Invoking Cloture in the Senate
Christopher M. Davis
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
November 25, 2013
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
98-425
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress
Invoking Cloture in the Senate
loture is the only procedure by which the Senate can vote to set an end to a debate without
also rejecting the bill, amendment, conference report, motion, or other matter it has been
C debating. A Senator can make a nondebatable motion to table an amendment, and if a
majority of the Senate votes for that motion, the effect is to reject the amendment. Thus, the
motion to table cannot be used to conclude a debate when Senators still wish to speak and to
enable the Senate to vote for the proposal it is considering. Only the cloture provisions of Rule
XXII achieve this purpose.
There are several stages to the process of invoking cloture.
• First, at least 16 Senators sign a cloture motion (also called a cloture petition)
that states: “We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of
Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move to bring to a close
the debate upon [the matter in question].”
• To present a cloture motion, a Senator may interrupt another Senator who is
speaking. When the motion is presented, the clerk reads it.
• The cloture motion then lies over until the second calendar day on which the
Senate is in session. For example, if the motion is filed on Monday, it lies over
until Wednesday, assuming the Senate is in session daily. If the motion is filed on
Friday, it lies over until Tuesday unless the Senate was in session on Saturday or
Sunday.
• The Senate votes on the cloture motion one hour after it convenes on the second
calendar day after the cloture motion was filed, and after a quorum call has
established the presence of a quorum. The time for the cloture vote may be
changed by unanimous consent, and the required quorum call is routinely
waived.
• The presiding officer presents the cloture motion to the Senate for a rollcall vote
at the time required by Rule XXII, even if the Senate had been considering other
business between the time the cloture motion was filed and the time for voting on
the motion arrives.
• The majority required to invoke cloture for most business is three-fifths of the
Senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 votes if there are no vacancies in the
Senate’s membership. However, invoking cloture on a measure or motion to
amend the Senate’s standing rules requires the votes of two-thirds of the Senators
present and voting, or 67 votes if all 100 Senators vote. Additionally, under a
November 21, 2013, precedent established by the Senate, invoking cloture on
presidential nominations to positions other than the Supreme Court of the United
States requires a vote of a majority of Senators present and voting, or 51 votes if
all 100 Senators vote.1
Senators who wish to offer amendments to a bill or amendment on which cloture has been
invoked must submit their amendments in writing before the cloture vote takes place. First-degree
amendments (which propose to change the text of a bill or a committee amendment in the nature
of a substitute) must be submitted in writing to the journal clerk when the Senate is in session, but
no later than 1:00 p.m. on the day after the cloture motion is filed. Second-degree amendments
1 Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 159, Nov. 21, 2013, p. S8418.
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Invoking Cloture in the Senate
(which propose to amend first-degree amendments) must be submitted at least an hour before the
Senate votes on cloture.
Cloture may be invoked only on a matter that is pending before the Senate or on the unfinished
business. It is not in order, except by unanimous consent, to invoke cloture on a bill before the
Senate has agreed to consider it. On the other hand, there is no limit on the number of times that
the Senate can vote on motions to invoke cloture on a bill, amendment, or other matter it is
considering.
Although not explicitly provided for in Senate rules, it has become common practice for the
majority leader to make a motion to proceed to consider a measure, immediately file cloture on
that motion, and then withdraw the motion to proceed. This allows the Senate to conduct other
floor business while the cloture petition is “ripening” in the background. At the time appointed by
Rule XXII, the cloture petition on the motion to proceed is automatically laid before the Senate
for a vote.
If an amendment has been offered to a bill, the Senate may invoke cloture either on the bill or on
the amendment. Sometimes Senators prefer to invoke cloture on an amendment instead of a bill
because after the Senate invokes cloture, it may consider only amendments that are germane. This
germaneness requirement applies to amendments that are pending at the time that cloture is
invoked as well as to amendments that Senators offer after the Senate has voted for cloture. Thus,
if the Senate invokes cloture on a bill, the presiding officer immediately rules on whether any
pending amendment is germane. If the amendment is not germane, it falls and is ineligible for
further consideration.
If the Senators who wish to expedite passage of a bill also support a pending non-germane
amendment to the bill, they cannot invoke cloture on the bill without also killing the amendment
they favor. This is often the case with amendments in the nature of a substitute, which, because
they propose to replace the entire text of a measure being considered, and may be hundreds of
pages in length, often contain at least some non-germane provisions. The alternative is to ask the
Senate to invoke cloture on the amendment, not on the bill. Doing so protects the amendment
from becoming subject to the germaneness requirement. After the Senate agrees to the
amendment, however, it may be necessary for the Senate to invoke cloture a second time, on the
bill as amended.
Should a cloture motion be defeated, the majority leader may enter a motion to reconsider the
cloture vote. This allows the majority leader to call up the motion at a subsequent time when he
feels he has the votes, and thereby obtain an immediate second vote on cloture.2
113th Congress Cloture Rule Change
On January 24, 2013, the Senate amended Senate Rule XXII to establish an additional, optional
process of invoking cloture on a motion to proceed which differs in some respects from the
procedures described above.3 Under this process, if a cloture motion filed on a motion to proceed
2 For additional information, see Senate Rule XXII and Riddick’s Senate Procedure, pp. 282-334, available online at
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/riddick/282-334.pdf.
3 See S.Res. 16.
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to consider a measure or matter is signed by both floor leaders, seven additional Senators not
affiliated with the majority party, and seven additional Senators not affiliated with the minority
party, it will be eligible for a vote on the next session day (as opposed to the second day of
session, as would otherwise be the case). If cloture is invoked, the vote will immediately be put
on the motion to proceed without the usual 30 hours of post-cloture consideration.4
Author Contact Information
Christopher M. Davis
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
cmdavis@crs.loc.gov, 7-0656
Acknowledgments
This report was written by Stanley Bach, formerly a senior specialist in the Legislative Process at CRS.
4 For more information, see CRS Report R42996, Changes to Senate Procedures in the 113th Congress Affecting the
Operation of Cloture (S.Res. 15 and S.Res. 16), by Elizabeth Rybicki.
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