It was updated on January 29, Brookings hosted a debate on the merits of filibuster reform measures on January 20, Voices on both sides have called for reform in the face of partisan gridlock, and while change may be possible now that Democrats control Congress and the White House, complicated dynamics in the Senate would make it an uphill battle.
The Senate cloture rule—which requires 60 votes to cut off debate on most measures—is probably the highest hurdle. While Democrats have some procedural options for circumventing the filibuster—discussed in greater detail below—the debate over whether to retain the procedure is likely to remain center stage as legislators work to address the range of challenges facing the country. Rather, its emergence was made possible in when the Senate— at the advice of Vice President Aaron Burr —removed from its rules a provision formally known as the previous question motion allowing a simple majority to force a vote on the underlying question being debated.
This decision was not a strategic or political one—it was a simple housekeeping matter, as the Senate was using the motion infrequently and had other motions available to it that did the same thing. Filibusters then became a regular feature of Senate activity, both in the run-up to and aftermath of the Civil War. Senate leaders from both parties sought, but failed, to ban the filibuster throughout the 19th century. Opponents would simply filibuster the motion to ban the filibuster.
In , as part of a debate over a proposal to arm American merchant ships as the U. More recently, in , the number of votes needed to invoke cloture on legislative matters was reduced to three-fifths or 60, if the Senate is at full strength. In and , the Senate further limited debate once the Senate had imposed cloture on the pending business. Consequently, for many matters in the Senate, debate can only be cut off if at least 60 senators support doing so.
This is not universally true, however, and we will see several consequential counterexamples below. While Senate rules still require just a simple majority to actually pass a bill, several procedural steps along the way require a supermajority of 60 votes to end debate on bills. Senators are not required to formally register their objection to ending debate until a cloture motion actually comes up for a vote.
If Senate leaders know that at least 41 senators plan to oppose a cloture motion on a given measure or motion, they often choose not to schedule it for floor consideration. But the number of cloture motions filed is a useful proxy for measuring filibusters, and as we see below, the number of such motions has increased significantly during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Senators have two options when they seek to vote on a measure or motion. If no objection is heard, the Senate proceeds to a vote. One involves nominations to executive branch positions and federal judgeships on which, thanks to two procedural changes adopted in and , only a simple majority is required to end debate. A second includes certain types of legislation for which Congress has previously written into law special procedures that limit the amount time for debate.
Because there is a specified amount of time for debate in these cases, there is no need to use cloture to cut off debate. Perhaps the best known and most consequential example of these are special budget rules, known as the budget reconciliation process, that allow a simple majority to adopt certain bills addressing entitlement spending and revenue provisions, thereby prohibiting a filibuster.
In , the Senate reduced the requirement to 60 votes, which has effectively become the minimum needed to pass a law. There are, however, exceptions to the filibuster rule. Perhaps the most notable recent example pertains to presidential appointments.
In , Democrats changed the Senate rules to enable the confirmation of executive branch positions — including the cabinet — and of non—Supreme Court judicial nominees with a simple majority.
Four years later, Senate Republicans expanded the change to include Supreme Court appointments. Both changes invoked what is known as the nuclear option, or an override of a rule to overcome obstruction by the minority.
At times, the Senate has also exempted certain types of legislation from the cloture rule. Likewise, trade agreements that are negotiated using fast-track rules cannot be filibustered. Other exemptions apply to measures that involve, for example, military base closures or arms sales. Filibusters traditionally involved long speeches in which a senator attempted to block a vote from proceeding by refusing to yield the floor. This was popularized in the film Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington. The longest filibuster ever recorded, by South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of , lasted for more than 24 hours. Anytime a group of 41 or more senators simply threatens a filibuster, the Senate majority leader can refuse to call a vote.
Critics of the filibuster have pointed to its racist history — including its early uses in the 19th century by pro-slavery senators including John C.
Calhoun of South Carolina, who used it to protect the interests of Southern white landowners who depended on slave labor. The enactment of Rule XXII in gave rise to the modern filibuster, which has also been used to block civil rights legislation, especially during the Jim Crow era.
In fact, this was one of the primary uses of the filibuster during the 20th century. According to a study conducted by political scientists Sarah Binder and Steven Smith, of the 30 measures that were derailed by the filibuster between and , exactly half of them involved civil rights. Filibusters blocked measures such as anti-lynching bills proposed in and ; the Civil Rights Act of ; and legislation that would have prohibited poll taxes and outlawed discrimination in employment, housing, and voting.
In September I see the bold filibuster flying from clump to clump of the pink heather pillaged by the Bee. I framed it all up for this filibuster trip you're on, Scraggsy, only I never did hear that they'd picked on you. After some moments of silence he asked the captain, "Who is this man, this filibuster whom they term the Whirlwind?
Sir Thomas Reade, the noisiest filibuster of them all, indicates his method of settling matters at Longwood. With the exception of the buccaneer, the filibuster or the cannibal no one enters the private habitation of Blue Beard?
A strategy employed in the United States Senate , whereby a minority can delay a vote on proposed legislation by making long speeches or introducing irrelevant issues. A successful filibuster can force withdrawal of a bill. Filibusters can be ended only by cloture. New Word List Word List. Save This Word! We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
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