On Wednesday, May 20th, 2015, US Senator Rand Paul began a ten-hour speech on the Senate
floor, which many referred to as a “filibuster”.
The long debate centered on the topic of NSA spying and was intended to delay the upcoming
extension of the Patriot Act.
But besides garnering media attention, filibusters seem like a waste of time.
So what is a filibuster?
Well, that’s exactly what they are: a waste of time.
Basically, a filibuster is any procedural action that delays a vote in the Senate.
The most well known examples of filibusters are when a senator, or group of senators,
takes the Senate floor for a speech and does not yield it until three-fifths of the senate
agree to end the filibuster.
What this essentially means is that instead of a bill passing by a simple majority of
51, any senator can pause a bill’s passage until 60 senators agree to end the filibuster.
This is called a “cloture” (KLOH-cher).
Filibusters are particularly useful for bills that are expected to pass by a narrow margin,
or which are especially controversial.
However, a senator does not actually have to take the floor, or even make themselves
known in order to start a filibuster.
Just the threat of a filibuster is enough to force a vote to see if they can gather
a potential cloture, or 60 senators, to oppose it.
If a senator does decide to take the floor, there are a few rules they must follow for
the filibuster to be considered active.
They have to stay standing the whole time, and can’t leave the Senate floor.
They also can’t consume anything except for water or milk, and can’t leave to go
to the bathroom.
The only way to catch a break is to yield time to a supporting Senator who will in turn
ask a long question, while the original senator takes care of personal business.
One example of a successful filibuster was in 1946, when a number of senators delayed
the passage of an anti-discrimination bill, and the bill’s supporters were unable to
gather enough senators to call for a cloture.
This meant that the only way to end the filibuster and get back to work was to drop the bill
from consideration, so the bill was abandoned.
Another example, and perhaps the most famous, was when South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond
took the floor for more than 24 hours against the 1957 Civil Rights Act.
Despite being the longest individual filibuster ever, the bill still ended up passing after
he was done.
Now, technically, because Senator Paul ended his speech before midnight, it wasn’t actually
a filibuster because it didn’t delay any Senate business and wasn’t during a debate
about the Patriot Act itself.
May 20th was a waiting period for a trade agreement, so no actual business was disrupted.
However, in terms of garnering media attention and cementing a talking point for the 2016
elections, this filibuster certainly served it’s purpose.
Filibustering is an important, if controversial, part of our political process.
To find out about another controversial process known as Lobbying, check out our video here.
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