Minibus Proponents Look to Circumvent the Senate Rules

Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., began the process of suspending the Senate rules this week to overcome an objection by Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to the Senate's minibus spending bill (i.e., S. Amendment 1092). Murray - and proponents of the minibus spending bill - want to add it to the House-passed Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (MilCon-VA; HR 4388). But doing so violates the prohibition on non-germane amendments in Senate Rule XVI.

S. Amendment 1092 includes the Senate's version of the MilCon-VA bill, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. And Rule XVI requires that senators' amendments to HR 4366 be germane (i.e., they must be related to provisions in the underlying bill). The minibus is not germane because it includes funding for more programs than than the underlying House bill.

Murray initially asked for unanimous consent to protect the minibus amendment from a Rule XVI point of order. But Johnson objected. Consequently, any senator can raise a point of order while considering the minibus amendment. If successful, a point of order would throw out the entire minibus spending bill.

Suspending the Rules

The rules and practices of the Senate stipulate that "any rule of the Senate may be suspended at any time after a day's notice in writing by a two-thirds vote." Specifically, Rule V allows senators to ask their colleagues to vote on whether to "suspend, modify, or amend any rule, or any part thereof" as long as they provide "one day's notice in writing." That is, senators must insert a notice of intent to suspend the rules into the Congressional Record at least one day before moving to suspend the rule. Rule V requires that senators' notice of intent to suspend the rules specify "precisely the rule or part" of the rule that they would like to suspend.

While senators have used the Rule V suspension procedure to circumvent Rule XVI numerous times, they have usually done so to make amendments to appropriations bills in order that would otherwise be subject to a point of order on the Senate floor.

In contrast, Murray filed a notice of her intent to suspend the rules to protect the Senate minibus amendment from a Rule XVI point of order and then filed cloture. In doing so, Murray signaled that the Senate would not have an amendment process on the minibus spending bill.

The Takeaway

Senators can protect the minibus amendment from a Rule XVI point of order if they move to suspend Rule XVI. But filing cloture on the minibus amendment at the same time suggests that proponents of the minibus are not suspending the Senate rules to facilitate deliberation.