# Why doesn't the Senate just require a majority to pass a bill?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-the-senate-just-require-a-majority-to-pass-a-bill/525924
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 22, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-the-senate-just-require-a-majority-to-pass-a-bill/525924 "2010-01-22T00:09:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 4

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### Author: ![whorfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/6f9a4e/32.png) [@whorfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whorfin)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-the-senate-just-require-a-majority-to-pass-a-bill/525924/4 "2010-01-22T00:56:17Z")

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> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#):
>
> 1. Yes, it’s a Senate procedural rule. don’t know when it came about.
> 
> 2. A “fillibuster” in this context is the invocation of the Senate’s procedural rules which provide for unlimited debate on a current bill. That’s what bogs down the Senate - so if they’re currently debating a bill scheduled for a vote, it stands to reason that you can’t do anything else until the vote occurs (or there is Cloture, which is what requires the 6/10 supermajority). No comment on how this affects Senate committees and sub-committees’ business during a fillibuster
> 
> 3. It only takes 51 votes to pass a bill (or 50+the president of the senate [edit: not pro tempore president, the actual president i.e. the VP])

#2 is technically correct–it is true in the context of a “real” filibuster, but wrong in the context of how the filibuster works in the senate today.

A true, Mr Smith goes to Washington filibuster stops all business in the senate.

That was understandably difficult–and so the “procedural” filibuster was born–the basic concept being a “procedural” filibuster simply precludes a vote–but does not stop debate on other topics. This makes it a very low-cost exercise–such that, as we see today, it is possible to “filibuster” more or less every bill, creating the 60% supermajority requirement.

For efficiency, here is my prior description of the process.

> [@How often do filibusters really happen?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-filibusters-really-happen/475294/6):
>
> For reference: here’s a better work on filibusters  
> [U.S. Senate: 404 Error Page](http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%270E%2C*PLW%3D%22P%20%20%0A)
> 
> The rule that allows “modern” filibusters appears to be rule XXII-the cloture rule. under this, the process seems to be that, once a filibuster is started, a motion can be made to hold a vote to end debate (for cloture)-which ends the filibuster, if approved. (it has to be made on the issue before the senate).
> 
> Once the motion is raised, however, the vote is held two days afterwards (“on the following calendar day but one”). However, in the intervening time, the senate doesn’t need to debate the question on which cloture is sought (i.e. the bill/nomination that’s filibustered). So they can get on with other business for two days (and the two-day period can, and often is changed by unanimous consent-so it could be weeks before the vote for cloture comes up).
> 
> Once the vote is taken, and (assuming it loses), the filibuster continues–but another motion for cloture can be raised. Rinse, repeat.

I’ve posted on filibusters before–here are two other posts (in useful threads).

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10518168&postcount=2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10518168&postcount=2)  
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11826931&postcount=4](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11826931&postcount=4)

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