WASHINGTON — Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, called on Senate leaders Thursday to address the procedural “dysfunction” that she said is “handcuffing the Senate’s ability to respond to the most profound issues” and severely undermining public trust in Congress.

Voicing some of the frustration behind her decision to retire after this term, Snowe wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., asking them to “return the Senate to its historic role as the world’s greatest deliberative body.”

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Olympia Snowe

Procedure and process have always been key to the functioning of the Senate, Snowe wrote, and recent departures from the norm are thwarting its ability “to respond to the most profound issues that will dictate the future course of our nation.”

“We have an obligation to the American people to demonstrate that we have the capacity to solve these problems at this transcendent time,” Snowe wrote. “To do less would be a grave disservice to those who have entrusted us with the public good.”

Specifically, Snowe lamented the repeated use of the filibuster — a procedural tool that allows the minority party to block or slow legislation — and moves by the majority party to skip the committee system with major bills and prevent floor amendments.

Sarah Binder, a political science professor at George Washington University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Snowe put her finger on many of the issues that ail the Senate.

“As probably only Olympia Snowe can do, she is trying to stake out the middle ground,” said Binder, co-author of “Politics or Principle? Filibustering in the United States Senate.”

Binder said the trends have been in motion for 20 years and already are the norm. She questioned whether Snowe’s push for reform will have much effect, given her short time left in the Senate and how long reforms typically take.

“When she first started talking about this in June, my first thought was I wish she had been a player back in the beginning of this Congress, when junior Democrats tried to bring reform to the floor,” Binder said. That effort failed for lack of support.

Snowe, who has been in Congress since 1979, has been increasingly vocal since announcing her retirement on Feb. 28. At the same time, she has been criticized for continuing to vote with her Republican colleagues on some issues pushed by the Democratic majority.

This week, for instance, Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, joined the rest of the GOP senators in blocking a bill to impose new donor disclosure requirements on organizations and individuals that are funneling millions of dollars into political races.

There is deep concern that lawmakers will wait until after Election Day to deal with major issues.

At the top of that list is a bipartisan plan to avoid $1.2 trillion in mandatory budget cuts in January, half of which would be levied on federal defense budgets. Known as “sequestration,” the cuts were endorsed by both parties last year as a threat to force negotiations this year on reducing the federal deficit.

Snowe mentioned the looming “fiscal cliff” in her letter to Reid and McConnell.

“What is required is the opportunity to thoughtfully scrutinize the approaches — the pros and cons and benefits and drawbacks — so that we can have a reasoned discussion during the lame duck (session), rather than ending up with policies drafted behind closed doors by a select few that could result in unintended consequences,” she wrote.

Of course, Snowe isn’t the only senator talking about reform.

Reid recently told MSNBC that he would pass filibuster reform if Democrats return next year still in the control.

“We can’t go on like this anymore,” Reid said in the radio interview with MSNBC’s Ed Schultz. “I don’t want to get rid of the filibuster, but I have to tell you: I want to change the rules and make the filibuster meaningful.”

Days later, Reid and McConnell had a lengthy debate on the Senate floor during which McConnell suggested the problem was with the attitude of the majority leader, not procedure. He also cautioned against switching to a system where a mere majority is needed rather than the current 60 votes, especially when the political tables may be turned next year.

”Do we want a simple majority of 51 to ramrod the minority on every issue?” McConnell said, according to a transcript provided by his office. “I think it’s worth thinking about over the next few months as the American people decide who is going to be in the majority in the Senate and who is going to be the President of the United States.”

Washington Bureau Chief Kevin Miller can be contacted at 317-6256 or at:

kmiller@mainetoday.com

On Twitter: @KevinMillerDC