Senate Republicans Turning to Filibuster to Block Democratic Agenda

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House Democrats have had little trouble passing their legislative agenda so far in the 110th Congress. In fact, in just over a month, the House has already voted to change internal ethics rules, implement most of the recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, expand federal funding for stem cell research, increase the federal minimum wage, lower interest rates on student loans, eliminate certain tax breaks for oil and gas companies, and force the government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare recipients. The Senate, however, has been unable to keep pace with the House. One of the primary reasons for this has been the Republican minority's effective use of a Senate parliamentary tactic known as the filibuster.

In the Senate, a filibuster is the term for any tactic aimed at preventing a measure from coming to the floor for a vote. Because Senate rules generally do not place limits on the time allowed for a particular debate, members are able to filibuster measures simply by holding the floor and talking until the Senate leader decides other legislative business must be addressed. The only way in which debate can be halted, and a vote brought to the floor, is if sixty senators (3/5) vote in favor of a cloture motion. Because it is rare for a party to hold a 3/5 majority in the Senate (the last time was in 1978), cloture usually requires at least some support from members of the minority party.

With Democrats currently holding a fragile 51-49 majority in the Senate, Republicans have found the filibuster to be a useful tool in obstructing the Democrats' agenda. So far this year, Senate Republicans have used the filibuster to block (or at least delay) ethics rule changes and laws, a minimum wage increase, and a resolution opposing President Bush’s plan to send an additional 21,500 troops into Iraq. On all three issues, the filibuster forced the Democratic majority to compromise and allow Republican-backed amendments to receive consideration before a final vote. During the minimum wage debate, for instance, Republicans filibustered the bill until small-business tax cuts were considered along with the wage hike.

The current Republican minority is not the first to discover the usefulness of the filibuster. Rather, the tactic has been in practice for nearly two hundred years, first appearing in the 1830s by Democrats seeking to block a Whig-sponsored measure on the National Bank. Throughout the mid-twentieth century, southern senators found the filibuster to be their most effective tool in obstructing both civil rights and anti-lynching legislation. In fact, Sen. Strom Thurmond, a South Carolina Democrat who later became a Republican, set the still-standing record for the longest filibuster when he spoke for twenty-four hours, eighteen minutes in a failed attempt to block the Civil Rights Act of 1957. More recently, Senate Democrats found the filibuster useful in preventing a vote on several of President Bush’s judicial nominees. It was so effective, in fact, that then-Majority Leader Bill Frist threatened to invoke the "nuclear option," which would have ended the minority's ability to filibuster judicial nominations. Ultimately, a compromise between moderate Democrats and Republicans (known as the "Gang of 14") averted this action, and the filibuster remained intact.

Congresspedia has a created a new page on the Senate filibuster which includes history, rules, and recent applications. We urge you to check it out and update it with any additional info.