Making Law: The Senate Chapter 12 Section 4

Key Terms Filibuster Cloture Veto Pocket veto

The Senate Floor Chief difference between house and Senate is consideration of measures on the floor Measure Introduced by a Senator Read twice Sent to a standing committee

Senate Floor Proceedings are less formal Rules less strict Senate has only one calendar for bills Bills called to the floor by the majority leader

Rules for Debate Unrestrained in the Senate Called the greatest deliberative body in the world Usually can speak for as long as they want Can talk about anything they want

Rules of Debate Most bills in the senate come to the floor with unanimous consent agreement Majority leader negotiates these agreements with the minority leader This agreement usually limits floor debate

Rules for Debate Has a two speech rule May only speak twice on a given issue in a day By recessing and not adjourning they extend the day Freedom of debate is to encourage fullest possible discussion o floor matters

The Filibuster Filibuster- is an attempt to talk a bill to death, stalling tactic used by a minority Senator Used to monopolize the Senate floor to either have a bill dropped or change it Talk and more talk is the filibusters weapon

The Filibuster Can also use quorum calls, and other parliamentary procedures to delay Senator Hughie Long talked for 15 hours in 1935 reading the Washington phone book

The Filibuster Strom Thurmond holds the record at 24 hours 18 minutes in a one-person-effort to stop civil rights legislation in 1957 Most filibusters are team efforts Over 300 measures have been killed by filibuster

Filibuster Senate tries to beat off filibusters by holding day and night sessions Enforce rules Must stand Not sit or lean on desk Not walk about These countermeasures rarely work

The Cloture Rule Senate’s real check on filibuster Cloture rule XXII Adopted 1917 filibuster had lasted three weeks Dealt with arming civilian vessels Passed the House 403-13

The Cloture Rule Rule is not used often Brought in play by special procedure Vote taken two days after petition If 3/5ths or 60 Senators vote for it If successful no more than 90 hours of floor time can be used for the measure

The Cloture Rule 700 attempts Only 1/3 have been successful Many Senators do not vote for cloture because They honor the tradition of free debate Worry that frequent use will undercut its value

Situation Today Filibusters more common in recent years Party control of the upper house has been narrow Minority party has made frequent use of the filibuster 60 votes are needed to pass a bill same as cloture Minimum number to pass an important bill

Conference Committees Bill must survive a number of challenges If it makes it through committee it must survive a vote in both houses Must be passed in identical form If houses pass different versions

Conference Committees When one house will not accept the others bill is sent to conference committee Conference managers named by respective presiding officers Mostly leading members of standing committees

Conference Committees Can only consider the parts of the bill that they disagreed on Once they agree they report the bill Must be accepted or rejected without amendment Rarely does either house turn down their work

Conference Committees Two reasons for this The powerful membership of the typical conference committee Report usually comes near the rush of adjournments Conference committee is a strategic step called “the third house”

The President Acts Constitution requires that bills and resolutions be sent to the president The President may sign the bill and it becomes law President may veto the bill (return to the house it originated from) Can be overridden by 2/3 votes

The President Acts The President may allow it to become law without signing it, by not acting on it for 10 days after receiving it Pocket veto- if congress adjourns within 10 days of submission and President does not sign does not become law

The President Acts Since Congress can seldom get enough votes to override a veto it is powerful The mere threat of a veto is enough to defeat a bill