How much do you know about the filibuster?

Any attempt to delay or block Senate action on a bill

When a Senator delays a bill by talking at length

When a Senator hosts a formal discussion of a certain bill with their colleagues

Any dustbuster sold in Philadelphia

“Filibuster” is an informal term for any attempt to block or delay Senate action.

A filibuster can only be ended by a duel

A simple majority can vote to end a filibuster

Three-fifths (60 votes) of the Senate are required to end a filibuster

Two-thirds (67 votes) of the Senate are required to end a filibuster

To end a filibuster, the Senate must vote, by a three-fifths majority (60 votes), to invoke cloture, or put a limit on the amount of time a bill or procedural matter can be debated. This is what ends the filibuster; a formal vote to end debate.

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While many Americans today hear the word “filibuster” and imagine a Senator reading Dr. Suess on the Senate floor, talking indefinitely in order to delay a bill, that’s no longer the case. Today, a Senator can simply send an email and permanently halt a bill unless the majority has 60 votes.

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The House originally had a filibuster, but it was abolished in the late 1800s.

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The filibuster is actually a Senate rule that didn’t exist until the mid-1800s. It was created by accident in 1806, when the Senate removed the only rule that could stop a senator from talking. For a long time, however, no one noticed; Senators simply stopped talking of their own volition. It wasn’t until 1841 that the first filibuster was recorded, when the Democrats filibustered the Whig’s appointment of new printing firms to record the doings of Congress. The debacle almost ended in bloodshed when two senators attempted to duel; they were arrested before it got violent. ([s])

https://www.vox.com/2015/5/27/18089312/myths-about-the-filibuster

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The filibuster has changed multiple times, under the direction of both parties, since its inception. Originally, you needed a two-thirds majority to break a filibuster (67 Senators if the entire Senate is present). In 1975, this was lowered to a three-fifths majority, or 60 votes — regardless of attendance. In 2013, Democrats made certain judicial nominations immune from the filibuster, but left the filibuster in place for Supreme Court nominations. That is, until 2017, when Republicans exempted these nominations from falling prey to the filibuster.

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Both parties use the filibuster regularly when it suits them

With Democrats in power right now, they’d like you to think it’s only Republicans who filibuster. Not true. Democrats used the filibuster over 327 times in 2020. ([s])

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/democrats-used-filibuster-over-300-times-gop-once

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By a loooot. Between 1917 and 1970, senators filed motions to break a filibuster about 60 times. Between 2009 and 2015, they did this more than 500 times. ([s])[i]

https://www.vox.com/2015/5/27/18089312/myths-about-the-filibuster

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ak.represent.us/images/editor-2021-05-19-4.jpeg

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Budget reconciliation bills and judicial and executive nominations cannot be filibustered.

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Passing bills are long, procedural processes — and you can filibuster numerous steps of the procedure. Sure, if the majority is able to break a filibuster once, they’ll likely have the same majority to break it a second, third, or fourth time. But while the majority might have the votes, they may not always have the time; repeatedly filibustering the process can be a tactic to delay a bill so much, it can’t be passed before the session ends. For example, after the majority announces they will hold a vote to end a filibuster, they have to wait two days to actually do that. Once they hold the vote, they have to allow for 30 hours of debate before they can move on. At each step, these hurdles can add up to big barriers, as the minority party intends. ([s])

https://www.vox.com/2015/5/27/18089312/myths-about-the-filibuster