Majority Rule Resolution
The Majority Rule Resolution (H. Con. Res. 6) would establish a rule intended to change how debate can be brought to a close in Congress. Specifically, it would prohibit requiring more than a simple majority of those voting (with a quorum present) to end debate on any question in either the House or the Senate. In other words, it would formalize majority-rule as the threshold to close debate, instead of continuing to rely on higher, supermajority thresholds that currently exist in various Senate procedures and in some other contexts. The resolution treats this as a rulemaking change for the House and Senate, but it is a concurrent resolution that primarily affects the procedure for the bill or joint resolution involved and acknowledges that each chamber retains the constitutional right to change its own rules.
Key Points
- 1Short title: The measure is titled the “Majority Rule Resolution.”
- 2Core change to closing debate: The House and Senate may not require more than a majority vote (among those voting, with a quorum present) to bring debate to a close on any question in that chamber.
- 3Rulemaking approach: The change is presented as an exercise of each chamber’s rulemaking power and becomes part of each chamber’s rules, but only to the extent it affects the procedure for the bill or joint resolution involved; it supersedes other rules only if inconsistent.
- 4Constitutional note: The resolution recognizes that each House retains the right to change its rules at any time, in the same manner as other rules, preserving some constitutional flexibility.
- 5Scope and limitations: Because it is a concurrent resolution, the measure itself is not a law and does not require the President’s signature; its effect is limited to the procedural handling of the bill/joint resolution involved, and it could be subject to further rule changes by each chamber in the future.