Filibusters have been used since the beginning of the republic. I have been involved on both sides of a filibuster.
I have filibustered bills that I opposed. Just three years ago, I was filibustered for 3 weeks on the bill (Disclosure Bill) that I just passed on Thursday by a vote count of 105-0. This does not take into account the 3 week filibuster of the same bill by the Senate 2 years ago. All told, I spent six weeks of my legislative life being filibustered on the Disclosure Bill. So, I am extraordinarily grateful that it finally passed this year in the House. A unanimous vote on any legislation is rare in the House.
There is nothing innately wrong with a filibuster; I think it’s just another use of the rules. I was only subjected to a “slowdown” this year when it came to the Disclosure Bill. A slowdown apparently differs from a filibuster, in that you are not opposing a bill, but protesting an action.
In the beginning of this legislative session, it seems that my Republican friends are slowing down the House due to the make up of House Committees or so I’m told.
After the elections, the Speaker of the House, on behalf of the majority, reduced the number of Republicans on three (3) committees. This was done through rules adopted by the majority during the organizational session. It was, in my opinion, a light slap on the wrist for some very vicious campaign tactics employed by the past, as well as the present, Chairman of the Republican Party. We had elections. They were tough. The winners, the Democratic majority, adopted rules favorable to the majority. I would assume had my friends on the other side won that they would have rewritten the rules to their advantage. It is the political process. However, there are consequences of slowdowns or filibusters. While a slowdown allows us to read more bills, more thoroughly, a consequence of this is that good legislation can be lost. It’s the funnel effect. As the legislative days dwindle and more time is spent “killing” legislative days, less time will be available to consider all bills.
A bill has to be read according to the Constitution three (3) times in the House: (1) Introduced, (2) Reported out of committee, and (3) Passed by the whole legislative body. The process is then repeated in the Senate, a deliberative body whose rules are designed to be slow.. This means a six (6) day minimum on passage of legislation. We can only meet to consider bills for 30 days, per the Constitution. The math speaks for itself. We have already spent 6 days in a slowdown. In the last few weeks of a session, there will be many “good” bills whose sponsors will be competing for a place on the calendar. A filibuster this long and this early has already sealed the fate of hundreds of bills.
How many of these sponsors of bills will people remember were also “the filibusterers” and thereby the killers of their own bills?
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