07 July 2021 / Public Access America / shorts
INTRODUCTION
There is a lot of conversation about the filibuster. What it stands for, who it’s been used by, what might happen if it was to be eliminated. But I'm not sure all of the hand ringing is necessary. Defenders of the filibuster warn us of its demise, and advocates cry that it must be eliminated, but only a few voices and comments have mentioned the exemptions to the filibuster.Used by republican and democrat alike. The filibuster has 161 exemptions. So in my search for answers I made a note.
AGENDA
To learn about this political issue from a non political perspective.
NOTES
Once a bill gets to a vote on the Senate floor, it requires a simple majority of 51 votes to pass after debate has ended. But there’s a catch: before it can get to a vote, it actually takes 60 votes to cut off debate, which is why a 60-vote supermajority is now considered the de facto minimum for passing legislation in the Senate.
Under original Senate rules, cutting off debate required a motion that passed with a simple majority.
1806 - Vice President Aaron Burr argued that the rule was redundant, the Senate stopped using the motion.
This change inadvertently gave senators the right to unlimited debate, meaning that they could indefinitely delay a bill without supermajority support
1917, the Senate passed Rule XXII, or the cloture rule, which made it possible to break a filibuster with a two-thirds majority.
1975, the Senate reduced the requirement to 60 votes, which has effectively become the minimum needed to pass a law today
Exceptions to the filibuster rule
In 2013, 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.
2016-17 Senate Republicans expanded the change to include Supreme Court appointments.
At times, the Senate has also exempted certain types of legislation from the cloture rule.
Congress’s annual budget reconciliation process requires only a simple majority vote and cannot be filibustered
trade agreements that are negotiated using fast-track rules cannot be filibustered.
measures that involve military base closures or arms sales.
Over time, additional exceptions have been added.
The War Powers Act of 1973,
the Congressional Budget Act,
the National Emergencies Act and
the Congressional Review Act
prevent certain types of bills and congressional actions from being filibustered. For example, both parties have used the Congressional Budget Act's budget reconciliation process to enact significant parts of their agendas without the threat of a filibuster.
In total, 161 exceptions to the filibuster’s supermajority requirement have been created between 1969 and 2014,
Filibusters traditionally involved long speeches in which a senator attempted to block a vote from proceeding by refusing to yield the floor. To stage such a “talking” filibuster,
Since the early 1970s, senators have been able to use a “silent” filibuster. Anytime a group of 41 or more senators simply threatens a filibuster, the Senate majority leader can refuse to call a vote.
There have been more than 2,000 filibusters since 1917; about half have been in just the last 12 years
has pushed presidents to increase their use of executive power, which in turn often goes unchecked because of Congress’s inability to act.
Some legal scholars argue that the filibuster may not even be constitutional, citing Article I, Section 5, which states that “a majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business.”
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