E v ery b o d y is talk in g ab o ut th e . . .
The Filibuster
What is a filibuster?
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In the U.S. Senate a filibuster is the use of continuous speeches, usually by minority party members, to
extend debate in an attempt to delay or prevent a vote on proposed legislation. The term is derived from
the Spanish “filibustero,” which translates as “pirate” or “freebooter.”
A brief history of the filibuster:
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Filibuster is not mentioned in the Constitution, but both the Senate and the House of Representatives are
allowed, under Article I, Section 5, to set their own rules of procedure.
 Originally, a simple majority was enough to end debate and bring a proposal to
a vote. In 1806, the Senate changed its procedural rules and created the
possibility for the filibuster — that is, a member or number of members could
speak for as long as they wished and on any topic they chose in order to block a
vote on a bill.
 In the very early years of Congress, House Representatives as well as Senators
could filibuster, but this was changed when the House of Representatives grew
too large and now applies only to the Senate.
Roughly two-thirds of all filibusters have occurred in the last 30 years. Until then the number of
filibusters per year tended to be less than 10 and often less than five.
How does a filibuster end?
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Invoking Rule 22 (“cloture”) can end a filibuster. This device, adopted by the Senate in 1917, is used to
end a filibuster by a two-thirds (supermajority) vote. It is interesting to note that the Constitution spells
out that supermajority votes are to be reserved for specific matters such as impeachments, treaties, and
overriding a presidential veto.
In 1975, the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds to three-fifths, or 60
of the 100 senators.
Senate Rule 22 also broadened the procedures for filibuster. Continuous floor speeches are no longer
required; a senator simply has to announce a filibuster, and the proposal cannot go to a vote until cloture
is successfully enacted or the filibuster is voluntarily ended. However, the Senate Majority Leader may
require a traditional filibuster with continuous speaking if he or she so chooses.
Setting records . . .
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The record for the longest individual filibuster goes to South Carolina’s J. Strom Thurmond, who
filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
The longest filibuster by a group of Senators — against the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 —
lasted 57 days.
In the 1990s, Republicans used the filibuster up to 80 times per year against President Bill Clinton.
Near the end of President George W. Bush’s presidency, Democrats filibustered 100 times per year.
Republicans have set an all-time record by using filibuster 274 times in the first two years of President
Barack Obama’s Administration—138 times in 2009 and 136 in 2010.
Just thought you should know.
www.justthoughtyoushouldknow.org
Sources: Kristi Oloffson, “A Brief History of Filibusters,” Time, 11/2/09. Lisa Graves, “Cloture and Filibusters in the U.S. Congress,” SourceWatch,
12/28/10. Martin B. Gold and Dimple Gupta, “The Constitutional Option,” Harvard Law Review, 2004. Patriot-News Editorial Board, “Filibuster
Abuse: The Founding Fathers Didn’t Plan It This Way,” pennlive.com, 12/27/10. United States Senate, “Filibuster and Cloture,” www.senate.gov.
“What is a filibuster? …” ThisNation.com, 12/30/10.
The content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License 2010 • Virginia Downie * Dec. 2011