Legislation has next to no chance of passing but Democrats hope to show Republicans are not serious about solving border issue
Senate Democrats on Thursday will force a second vote on a bipartisan border security bill that Republicans blocked earlier this year at Donald Trump’s behest.
The legislation has next to no chance of passing the chamber, but Democrats hope the attempt will strengthen their argument that Republicans are not serious about addressing the situation at the US border with Mexico, an issue that polls show is a top concern among voters – and one of Joe Biden’s biggest political liabilities.
“Our bipartisan border bill represented a real chance – in fact, the best chance in decades – to act on border security, to make a law and not just to make a political point,” Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday.
You’ll have to excuse my ignorance here but my understanding was that Democrats could force something through the senate with the VP as the deciding vote? Has something changed in the meantime or am I recalling incorrectly?
I believe they need a supermajority of 60 to force a vote through the House. The VP can vote only as a tie-breaker in the Senate.
This is correct. The 60 vote threshold is to break a filibuster. Filibusters having become steadily more common since they changed the procedures for them that removed the requirement for a filibustering Senator to actually stand up and talk the whole time, which put a functional, biological cap on the potential duration of a filibuster. That cap no longer exists. This is sometimes called a “no-talk filibuster”.
When the fuck did that happen? That’s part of the point of a filibuster… does dude man (or dudette woman) have the fucking stones to see it through? Do they have the conviction of purpose in opposition to the motion to do what it takes to prevent it?
Looks like 1975.
Seems it was an inadvertent result from a rule designed to allow the Senate to pursue other business during a filibuster, so it wouldn’t hold up all Senate business.
Here’s a couple links, and there’s also a long wikipedia article on it.
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/filibustering-in-the-modern-senate https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/filibuster-explained
Wow… so my entire life. Appreciate the info.
Perfect. Thank you!