WASHINGTON OUTLOOK: CIVICS MATTERS, RELATIONSHIPS MATTER, ADVOCACY MATTERS PRESENTEDC BY CHATRANE BIRBAL, SHRM Program Handouts: http://alaska.shrm.org/slides ➢ Bookmark our page http://alaska.shrm.org ➢ Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/AKSHRMStateCouncil ALASKA STATE HR CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 22-23, 2021 REGISTER TODAY! HTTPS://WWW.CVENT.COM/D/Q7QHCQ Washington Outlook Civics Matters, Relationshipst Matter, Advocacy Matters © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved Civics Matters © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved U.S. Federalism Establishes Three Levels of Government Level of government Executive Legislative body Judicial body Federal Congress: Supreme Court & President (House of Representatives & (United States) Senate) Federal Courts State State Legislature: State Supreme Governor (State Representatives & (50 states) State Senators) Court Local State-Appointed Mayor City Council (Counties & Municipalities) Judges © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved Legislative and Executive Makeup Control before Chamber/Office Control in 2021 election House of Democrats Democrats Representatives Senate Republicans Democrats President Republicans (Trump) Democrats (Biden) S O U R C E Associated Press AP DATA AS OF 1/6/2021 4:20 PM © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved KNOW-menclature: CLOTURE Cloture is the process in the US Senate to end a filibuster Steps to invoke cloture No: Cloture fails Three-fifths of One full 30 hours of final Non- senators 16 senators legislative day Yes: debate for reconciliation present voting sign a until cloture Cloture legislation; two legislation? in favor? petition for vote, during (usually 60) invoked hours of final cloture and which only A simple and debate for most submit to germane Judicial or majority of filibuster executive and clerk amendments executive branch senators is blocked judicial can be filed nominee? present voting nominations* in favor? (usually 51) No: Cloture fails Cloture was established by U.S. Senate Standing Rule XXII • In 1975, the Senate reduced the number of votes necessary to invoke cloture from two-thirds to three-fifths (changes to Senate Standing Rules still require two-thirds vote) • In November 2013, the Senate invoked the “nuclear option,” reducing the cloture threshold to a simple majority for judicial and executive branch nominees, except nominees to the Supreme Court • The Senate extended the nuclear option to Supreme Court nominations in 2017 with the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch • Timing of the cloture vote as well as the final vote after cloture is invoked can be amended by unanimous consent *In April 2019, the Senate voted to reduce post-cloture debate to two hours for district court nominees and lower-level executive nominees SOURCE US Senate Reference, Congressional Research Service, CBS News, The Washington Post. DANIEL STUBLEN 11/03/20 © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved The Use of Cloture Motions has Increased Over Time Senate action on cloture motions, 65th-116th Congress 1917-2020 Motions Filed Votes on Cloture 350 In the 94th Congress, the 300 Senate reduced the number of votes required 250 to invoke cloture from two-thirds to three-fifths (60 of 100) 200 150 100 50 0 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98100102104106108110112114116 *Though the number of cloture motions measures formal attempts to overcome a filibuster, it does not capture the full extent of bills that failed to pass due to a filibuster or the prospect of a filibuster SOURCE US Senate Reference PRESENTATION CENTER 3/19/21 © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved KNOW-menclature: RECONCILIATION Budget reconciliation process Allows for quick legislating Both House and Senate pass a budget resolution which includes reconciliation instructions • Created via the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (No filibuster - simple majority vote in both chambers) • Provides an expedited process for passing congressional measures related to the budget Instructed committees develop and vote on policy recommendations related to the instructions (simple majority vote) Cannot be filibustered • Debate in Senate is limited to 20 hours • Allows passage of certain legislation by simple majority Budget committees bundle proposals into budget measure and vote (simple majority vote) Provisions must abide by the “Byrd rule” Senate debate limited to Full House votes • Must have a non-incidental effect on the 20 hours (no filibuster) (rules for debate and final budget but unlimited passage are by simple • Must not change overall spending/revenue amendments can be majority vote) • Must not add to the deficit outside the budget offered (vote-a-rama) window covered by the bill President signs budget reconciliation measure SOURCE Vox, Congressional Research Service, US House of Representatives Committee on Rules, Politico. ZACHARY GOLDSTEIN 10/23/19 © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved KNOW-menclature: FILIBUSTER A filibuster is a tactic to stall business in the US Senate Unlike the House of A senator takes advantage of this Representatives, the Senate custom by holding the floor customarily has unlimited indefinitely, also known as a debate on most legislation filibuster Certain procedures can be invoked to limit debate: Unanimous Motion to invoke Motion to table consent (UC) cloture The whole Senate agrees to an action requested by a A non-debatable motion senator ending debate and preventing A motion that ends debate but (most Senate actions are a final vote (a vote to table is allows for amendments to be completed by unanimous essentially a vote against the added and a final vote to occur consent) legislation) Only one senator Simple majority 3/5 majority* must object to needed (usually 51 needed (usually block votes) 60 votes) *3/5 majority needed for most legislation (except reconciliation bills) SOURCE US Senate. DANIEL STUBLEN 11/03/20 © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved President Biden on Filibuster Reform Biden on reforming the filibuster Implications for Biden’s agenda ▪ Biden is unlikely to achieve a 60-vote Senate supermajority “I don't think that you have to eliminate the on major pieces of legislation in filibuster, you have to do what it used to be areas such as health care and when I first got to the Senate back in the old climate change days. You had to stand up and command the ▪ Regardless of whether floor, you had to keep talking” Congress uses the nuclear option for legislation, Biden PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, ON could face obstacles in REFORMING THE FILIBUSTER convincing moderate Democrats to back his proposals SOURCE The New York Times, Roll Call, Axios, CBS News, NPR. ZACHARY GOLDSTEIN 3/19/21 © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved Key Senators On Filibuster Reform Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D- Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- NY) KY) ▪ ““We Democrats ... believe we need big, bold • “If the Democrats kill the legislative filibuster, change. We hope our Republican colleagues will history would repeat itself, but more dramatically. work with us to produce that change. We will try to As soon as Republicans wound up back in control, get them to work with us. But if not, we will put our we wouldn’t stop at erasing every liberal change heads together and figure out how to go, and that hurt the country.” everything is on the table.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Sen. Joe Manchin (D- WV) ▪ “Ideally the Senate can reach bipartisan agreement ▪ “I want to make it very clear to everybody: There's on those issues. But if that proves impossible and no way that I would vote to prevent the minority Republicans continue to abuse the filibuster by from having input into the process in the Senate. requiring cloture votes, I’m open to changing the That means protecting the filibuster.” way the Senate filibuster rules are used.” ▪ ““The filibuster should be painful. And we have made it more comfortable over the years. Not intentionally maybe, it just evolved into that.” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) ▪ “My position on the filibuster has been steady my entire career. I would always oppose efforts to eliminate the filibuster.” ▪ “I want to restore the 60-vote threshold for all elements of the Senate's work.” SOURCE Reuters, Vox, Politico, WSJ, The Hill PRESENTATION CENTER 3/22/21 © 2021 SHRM. All Rights Reserved KNOW-menclature: NUCLEAR OPTION The nuclear option changes cloture rules with a simple majority Steps to triggering the nuclear option for nominations The majority A simple majority leader calls a The chair The majority Cloture 2nd cloture overrules the chair’s point of order rules leader vote fails Motion to vote fails ruling and the that Senate rules against the appeals the (60 votes reconsider (60 votes cloture threshold is allow cloture to point of ruling of the needed) needed) lowered to a simple be invoked with a order chair majority* simple majority 3rd cloture vote Motion to 30 hours A simple majority of *Other non-debatable motions can be succeeds reconsider of final Senators approve the utilized to stall the process but will be (51 votes cloture debate nomination overridden with simple majorities needed) Analysis • On April 6, 2017, Senate Republicans invoked the nuclear option, reducing the cloture threshold to a simple majority for Supreme Court nominees, but leaving the cloture threshold for legislation at three-fifths • Cloture, the process to limit debate in the Senate, was established by U.S. Senate Standing Rule XXII • The nuclear option could be used in the future to reduce the cloture threshold to a simple majority for all legislation SOURCE US Senate