The Filibuster (Part 1 of 4)

Introduction

One of the most famous yet often misunderstood tools of the United States' Senate, the filibuster has been responsible for shaping events in the history of the United States while also frustrating both sides of the political spectrum. The term 'filibuster' originates from the anglicized Dutch word for 'free-booter', so a 'filibusterer' was a pre-colonial pirate. [1] Today's usage of the term 'filibuster' simply refers to a moment when a legislator (almost always a senator) delays the legislative process on a bill in order to achieve some political goal. While to some it may seem obvious as to how a filibuster has changed from a pirate to a senator speaking for a very long time, no one really knows for sure how the term evolved. One of the first documented usages of the term in the political sense was when the Kansas-Nebraska Act was filibustered in 1854 [1], so the political usage of the term is relatively new.

Typically, most people think of a filibuster as a senator talking for a very long time in order to prevent a bill from passing. According to page two hundred thirty-seven in his book, Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process, Oleszek writes, “a filibuster in the fullest sense employs every parliamentary maneuver and dilatory motion to delay, modify, or defeat legislation.” What this means is that speaking nonstop is only one way to filibuster a bill and that the filibuster isn’t solely employed for the purpose of defeating a bill. More importantly, it is difficult to determine when extended debate becomes a filibuster, for no one actually declares a motion to filibuster. Nowadays the threat of the filibuster is more prevalent than the actual implementation. Since the threat of a filibuster alone can create havoc for the Majority Leader, the filibuster can be considered ‘silent’. [3]

The reason why a filibuster even exists is because when the rules of the Senate were adopted in 1789, the Senate’s small size permitted the freedoms of unlimited debate and opportunity to offer amendments – germane or not. [4] Now with a Senate of one hundred members, a filibuster is a much greater threat; however, in 1917 Rule XXII – the cloture rule – gave the majority some power over threat of filibusters although unrestricted debate was of much less concern during the nineteenth century. [3] There have been other measures since then to combat the threat of filibusters including help from the House of Representatives with the passing of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 [2], but they are still one of the greatest bargaining chips any senator has in the U.S. Senate.

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References:

1. Smith, Steven S., Roberts, Jason M., & Vander Wielen, Ryan J. (2009) The American Congress. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (pp. 224)
2. Sinclair, Barbara. (2007) Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes in the U.S. Congress. Washington D.C.: CQ Press (pp.196)
3. Oleszek, Walter J. (2007) Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process. Washington D.C.: CQ Press (pp. 237)
4. The United States Senate. (2010, April 10). Senate Legislative Process. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/briefing/Senate_legislative_process.htm