[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 859 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 859

   To provide for the expedited consideration of nominations for the 
                  Supreme Court of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 16, 2023

  Mr. Merkley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for the expedited consideration of nominations for the 
                  Supreme Court of the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Every Supreme Court Nominee Deserves 
Timely Consideration Act''.

SEC. 2. SUPREME COURT JUDICIAL REVIEW PROCEDURE.

    (a) Discharge.--In the Senate, if the Committee on the Judiciary of 
the Senate has not reported a nomination for the Chief Justice of the 
United States or an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States at the end of 60 continuous days of session after the 
date on which the nomination is referred to such committee, any Member 
may submit to the Congressional Record a notice of intent to discharge 
the nomination. At the end of 20 calendar days after the notice of 
intent to file such petition, such committee may be discharged from 
further consideration of such nomination upon a petition supported in 
writing by 30 Members of the Senate, and such nomination shall be 
placed on the calendar. Debate on the motion, and on all debatable 
motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall not be in order.
    (b) Consideration.--
            (1) Debate.--In the Senate, debate on the nomination, and 
        on all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, 
        shall be limited to not more than 30 hours, which shall be 
        divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the 
        nomination. A motion further to limit debate is not in order 
        and not debatable. A motion to postpone, a motion to proceed to 
        the consideration of other business, or any amendment thereto, 
        is not in order. A one-time nondebatable motion to extend the 
        consideration of the nomination an additional 30 hours shall 
        only be in order when supported in writing by 30 Members of the 
        Senate.
            (2) Vote.--In the Senate, immediately following the 
        conclusion of the debate on a nomination described in 
        subsection (b)(1), and a single quorum call at the conclusion 
        of the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the 
        Senate, the vote on the confirmation of the nomination shall 
        occur.
    (c) Rules of the Senate.--This section is enacted by Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate, 
        and as such it is deemed a part of the rules of the Senate, and 
        it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 
        inconsistent with such rules; and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        the Senate to change such rules (so far as relating to the 
        procedure of the Senate) at any time, in the same manner, and 
        to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of the 
        Senate.
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