http://www.pressconnects.com/article...-just-for-show

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Here is to hoping again, the work would need to come from the bottom up, and unfortunately we are going to have to work with enthusiasm and positive energy even when faced with utter failure, because we have no other choice. (o.k. yeah maybe leave the country, or just say: "this sucks, why Obama not doing nothing" etc, etc,..)
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WASHINGTON -- The Senate likely will pass bills on immigration reform, transportation, and education this year thanks to bipartisan agreements on filibuster rules and other procedures, Sen. Charles E. Schumer said Friday.

Schumer, who chairs the Senate rules committee and participated in negotiations on the new procedures, said he's "very hopeful" the Senate will continue to be as productive as it was during December's lame-duck session.

Senate Republicans have agreed to use the filibuster less frequently in the 112th Congress, reserving it for only major policy battles, while Democrats have agreed to allow Republicans more opportunities to offer amendments to proposed legislation.

Individual senators can still block action on bills, but under the new rules they can't do so anonymously. Senators who put a hold on a bill will be identified in the Congressional Record after two days.

Schumer had wanted to require "talking filibusters" like the one actor James Stewart delivered in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." But Democrats and Republicans agreed to continue the current practice, in which one party threatens to filibuster and the Senate holds a cloture vote on whether to overcome the threat and move ahead with debate.

On Monday, the Senate will begin debating a long-delayed reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration. The bill appears headed toward enactment because the House, which is no longer controlled by Democrats, will drop its demand for labor provisions sought by United Parcel Service and opposed by Senate Republicans.

Last year, an airline safety bill was broken out of the legislation and enacted separately after a filibuster blocked action on the larger package.

Other Senate bills also appear to be generating more bipartisan interest.

A Senate immigration reform bill negotiated last year by Schumer and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina -- until Graham walked away from the proposal -- may win backing from a key conservative Republican, as well as Graham.

Republicans, now the majority party in the House, may have little appetite for such legislation, but if they refuse to consider bipartisan deals forged on major policy issues in the Senate, they risk being perceived by the public as obstructionist.

Democrats and Republicans took a step toward more bipartisan behavior by sitting next to each other during Tuesday's State of the Union address by President Barack Obama. That included several lawmakers from upstate New York, including four Republican freshmen.

Some New York lawmakers say the seating wasn't just theater and signals a new era of bipartisan cooperation.

Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel of the Bronx, who sat next to Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio, said the friendships he's forged over the years with various Republican lawmakers makes him optimistic.

Democratic Rep. Nita Lowey of Harrison, Westchester County, sat next to Republican Kay Granger of Texas. The two serve together on the House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over foreign aid and diplomacy.

Republican Rep. Chris Lee, who lives in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst, sat next to Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins of Buffalo. In the past, the two coauthored bills and letters to federal agencies.

Schumer sat next to Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, a conservative Republican who singlehandedly held up a final Senate vote in December on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. But Coburn also negotiated with Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. on a compromise that allowed the legislation to be adopted by unanimous consent.

Schumer credits Coburn for agreeing to negotiate, saying they talked until 10 p.m. the night before reaching an agreement.

"I was feeling terrible, didn't sleep all night," Schumer said. "And early in the morning I woke up and I called him on his cell. I said, 'Tom, we have to give this one more shot.' And we all went over to his office, myself, Sen. Gillibrand, Sen. (Mike) Enzi (R-Wyoming) and we hammered it out."

Gillibrand said she thought it was appropriate for Schumer to sit with Coburn.

"We met with him and worked out his concerns," Gillibrand said. "At the end of the day it was a stronger bill and one we could get bipartisan support for."

Gillibrand herself sat next to South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune during the State of the Union address. They disagree on many policy issues, but Gillibrand said they're cosponsoring a bill to create a searchable online database of congressionally earmarked projects.