Don’t we already have a right to vote in this country? Rhetorical question.
Schumers plan requires invoking cloture.
The procedure for “invoking cloture”, or ending a filibuster, is as follows:
A minimum of 16 senators must sign a petition for cloture.
The petition may be presented by interrupting another Senator’s speech.
The clerk reads the petition.
The cloture petition is ignored for one full day during which the Senate is sitting (called a “Legislative Day”). For example, if the petition is filed on Monday, it is ignored until Wednesday; if the petition is filed on a Friday, it is ignored until Tuesday, assuming that the Senate did not sit on Saturday or Sunday.[38]
On the second Legislative Day after the presentation of the petition, after the Senate has been sitting for one hour, a “quorum call” is undertaken to ensure a majority of the Senators are present. However, the mandatory quorum call is often waived by unanimous consent.
The President of the Senate, President pro tempore, or presiding officer presents the petition for a vote.
The Senate votes on the petition; three-fifths of the whole number of Senators (sixty if there are no vacancies) is the required majority; however, when cloture is invoked on a question of changing the rules of the Senate, two-thirds of the Senators voting (not necessarily two-thirds of all Senators) is the requisite majority. This is commonly referred to as a “test vote”.
Cloture on a presidential nomination requires a simple majority of those present and voting. This was changed for all presidential appointments other than Supreme Court nominees in a 21 November 2013 Senate vote (the so-called “nuclear option”),[39] and was further extended to include Supreme Court nominees in an 6 April 2017 Senate vote.
After cloture has been invoked, the following restrictions apply:
No more than 30 additional hours of debate may occur on the bill in question[40] (though this additional time is commonly shortened or vitiated altogether; in addition, since the nuclear option of April 2019, nominations to subcabinet executive branch, or district court, positions normally mandate only 2 additional hours.
No Senator may speak for more than one hour.
No amendments may be moved unless they were filed on the day between the presentation of the petition and the actual cloture vote.
All amendments must be relevant to the debate.
Certain procedural motions are not permissible. Senate Rule XXII provides that no dilatory motion or amendment is in order under cloture.[41]
While there is no exact list of what motions are dilatory, “Motions to adjourn, postpone, recess, suspend the rules, and reconsider have been held to be dilatory.
There also is precedent supporting the authority of the presiding officer to rule that a quorum call is dilatory under these circumstances.”[42]
The presiding officer gains additional powers in controlling debate such as the power to count to determine whether a quorum is present and to rule amendments, motions, and other actions out of order on the grounds that they are dilatory.
No other matters may be considered until the question upon which cloture was invoked is resolved.
Schumers plan requires invoking cloture.
The procedure for “invoking cloture”, or ending a filibuster, is as follows:
A minimum of 16 senators must sign a petition for cloture.
The petition may be presented by interrupting another Senator’s speech.
The clerk reads the petition.
The cloture petition is ignored for one full day during which the Senate is sitting (called a “Legislative Day”). For example, if the petition is filed on Monday, it is ignored until Wednesday; if the petition is filed on a Friday, it is ignored until Tuesday, assuming that the Senate did not sit on Saturday or Sunday.[38]
On the second Legislative Day after the presentation of the petition, after the Senate has been sitting for one hour, a “quorum call” is undertaken to ensure a majority of the Senators are present. However, the mandatory quorum call is often waived by unanimous consent.
The President of the Senate, President pro tempore, or presiding officer presents the petition for a vote.
The Senate votes on the petition; three-fifths of the whole number of Senators (sixty if there are no vacancies) is the required majority; however, when cloture is invoked on a question of changing the rules of the Senate, two-thirds of the Senators voting (not necessarily two-thirds of all Senators) is the requisite majority. This is commonly referred to as a “test vote”.
Cloture on a presidential nomination requires a simple majority of those present and voting. This was changed for all presidential appointments other than Supreme Court nominees in a 21 November 2013 Senate vote (the so-called “nuclear option”),[39] and was further extended to include Supreme Court nominees in an 6 April 2017 Senate vote.
After cloture has been invoked, the following restrictions apply:
No more than 30 additional hours of debate may occur on the bill in question[40] (though this additional time is commonly shortened or vitiated altogether; in addition, since the nuclear option of April 2019, nominations to subcabinet executive branch, or district court, positions normally mandate only 2 additional hours.
No Senator may speak for more than one hour.
No amendments may be moved unless they were filed on the day between the presentation of the petition and the actual cloture vote.
All amendments must be relevant to the debate.
Certain procedural motions are not permissible. Senate Rule XXII provides that no dilatory motion or amendment is in order under cloture.[41]
While there is no exact list of what motions are dilatory, “Motions to adjourn, postpone, recess, suspend the rules, and reconsider have been held to be dilatory.
There also is precedent supporting the authority of the presiding officer to rule that a quorum call is dilatory under these circumstances.”[42]
The presiding officer gains additional powers in controlling debate such as the power to count to determine whether a quorum is present and to rule amendments, motions, and other actions out of order on the grounds that they are dilatory.
No other matters may be considered until the question upon which cloture was invoked is resolved.