THE BIG F WORD

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A Parliamentary procedure where the debate over a proposed bill is extended, allowing one or more members to delay or entirely prevent a vote on the legislation.

The big F stands for filibuster, which is a political procedure where one or more members of Congress debate over a proposal to delay or entirely prevent a decision being made on a bill.

It is sometimes referred to as Talking a bill to death or talking out a bill and is characterized as a form of obstruction in a legislature or other decision-making body.

The Senate cloture rule requires 60 members to end debate on most topics and move to a vote poses a barrier to any incoming president’s policy agenda. Both sides of the isle have called for reform in the face of partisan gridlock, and while change may be possible now that The Democrats control Congress and The White House, it is complicated in the US Senate and will be an-uphill battle.

Seven lucky weeks into a new POTUS Joe Biden faces hurdles in Congress. Democrats’ Senate majority rests on the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris, and even the process of organizing the Senate’s committees got bogged down by a debate over whether Democrats would attempt to eliminate the legislative filibuster in the opening weeks of the new Congress.

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