[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3749-S3750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 85--TO AMEND PARAGRAPH 2 OF RULE XXII OF THE STANDING 
                          RULES OF THE SENATE

  Mr. MILLER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Rules and Administration:

                               S. Res. 85

       Resolved, That paragraph 2 of rule XXII of the Standing 
     Rules of the Senate is amended to read as follows:
       ``2. (a)(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of rule II or 
     rule IV or any other rule of the Senate, at any time a motion 
     signed by 16 Senators, to bring to a close the debate upon 
     any measure, motion, other matter pending before the Senate, 
     or the unfinished business, is presented to the Senate, the 
     Presiding Officer, or clerk at the direction of the Presiding 
     Officer, shall at once state the motion to the Senate, and 1 
     hour after the Senate meets on the following calendar day but 
     1, he shall lay the motion before the Senate and direct that 
     the clerk call the roll, and upon the ascertainment that a 
     quorum is present, the Presiding Officer shall, without 
     debate, submit to the Senate by a yea-and-nay vote the 
     question: ``Is it the sense of the Senate that the debate 
     shall be brought to a close?''.
       ``(2) If the question in clause (1) is agreed to by three-
     fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn--except on a 
     measure or motion to amend the Senate rules, in which case 
     the necessary affirmative vote shall be two-thirds of the 
     Senators present and voting--then that measure, motion, or 
     other matter pending before the Senate, or the unfinished 
     business, shall be the unfinished business to the exclusion 
     of all other business until disposed of.
       ``(3) After cloture is invoked, no Senator shall be 
     entitled to speak in all more than 1 hour on the measure, 
     motion, or other matter pending before the Senate, or the 
     unfinished business, the amendments thereto, and motions 
     affecting the same, and it shall be the duty of the Presiding 
     Officer to keep the time of each Senator who speaks. Except 
     by unanimous consent, no amendment shall be proposed after 
     the vote to bring the debate to a close, unless it had been 
     submitted in writing to the Journal Clerk by 1 o'clock p.m. 
     on the day following the filing of the cloture motion if an 
     amendment in the first degree, and unless it had been so 
     submitted at least 1 hour prior to the beginning of the 
     cloture vote if an amendment in the second degree. No 
     dilatory motion, or dilatory amendment, or amendment not 
     germane shall be in order. Points of order, including 
     questions of relevancy, and appeals from the decision of the 
     Presiding Officer, shall be decided without debate.
       ``(4) After no more than 30 hours of consideration of the 
     measure, motion, or other matter on which cloture has been 
     invoked, the Senate shall proceed, without any further debate 
     on any question, to vote on the final disposition thereof to 
     the exclusion of all amendments not then actually pending 
     before the Senate at that time and to the exclusion of all 
     motions, except a motion to table, or to reconsider and one 
     quorum call on demand to establish the presence of a quorum 
     (and motions required to establish a quorum) immediately 
     before the final vote begins. The 30 hours may be increased 
     by the adoption of a motion, decided without debate, by a 
     three-fifths affirmative vote of the Senators duly chosen and 
     sworn, and any such time thus agreed upon shall be equally 
     divided between and controlled by the Majority and Minority 
     Leaders or their designees. However, only one motion to 
     extend time, specified above, may be made in any 1 calendar 
     day.
       ``(5) If, for any reason, a measure or matter is reprinted 
     after cloture has been invoked, amendments which were in 
     order prior to the reprinting of the measure or matter will 
     continue to be in order and may be conformed and reprinted at 
     the request of the amendment's sponsor. The conforming 
     changes must be limited to lineation and pagination.
       ``(6) No Senator shall call up more than 2 amendments until 
     every other Senator shall have had the opportunity to do 
     likewise.
       ``(7) Notwithstanding other provisions of this rule, a 
     Senator may yield all or part of

[[Page S3750]]

     his 1 hour to the majority or minority floor managers of the 
     measure, motion, or matter or to the Majority or Minority 
     Leader, but each Senator specified shall not have more than 2 
     hours so yielded to him and may in turn yield such time to 
     other Senators.
       ``(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this rule, any 
     Senator who has not used or yielded at least 10 minutes, is, 
     if he seeks recognition, guaranteed up to 10 minutes, 
     inclusive, to speak only.
       ``(9) After cloture is invoked, the reading of any 
     amendment, including House amendments, shall be dispensed 
     with when the proposed amendment has been identified and has 
     been available in printed form at the desk of the Members for 
     not less than 24 hours.
       ``(b)(1) If, upon a vote taken on a motion presented 
     pursuant to subparagraph (a), the Senate fails to invoke 
     cloture with respect to a measure, motion, or other matter 
     pending before the Senate, or the unfinished business, 
     subsequent motions to bring debate to a close may be made 
     with respect to the same measure, motion, matter, or 
     unfinished business. It shall not be in order to file 
     subsequent cloture motions on any measure, motion, or other 
     matter pending before the Senate, except by unanimous 
     consent, until the previous motion has been disposed of.
       ``(2) Such subsequent motions shall be made in the manner 
     provided by, and subject to the provisions of, subparagraph 
     (a), except that the affirmative vote required to bring to a 
     close debate upon that measure, motion, or other matter, or 
     unfinished business (other than a measure or motion to amend 
     Senate rules) shall be reduced by 3 votes on the second such 
     motion, and by 3 additional votes on each succeeding motion, 
     until the affirmative vote is reduced to a number equal to or 
     less than an affirmative vote of a majority of the Senators 
     duly chosen and sworn. The required vote shall then be an 
     affirmative vote of a majority of the Senators duly chosen 
     and sworn. The requirement of an affirmative vote of a 
     majority of the Senators duly chosen and sworn shall not be 
     further reduced upon any vote taken on any later motion made 
     pursuant to this subparagraph with respect to that measure, 
     motion, matter, or unfinished business.''.

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