A hold is a tactic in which a senator is asked to be informed of an upcoming bill before it reaches the senate floor for debate. The request signals to the other senators and sponsors of the bill that a particular senator may have issues with the current bill and it should be reviewed before being voted on.
A filibuster is another tactic a senator may use if he and his party want to table or kill a bill before it is passed. There is no time on how long a filibuster may last since the senator initiates the filibuster by giving long speeches and having the freedom to talk about anything he wants to talk about or do in an effort to prolong a decision on the debate of the the bill at hand. In order to stop a filibuster at least 60 senators must sign a motion of Cloture,which if passed only allows 30 more additional hours of debate on the bill.
A hold and a filibuster enables minorities to influence policy making because they procure time for congress to reflect back at guiding policies that Americans favor and accept better than others. It also gives minorities a chance to undermimme the will of the majority parties.
All information was taken from American Government: Roots and Reform
Holds and filibusters are used to block presidential appointments as well as legislation. Several Obama appointments have yet to receive "up or down votes" on the Senate floor.
Generally today filibusters do not actually take place. Senators will threaten to filibuster and if 60 votes are not available to stop them, the measure is tabled.
In regards to how the Senate and the House of Representatives conducts everyday business, the Constitution does not outline any particular rules. It was expected that the two individual bodies would compose their own guidelines explaining how meetings would be run and what practices were unacceptable. The House of Representatives is a large body of people, and they felt it was necessary to create certain limits on debates to keep things moving along. Members are allotted one hour to debate a posed question, and they may speak on the question only once. However, the Senate has no such rules. Thus, strategic Senators who are in the minority can rebel by holding up legislation with holds and filibusters. Our Founding Fathers intended the Senate to be a “cooling” place for bills. They knew that members would be older, hold office longer, and be a smaller quantity, which was perfect for slowing the process of ratifying bills. This was all a part of the deliberate checks and balances. A hold as defined by the United States Senate is an informal practice by which a Senator informs his or her floor leader that he or she does not wish a particular bill or other measure to reach the floor for consideration. In this situation the Majority Leader is not required to heed the Senator's wishes. However, it stands as a forewarning that the opposing Senator may filibuster any motion to proceed to debate the bill. This threat can prevent a bill from moving forward. A filibuster is any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions as described by the U.S. Senate website. Democrats and Republicans alike value filibusters for bringing compromise to dividing and heated debates. They can take place at numerous occasions and give significant power to individual Senators or small minority groups. For example, in 1985 in order to convince President Reagan to sign a farm relief bill Oklahoma Senator David Boren withheld Edwin Meese's confirmation vote as Reagan's Attorney General. Filibuster, which is roots from a meaning linked to piracy, was adapted to the long speeches meant delay progress which became more common in the 1840’s, hinting that they robbed one’s time. Henry Clay is known as the father of filibusters for his starting this trend in 1841. Filibustering became most popular as the slavery issue became heated in Congress. Southern senators would speak for hours on end to block any action progressing civil rights legislation. When the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was being debated, South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond gave the longest speech in the Senate’s history. Trying to stop any advancement, Thurmond talked for twenty-four hours and eighteen minutes. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, filibusters were mostly centralized around the civil rights movement. However, in more recent years they have expanded and are used on all types of bills. In fact, about two-thirds of all filibusters have occurred in the last thirty years. http://www.thisnation.com/question/037.html http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/a-history-and-explanation-of-the-filibuster-209333.html#ixzz16nTInG7x http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/hold.htm
Please click the link below for a cartoon. http://www.filibustercartoons.com/index.php/2010/11/09/pay-no-attention-to-that-recession/
A hold is a tactic in which a senator is asked to be informed of an upcoming bill before it reaches the senate floor for debate. The request signals to the other senators and sponsors of the bill that a particular senator may have issues with the current bill and it should be reviewed before being voted on.
ReplyDeleteA filibuster is another tactic a senator may use if he and his party want to table or kill a bill before it is passed. There is no time on how long a filibuster may last since the senator initiates the filibuster by giving long speeches and having the freedom to talk about anything he wants to talk about or do in an effort to prolong a decision on the debate of the the bill at hand. In order to stop a filibuster at least 60 senators must sign a motion of Cloture,which if passed only allows 30 more additional hours of debate on the bill.
A hold and a filibuster enables minorities to influence policy making because they procure time for congress to reflect back at guiding policies that Americans favor and accept better than others. It also gives minorities a chance to undermimme the will of the majority parties.
All information was taken from American Government: Roots and Reform
Holds and filibusters are used to block presidential appointments as well as legislation. Several Obama appointments have yet to receive "up or down votes" on the Senate floor.
ReplyDeleteGenerally today filibusters do not actually take place. Senators will threaten to filibuster and if 60 votes are not available to stop them, the measure is tabled.
In regards to how the Senate and the House of Representatives conducts everyday business, the Constitution does not outline any particular rules. It was expected that the two individual bodies would compose their own guidelines explaining how meetings would be run and what practices were unacceptable. The House of Representatives is a large body of people, and they felt it was necessary to create certain limits on debates to keep things moving along. Members are allotted one hour to debate a posed question, and they may speak on the question only once. However, the Senate has no such rules. Thus, strategic Senators who are in the minority can rebel by holding up legislation with holds and filibusters. Our Founding Fathers intended the Senate to be a “cooling” place for bills. They knew that members would be older, hold office longer, and be a smaller quantity, which was perfect for slowing the process of ratifying bills. This was all a part of the deliberate checks and balances. A hold as defined by the United States Senate is an informal practice by which a Senator informs his or her floor leader that he or she does not wish a particular bill or other measure to reach the floor for consideration. In this situation the Majority Leader is not required to heed the Senator's wishes. However, it stands as a forewarning that the opposing Senator may filibuster any motion to proceed to debate the bill. This threat can prevent a bill from moving forward. A filibuster is any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions as described by the U.S. Senate website. Democrats and Republicans alike value filibusters for bringing compromise to dividing and heated debates. They can take place at numerous occasions and give significant power to individual Senators or small minority groups. For example, in 1985 in order to convince President Reagan to sign a farm relief bill Oklahoma Senator David Boren withheld Edwin Meese's confirmation vote as Reagan's Attorney General. Filibuster, which is roots from a meaning linked to piracy, was adapted to the long speeches meant delay progress which became more common in the 1840’s, hinting that they robbed one’s time. Henry Clay is known as the father of filibusters for his starting this trend in 1841. Filibustering became most popular as the slavery issue became heated in Congress. Southern senators would speak for hours on end to block any action progressing civil rights legislation. When the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was being debated, South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond gave the longest speech in the Senate’s history. Trying to stop any advancement, Thurmond talked for twenty-four hours and eighteen minutes. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, filibusters were mostly centralized around the civil rights movement. However, in more recent years they have expanded and are used on all types of bills. In fact, about two-thirds of all filibusters have occurred in the last thirty years.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thisnation.com/question/037.html
http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/a-history-and-explanation-of-the-filibuster-209333.html#ixzz16nTInG7x
http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/hold.htm
Please click the link below for a cartoon.
http://www.filibustercartoons.com/index.php/2010/11/09/pay-no-attention-to-that-recession/