POS-4424 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Negative Number, Strom Thurmond, Unanimous Consent
Senate Floor Procedures:
No rules committee
Unanimous consent agreements govern floor action
Unlimited amendments
Power in the Senate: Majority leader is de facto Leader of the Senate (de facto means In
Reality) Elected position in your own party
Very accommodating to senators of both parties. (Senate is not as bipartisan as the House
of Rep)
Bills are always open to amendment, unless the unanimous consent agreement states
otherwise.
No Germaneness Rule (The amendments do not have to be relevant)
No debate limit, unless unanimous consent agreement states otherwise
Bills without unanimous consent may be filibustered
Filibuster: a time delaying tactic used by a minority in an effort to prevent a vote on a
bill or amendment that probably would pass if voted on directly. (get the majority to
bargain with them) South Carolina Strom Thurmond longest filibuster for 24 hours 18
minutes
Cloture: the formal procedure by which a filibuster can be ended in the senate. The
Signatures of 16 senators are needed for introduction of a cloture motion. And 3/5ths of
the Senate (60 members) Must sign to end the filibuster. (IMPORTANT) The senate is
not majoritarian because at least some minority must sign as well. Higher transaction cost
means more consensus which is why senate is more moderate than the house.
oTried to stop unlimited filibuster and the cloture process. 1800s developed these
rules so minority had a voice
oBlocked nominations for the courts: Chief Justice Judicial Crisis (Backlog of
cases that there is not enough of judges to hear it)
Review Transaction and Conformity Costs
After Passage by House and Senate: The bills have to be written the exactly the same language
and if it isn’t there will be a conference committee.
Conference Committee:
Reconcile differences between the house and senate versions
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Power in the senate: majority leader is de facto leader of the senate (de facto means in. Very accommodating to senators of both parties. (senate is not as bipartisan as the house of rep) Bills are always open to amendment, unless the unanimous consent agreement states otherwise. No germaneness rule (the amendments do not have to be relevant) No debate limit, unless unanimous consent agreement states otherwise. Bills without unanimous consent may be filibustered. Cloture: the formal procedure by which a filibuster can be ended in the senate. Signatures of 16 senators are needed for introduction of a cloture motion. And 3/5ths of the senate (60 members) must sign to end the filibuster. (important) the senate is not majoritarian because at least some minority must sign as well. Higher transaction cost means more consensus which is why senate is more moderate than the house: tried to stop unlimited filibuster and the cloture process.
