Student Government Chair rejects filibuster idea

The parliamentary procedure of filibustering will not be adopted anytime soon within OU Student Government despite being allowed at the federal level.

“I would not support the filibuster in SGA. I believe that it serves a valuable purpose in the US Senate, where it forces the majority to at least pause and consider the views of the minority. Nothing we do (SGA) is so controversial that the minority needs a filibuster to protect itself,” said Sean Bender, Chair of the Undergraduate student congress.

The process of filibustering became prominent in the United States Senate in the 19^th century for senators wanting to prevent voting on bills. It has been in the news recently, as congressmen including Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, have warned of filibustering any new gun legislation.

 A filibuster is any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a piece of legislation through long periods of debate, procedural motions or by another other obstructive action according to the senate website.

This process of delay can last for many hours. The most famous example of this is when former South Carolina senator J. Strom Thurmond talked on the floor for 24 hours and 18 minutes against Civil Rights legislation in 1957. To prevent such proceedings to take place, a simple majority vote will end a period of debate. This method is called “cloture”. Filibustering does not exist in the House of Representatives.

Despite there being no filibuster within the undergraduate student congress there are ways to block a bill explains Bender.

“Under Roberts Rules, someone is yielded a specific amount of time to speak. Most of these times are actually preordained either in Roberts Rules or in our internal Standing Rules. The only way to filibuster would be to somehow convince the body to extend time for questions, debate, or amendments indefinitely, and then start speaking. The downside to this is that someone could make a motion, only requiring a simple majority to pass to advance to debate at any time.”

For more information on SGA and its procedures visit www.uosa.ou.edu.