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Cloture
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- See also: Filibuster
Cloture, or Rule XXII, is a procedure that allows the Senate to vote to limit debate and end a filibuster. Sixteen senators must present a motion to end debate. A vote on the motion is usually held the second day of session after the motion is made. To invoke cloture, three-fifths of all senators—or 60 senators when all are present—must vote in favor of the motion. Invoking cloture allows for a maximum of 30 additional hours to debate a proposal. During this time, senators can only offer amendments that are germane and were submitted in writing before the cloture vote.[1][2]
Background
The cloture rule was adopted in March 1917 after Republican senators filibustered President Woodrow Wilson’s proposal to arm merchant ships during World War I. According to Brookings, Wilson "demanded the Senate create a cloture rule, the press dubbed the rule a 'war measure,' and the public burned senators in effigy around the country. Adoption of Rule 22 occurred because Wilson and the Democrats framed the rule as a matter of national security. They fused procedure with policy, and used the bully pulpit to shame senators into reform."[3]
Cloture was first used in 1919, to end a filibuster against the Treaty of Versailles.[4]
See also
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Footnotes
