The filibuster rule in the Senate threatens to curtail a number of legislative priorities for Democrats and President Joe Biden — but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) may have found a loophole to move some bills forward.
According to reporting from Politico, Schumer and other Democrats have recently met with the Senate parliamentarian, the official rule-keeper of the “upper house” of Congress, to discuss a little-known provision to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. According to Section 304 of that law, Democrats are arguing, Senate can pass amendments to previous reconciliation bills with a simple majority vote.
It is unclear whether Section 304 imposes any criteria on amendments, and how many times Democrats can use Section 304. Another wrinkle: The decision on these questions rely upon the opinion of the Senate parliamentarian, who earlier this year ruled against Democrats when they attempted to include a raise in the minimum wage within the stimulus bill.
But if the parliamentarian agrees with the Democrats’ interpretation of Section 304, it opens up the possibility for a third chance this year — or even possibly additional opportunities beyond that — to enact more of their legislative priorities, without fear of a Senate filibuster, and without the headache of the politics behind amending or ending that practice altogether, including the need to get every Democratic senator on board with the idea of doing so.
As it stands right now, the filibuster requires at least 60 votes in the Senate in order to advance legislation for an up-or-down vote in that legislative chamber. With the Senate split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, the procedure currently allows Republicans to block any bills Democrats propose in that chamber, unless at least ten GOP senators agree to vote with them.
Reconciliation allows for filibuster to be bypassed, but only under certain circumstances — that rule, for example, can only be used once every fiscal year (which, for the federal government, begins on October 1 and ends on September 30). Democrats were able to use reconciliation for the recently-passed COVID economic stimulus bill, and they’ll be able to use the rule again at the beginning of October.
But for all other legislation, Republicans can use the filibuster to obstruct Democrats’ agenda for the remainder of 2021, leading many in the party to call for amending or eliminating it completely.
Angry, shocked, overwhelmed? Take action: Support independent media.
We’ve borne witness to a chaotic first few months in Trump’s presidency.
Over the last months, each executive order has delivered shock and bewilderment — a core part of a strategy to make the right-wing turn feel inevitable and overwhelming. But, as organizer Sandra Avalos implored us to remember in Truthout last November, “Together, we are more powerful than Trump.”
Indeed, the Trump administration is pushing through executive orders, but — as we’ve reported at Truthout — many are in legal limbo and face court challenges from unions and civil rights groups. Efforts to quash anti-racist teaching and DEI programs are stalled by education faculty, staff, and students refusing to comply. And communities across the country are coming together to raise the alarm on ICE raids, inform neighbors of their civil rights, and protect each other in moving shows of solidarity.
It will be a long fight ahead. And as nonprofit movement media, Truthout plans to be there documenting and uplifting resistance.
As we undertake this life-sustaining work, we appeal for your support. We have 6 days left in our fundraiser: Please, if you find value in what we do, join our community of sustainers by making a monthly or one-time gift.