The Senate's Right to Set Procedural Rules
Continued from the previous post
The Senate's constitutional power to make rules is straightforward, but two issues do warrant brief elaboration--the number of Senators that are constitutionally necessary to establish procedures and whether there are any time limitations as to when the rulemaking power can be exercised.
The Supreme Court addressed both of these questions in United States v. Ballin, an 1892 case interpreting Congress's rulemaking powers. [144 U.S. 1 (1892).] First, the Court held that the powers delegated to each body are held by a simple majority of the quorum, unless the Constitution expressly creates a supermajority requirement. [Ballin, 144 U.S. at 6. There is no serious disagreement with the Supreme Court's conclusion in Ballin. Indeed, Senator Edward Kennedy has said that only a majority is necessary to change Senate procedures. Congressional Record, Feb. 20, 1975, S3848. Senator Charles Schumer conceded during a Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the constitutionality of the filibuster that Senate rules ``could be changed by a majority vote.'' S. Hrg. 108-227 (May 6, 2003), at 60.] The Constitution itself sets the quorum for doing business--a majority of the Senate. [U.S. Const., art. I, 5, cl. 1.] Second, the Supreme Court held that the ``power to make rules is not one which once exercised is exhausted. It is a continuous power, always subject to be exercised by the house.'' [Ballin, 144 U.S. at 5.] Thus, the Supreme Court has held that the power of a majority of Senators to define the Senate's procedures exists at all times whether at the beginning, middle, or end of a Congress.
The Senate majority exercises this constitutional rulemaking power in several ways:
First, it has adopted Standing Rules to govern some Senate practices and procedures. Those rules formally can be changed by a majority vote. Any motion to formally amend the Standing Rules is subject to debate, and Senate Rule XXII creates a special two-thirds cloture threshold to end that debate.
Second, the Senate operates according to Senate precedents, i.e., rulings by the Chair or the Senate itself regarding questions of Senate procedure. A precedent is created whenever the Chair rules on a point of order, when the Senate sustains or rejects an appeal of the Chair's ruling on a point of order, or when the Senate itself rules on a question that has been submitted to it by the Chair. [Floyd M. Riddick, Senate Parliamentarian, Oral History Interviews (November 21, 1978), Senate Historical Office, Washington, D.C., at 429.] As former parliamentarian and Senate procedural expert Floyd M. Riddick has said, ``The precedents of the Senate are just as significant as the rules of the Senate.'' [Riddick interview at 426.]
Third, the Senate binds itself through rule-making statutes that constrain and channel the consideration of particular matters and guarantee that the Senate can take action on certain matters by majority vote. At least 26 such rule-making statutes govern Senate procedure and limit the right to debate, dating back to the 1939 Reorganization Act and including, most prominently, the 1974 Budget Act. [Martin B. Gold, Senate Procedure and Practice (2004), at 5. For a complete list of the 26 statutes that limit Senate debate, see John Cornyn, Our Broken Judicial Confirmation Process and the Need for Filibuster Reform, 27 Harv. J. L. Pub. Pol'y 181,213-214 (2003).]
Finally, the Senate can modify the above procedures through Standing Orders, which can be entered via formal legislation, Senate resolutions, and unanimous consent agreements.
It is important to emphasize, however, that these rules are the mere background for day-today Senate procedure. As any Senate observer knows, the institution functions primarily through cooperation and tacit or express agreements about appropriate behavior. Most business is conducted by unanimous consent, and collective norms have emerged that assist in the protection of minority rights without unduly hindering the Senate's business.
[Page: S5510] GPO's PDF
Consider, for example, the Senate's contrasting norms regarding the exercise of individual Senators' procedural rights. Under the rules and precedents of the Senate, each Senator has the right to object to consent requests and, with a sufficient second, to demand roll call votes on customarily routine motions. If Senators routinely exercised those rights, however, the Senate would come to a standstill. Such wholesale obstruction is rare, but not because the Senate's standing rules, precedents, and rulemaking statutes prohibit a Senator from engaging in that kind of delay. Rather, Senators rarely employ such dilatory tactics because of the potential reaction of other Senators or the possibility of retaliation. As a result, informed self enforcement of reasonable behavior is the norm.
At the same time, some ``obstructionist'' tactics have long been accepted by the Senate as features of a body that respects minority rights. Most prominent is the broadly accepted right of a single Senator to speak for as long as he or she wants on pending legislation, subject only to the right of the majority to invoke cloture and shut off debate. Indeed, an overwhelming and bipartisan consensus in support of the current legislative filibuster system has existed for 30 years. [Standing Rule XXII's standard for cloture--three-fifths of Senators ``duly chosen and sworn''--has been in effect since 1975.] Thus, the norms of the Senate tolerate some, but not all, kinds or degrees of obstruction.
Thus, while written rules, precedents, and orders are important, common understandings of self-restraint, discretion, and institutional propriety have primarily governed acceptable Senatorial conduct. It is the departures from these norms of conduct that have precipitated institutional crises that require the Senate to respond.
The Senate's constitutional power to make rules is straightforward, but two issues do warrant brief elaboration--the number of Senators that are constitutionally necessary to establish procedures and whether there are any time limitations as to when the rulemaking power can be exercised.
The Supreme Court addressed both of these questions in United States v. Ballin, an 1892 case interpreting Congress's rulemaking powers. [144 U.S. 1 (1892).] First, the Court held that the powers delegated to each body are held by a simple majority of the quorum, unless the Constitution expressly creates a supermajority requirement. [Ballin, 144 U.S. at 6. There is no serious disagreement with the Supreme Court's conclusion in Ballin. Indeed, Senator Edward Kennedy has said that only a majority is necessary to change Senate procedures. Congressional Record, Feb. 20, 1975, S3848. Senator Charles Schumer conceded during a Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the constitutionality of the filibuster that Senate rules ``could be changed by a majority vote.'' S. Hrg. 108-227 (May 6, 2003), at 60.] The Constitution itself sets the quorum for doing business--a majority of the Senate. [U.S. Const., art. I, 5, cl. 1.] Second, the Supreme Court held that the ``power to make rules is not one which once exercised is exhausted. It is a continuous power, always subject to be exercised by the house.'' [Ballin, 144 U.S. at 5.] Thus, the Supreme Court has held that the power of a majority of Senators to define the Senate's procedures exists at all times whether at the beginning, middle, or end of a Congress.
The Senate majority exercises this constitutional rulemaking power in several ways:
First, it has adopted Standing Rules to govern some Senate practices and procedures. Those rules formally can be changed by a majority vote. Any motion to formally amend the Standing Rules is subject to debate, and Senate Rule XXII creates a special two-thirds cloture threshold to end that debate.
Second, the Senate operates according to Senate precedents, i.e., rulings by the Chair or the Senate itself regarding questions of Senate procedure. A precedent is created whenever the Chair rules on a point of order, when the Senate sustains or rejects an appeal of the Chair's ruling on a point of order, or when the Senate itself rules on a question that has been submitted to it by the Chair. [Floyd M. Riddick, Senate Parliamentarian, Oral History Interviews (November 21, 1978), Senate Historical Office, Washington, D.C., at 429.] As former parliamentarian and Senate procedural expert Floyd M. Riddick has said, ``The precedents of the Senate are just as significant as the rules of the Senate.'' [Riddick interview at 426.]
Third, the Senate binds itself through rule-making statutes that constrain and channel the consideration of particular matters and guarantee that the Senate can take action on certain matters by majority vote. At least 26 such rule-making statutes govern Senate procedure and limit the right to debate, dating back to the 1939 Reorganization Act and including, most prominently, the 1974 Budget Act. [Martin B. Gold, Senate Procedure and Practice (2004), at 5. For a complete list of the 26 statutes that limit Senate debate, see John Cornyn, Our Broken Judicial Confirmation Process and the Need for Filibuster Reform, 27 Harv. J. L. Pub. Pol'y 181,213-214 (2003).]
Finally, the Senate can modify the above procedures through Standing Orders, which can be entered via formal legislation, Senate resolutions, and unanimous consent agreements.
It is important to emphasize, however, that these rules are the mere background for day-today Senate procedure. As any Senate observer knows, the institution functions primarily through cooperation and tacit or express agreements about appropriate behavior. Most business is conducted by unanimous consent, and collective norms have emerged that assist in the protection of minority rights without unduly hindering the Senate's business.
[Page: S5510] GPO's PDF
Consider, for example, the Senate's contrasting norms regarding the exercise of individual Senators' procedural rights. Under the rules and precedents of the Senate, each Senator has the right to object to consent requests and, with a sufficient second, to demand roll call votes on customarily routine motions. If Senators routinely exercised those rights, however, the Senate would come to a standstill. Such wholesale obstruction is rare, but not because the Senate's standing rules, precedents, and rulemaking statutes prohibit a Senator from engaging in that kind of delay. Rather, Senators rarely employ such dilatory tactics because of the potential reaction of other Senators or the possibility of retaliation. As a result, informed self enforcement of reasonable behavior is the norm.
At the same time, some ``obstructionist'' tactics have long been accepted by the Senate as features of a body that respects minority rights. Most prominent is the broadly accepted right of a single Senator to speak for as long as he or she wants on pending legislation, subject only to the right of the majority to invoke cloture and shut off debate. Indeed, an overwhelming and bipartisan consensus in support of the current legislative filibuster system has existed for 30 years. [Standing Rule XXII's standard for cloture--three-fifths of Senators ``duly chosen and sworn''--has been in effect since 1975.] Thus, the norms of the Senate tolerate some, but not all, kinds or degrees of obstruction.
Thus, while written rules, precedents, and orders are important, common understandings of self-restraint, discretion, and institutional propriety have primarily governed acceptable Senatorial conduct. It is the departures from these norms of conduct that have precipitated institutional crises that require the Senate to respond.
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