Crs Report for Congress: Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate

ISBN-10: 1294021133
ISBN-13: 9781294021131
Series: Crs Report for Congress
Pages: 30
Language: English
Published: 2013-10
Publisher: BiblioGov
Authors: Stanley Bach, Congressional Research Service: The Libr

Description

The right of Senators to speak on the floor at great lengtha "and so to filibustera "is the single most defining characteristic of the Senate as a legislative body. The possibility of filibusters derives from the absence of any effective Senate rules that limit the number or length of floor speeches. The Senate's rules provide that, in most cases, a Senator who seeks recognition has a right to the floor if no other Senator is speaking, and that Senator then may speak for as long as he or she wishes. There is no motion by which a simple majority of the Senate can stop a debate and allow the Senate to vote in favor of an amendment, a bill or resolution, or any other debatable question. Almost every bill actually is subject to two potential filibusters before the Senate votes on whether to pass it: first, a filibuster on a motion to proceed to the bill's consideration; and second, after the Senate agrees to this motion, a filibuster on the bill itself. Senate Rule XXII enables Senators to end a filibuster by invoking cloture on whatever debatable matter it is considering. Sixteen Senators initiate this process by presenting a motion to ...