. All Members may submit amendments to the commission during a 10-day
Amendment Window.
Rejected amendments must be accompanied by a written explanation, ensuring
transparency and accountability.
No. It creates a narrow, issue-specific exception.
The Filibuster Rule (Rule XXII) remains intact for all other legislation. This is targeted reform,
not a rules overhaul. And to be sure, this commission approach enshrines the original
purpose of the Filibuster Rule by requiring bipartisan cooperation.
Yes. Historically, commissions combining legislative members and independent experts
have produced meaningful, bipartisan outcomes, even on complex or contentious issues.
Examples include:
These examples show that mixed commissions can produce expert-informed, bipartisan
recommendations, which Congress can then consider through expedited procedures. They
illustrate the practical feasibility of the approach in the BPRCA.
Unlike past commissions, these proposals are automatically introduced, debated, and
voted on under expedited procedures. Congress cannot ignore the results.
If the required bipartisan threshold is not met, the Commission cannot advance legislation.
It must still issue a report documenting all proposals considered, including minority
proposals.
A fallback bill is a legislative proposal that is fast-tracked if the Commission fails to approve
a majority-supported proposal within the required timeframe.
To ensure it remains grounded in the Commission process:
This ensures that even fallback legislation is bipartisan and based on proposals that have
undergone Commission review, rather than being introduced arbitrarily. The fallback
legislation would still permit amendments by any member of Congress.
The Act prevents delay by design.
If appointments are not made, the Oversight Board appoints commissioners. If the Board
fails, the Comptroller General steps in. Deadlines are mandatory and enforceable.
The Oversight Board is an independent supervisory body that ensures the Commission
follows all rules, deadlines, and transparency requirements.
This ensures that the Oversight Board is bipartisan, independent, and accountable, serving
as a safeguard to keep the Commission on track and maintain public trust.
Because the current system empowers obstruction and punishes compromise.
This approach allows leaders to deliver results supported by most of their caucus and most
voters, without surrendering control to ideological extremes.
Responsibility for compromise is shared and bipartisan. No single Member can be credibly
accused of acting alone or “selling out.”
Abolishing the filibuster would allow narrow majorities to legislate without minority input.
This approach preserves the filibuster while creating a limited pathway for action where
bipartisan consensus already exists.
It solves Congress’s inability to act on major national issues even when broad bipartisan
agreement exists. It prevents the far left and right wings of the political spectrum from
holding the majority of the nation’s voters hostage to radical views.
One that debates openly, compromises honestly, and delivers results—while respecting
minority voices and democratic accountability and providing a process that paves the way
for Congress to vote on these pressing issues.
No. While the Bipartisan Priority Reform Commission Act (BPRCA) creates a structured,
bipartisan, and transparent process to develop, review, and fast-track legislation, it cannot
guarantee the content or ultimate effectiveness of the legislation.
What it does guarantee:
The process maximizes the likelihood that well-vetted, bipartisan legislation will be
considered, but ultimate effectiveness depends on the quality of the proposals,
amendments, and debate. In other words, it ensures action and accountability, but it does
not predetermine the outcome or guarantee policy success.
