In response to Republican efforts to slow down consideration of legislation concerning China with filibusters on amendments, Senate Majority Leader Reid moved to limit the use of the filibuster:
The Senate descended into procedural chaos Thursday night as
Democrats forced a change in Senate rules and shut down a GOP effort to
bog down a Chinese currency bill with a series of unrelated amendments.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s
move to suddenly overhaul a key Senate rule without warning infuriated
Republicans and put an already bitterly divided chamber on edge as
senators from both sides of the aisle traded angry accusations over
whether the fight would fundamentally limit the rights of the minority
party.
By a 51-48 vote, the Senate voted along party lines to change the
precedent and limit how amendments can be considered once a filibuster
is defeated. Under normal procedure, the Senate has 30 hours of debate
after 60 senators agree to end a filibuster. Amendments can be
considered during those 30 hours if each side agrees by unanimous
consent to schedule a vote — or if a senator moves to waive the rules,
which would then require the support of 67 senators in order to succeed.
But under the new procedure, senators can no longer move to waive the
rules once a filibuster is defeated — a battle that threatens to further
inflame partisan tensions and stymie legislative action at a time when
frustration with Congress is at an all-time high.
