Cloture

**Cloture** (US: /ˈkloʊtʃər/,[1] UK: /ˈkloʊtjʊər/),[2] **closure**,[3] or, informally, a **guillotine**[3] is a motion or process in parliamentary procedureaimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. *Clôture* is French for "fence". It was introduced into the Parliament of the United Kingdom by William Ewart Gladstone to overcome the obstructionism of the Irish Parliamentary Party and was made permanent in 1887. It was subsequently adopted by the United States Senate and other legislatures. The name *cloture* remains in the United States;[2] in Commonwealth countries it is usually *closure*[2] or, informally, *guillotine*; in the United Kingdom *closure* and *guillotine* are distinct motions.[4][5]

A cloture procedure similar to that of the United Kingdom was adopted on March 8, 1917, by the Senate of the United States. This was invoked for the first time on November 15, 1919,[25]during the 66th Congress, to end a filibuster on the Treaty of Versailles.[26]

The Senate's cloture rule originally[27] required a supermajority of two-thirds of all senators "present and voting" to be considered *filibuster-proof*.[28][29] For example, if all 100 Senators voted on a cloture motion, 67 of those votes would have to be for cloture for it to pass; however if some Senators were absent and only 80 Senators voted on a cloture motion, only 54 would have to vote in favor.[30] However, it proved very difficult to achieve this. The Senate tried 11 times between 1927 and 1962 to invoke cloture but failed each time. Filibuster use was particularly heavy by Democratic Senators from southern states to block civil rightslegislation.[31]

In 1975, the Democratic Senate majority, having achieved a net gain of four seats in the 1974 Senate elections to attain a strength of 61 (with an additional Independent Senator caucusing with them for a total of 62), reduced the necessary supermajority to three-fifths (60 out of 100).[32] However, as a compromise to those who were against the revision, the new rule also changed the requirement for determining the number of votes needed for a cloture motion's passage from those Senators "present and voting" to those Senators "duly chosen and sworn". Thus, 60 votes for cloture would be necessary regardless of whether every Senator voted. The only time a lesser number would become acceptable is when a Senate seat is vacant. For example, if there were two vacancies in the Senate, thereby making 98 Senators "duly chosen and sworn", it would take only 59 votes for a cloture motion to pass.[30]

The new version of the cloture rule requiring three-fifths (60%) rather than two-thirds (66.7%) approval, which has remained in place since 1975, makes it considerably easier for the Senate majority to invoke cloture. Even so, a successful cloture motion on legislation is uncommon.

Bills considered under the reconciliation process established in 1974 (certain bills concerning spending and the budget) cannot be filibustered and therefore don't require a supermajority cloture vote.

The U.S. House of Representatives does not have a cloture procedure, since filibustering is not possible in that body.

### Procedure:

The three-fifths version of the cloture rule does not apply to motions to end filibusters relating to Senate Rule changes. To invoke cloture to end debate over changing the Senate rules, the original version of the rule (two-thirds of those Senators "present and voting") still applies.[33]

The procedure for "invoking cloture", or ending a filibuster, is as follows:

* A minimum of 16 senators must sign a petition for cloture.
* The petition may be presented by interrupting another Senator's speech.
* The clerk reads the petition.
* The cloture petition is ignored for one full day during which the Senate is sitting (called a "Legislative Day"). For example, if the petition is filed on Monday, it is ignored until Wednesday; if the petition is filed on a Friday, it is ignored until Tuesday, assuming that the Senate did not sit on Saturday or Sunday.[34]
* On the second Legislative Day after the presentation of the petition, after the Senate has been sitting for one hour, a "quorum call" is undertaken to ensure a majority of the Senators are present. However, the mandatory quorum call is often waived by unanimous consent.
* The Majority Leader presents the petition.
* The Senate votes on the petition; three-fifths of the whole number of Senators (sixty if there are no vacancies) is the required majority; however, when cloture is invoked on a question of changing the rules of the Senate, two-thirds of the Senators voting (not necessarily two-thirds of all Senators) is the requisite majority. This is commonly referred to as a "test vote".
* Cloture on a presidential nomination requires a simple majority of those present and voting. This was changed for all presidential appointments other than Supreme Court nominees in a November 21, 2013, Senate vote (the so-called "nuclear option"),[35] and was further extended to include Supreme Court nominees in an April 6, 2017, Senate vote.

After cloture has been invoked, the following restrictions apply:

* No more than 30 additional hours of debate may occur on the bill in question[36] (though this additional time is commonly shortened or vitiated altogether).
* No Senator may speak for more than one hour.
* No amendments may be moved unless they were filed on the day between the presentation of the petition and the actual cloture vote.
* All amendments must be relevant to the debate.
* Certain procedural motions are not permissible.[*which?*]
* The presiding officer gains additional powers in controlling debate such as the power to count to determine whether a quorum is present and to rule amendments, motions, and other actions out of order on the grounds that they are dilatory.
* No other matters may be considered until the question upon which cloture was invoked is resolved.

## Notes:

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9. **Jump up^** Procedure if Rules of Procedure do not Provide The Legislative Council -- Procedures
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16. **Jump up^** HC Deb vol 258 cc.155–6
17. **Jump up^** HC Deb vol 258 c.69
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27. **Jump up^** Koger, Gregory *Cloture Reform and Party Government in the Senate, 1918-1925*, Journal of Politics, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Aug 2006), p. 708-719.
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30. ^ Jump up to:***a*** ***b*** *Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate*, Richard S. Beth and Stanley Bach, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress: March 23, 2003, p. 13.
31. **Jump up^** Loevy, Robert D. (1997). *The Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Passage of the Law that Ended Racial Segregation* SUNY Press. p. 29.
32. **Jump up^** "What is Rule 22?", Rule22 Blog, 5/28/2011.
33. **Jump up^** *Invoking Cloture in the Senate*, Christopher M. Davis, June 4, 2007, page 2.
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37. **Jump up^** "Senate Action on Cloture Motions". United States Senate. Retrieved 22 November 2013.