[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 94 (Friday, July 9, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7890-S7891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          NONGERMANE AND NONRELEVANT AMENDMENTS UNDER CLOTURE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, yesterday the chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee, my friend, the distinguished Senator from Utah, Mr. Hatch, 
just prior to the cloture vote on the class action bill, made a 
statement that I want to talk about briefly today.
  He said Members can bring up nongermane or nonrelevant amendments 
after cloture is invoked. I am reading from page S7818 of the 
Congressional Record where he said:

       Keep in mind that if we invoke cloture, that doesn't mean 
     those who want to bring up extraneous, nongermane amendments 
     or nonrelevant amendments can't do it. They can bring them up 
     after cloture, but they are going to have to get a 
     supermajority vote to win. That doesn't foreclose them.

  That simply is not valid.
  If cloture is invoked, you can bring up a nongermane amendment, but 
if anyone raises a point of order that your amendment is not germane, 
that amendment falls automatically. There is no such supermajority 
motion available like there is under the Budget Act. The amendment 
fails without a vote--fails or falls without a vote, however you want 
to term it. The only way you can get a vote is if you choose to appeal 
the Chair's ruling that your amendment is not germane. If you are 
successful, you will set a precedent that will permanently throw out 
the germaneness rule under cloture, and such an appeal of the Chair's 
ruling is a majority vote, not a supermajority vote.
  So the fact remains: Nongermane and nonrelevant amendments are not in 
order once cloture is invoked, and there is no such supermajority 
motion available to make them in order.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

[[Page S7891]]

  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I want to add to the statement I completed. 
In the situation Senator Hatch talked about and I commented on, you 
could the day before file a special motion and ask that the rules be 
set aside and that would take a two-thirds vote. So I guess that could 
be the supermajority he was talking about. It would be extremely 
difficult to do. You would have to file a notice the day before. I 
don't think that would likely happen. But I wanted to make sure the 
record was clear that I did not miss anything.

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