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Amending Process
Amending Process
The amending process is at the heart of the Senate's floor deliberations. If the Senate reaches a final vote on passing or defeating a bill, the bill is very likely to pass. It is through the amending process that Senators have an opportunity to influence the content of the bill before the vote on final passage occurs; and this is an especially important opportunity for Senators who do not serve on the committee that marked up the bill and reported it.
When a bill is called up for floor consideration, opening statements usually are made by the two floor managers--the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee (or sometimes the subcommittee) that reported the bill--and often by other Senators as well. These statements lay the groundwork for the debate that follows, describing the purposes and provisions of the bill, the state of current law and the developments that make new legislation desirable or necessary, and the major points of controversy. But these opening statements are a matter of custom and practice; the bill is open to amendment as soon as it is before the Senate.
The first amendments to be considered are those recommended by the committee reporting the bill, and so designated in the printed version of the bill "as reported." As each committee amendment is being debated, Senators may propose amendments to it and to the part of the bill the committee amendment would change; and the Senate votes on any such amendments before it votes on the committee amendment itself. Thereafter, Senators may offer amendments in any order to any part of the bill that has not already been amended. The order in which amendments are offered depends largely on the convenience of the Senators proposing them, not on requirements imposed by standing rules or precedents. As a general rule, a Senator cannot propose an amendment to a bill while first degree (and possibly second degree) amendments to the bill are pending. Sometimes, however, the Senate agrees by unanimous consent to lay aside pending amendments temporarily in order to consider another amendment that a Senator wishes to offer at that time. After a Senator offers an amendment, it must be read unless the Senate dispenses with the reading by unanimous consent. The Senate then debates the amendment and may dispose of it either by voting "up or down" on the amendment itself or by voting to table it. However, the amending process can become far more complicated. Bills are amendable in two degrees, so before the Senate votes on a first degree amendment, it is subject to second degree amendments that propose to change its text. After voting on any second degree amendments, the Senate votes on the first degree amendment as it may have been amended. Third degree amendments--amendments to second degree amendments--are not in order.
Additional complications are possible, depending on whether the first degree amendment proposes: (1) to insert additional language in the bill without altering anything already in the bill; (2) to strike out language from the bill without inserting anything in its place; (3) to strike out language from the bill and insert different language instead; or (4) to strike out the entire text of the bill (everything after the enacting or resolving clause at the very beginning of the measure) and replace it with a different text. In the case of a motion to insert, for example, Senators can offer as many as three first and second degree amendments before the Senate votes on any of them; in the case of an amendment that is a complete substitute for the text of the bill, Senators can propose six or more first and second degree amendments to the substitute and to the original text of the bill before any votes must occur.
These possibilities depend on several principles of precedence among amendments, principles governing the amendments that may be offered while other amendments are pending and also governing the order in which the Senate votes on the amendments that have been offered. Complicated amendment situations do not arise very often, but they are most likely to occur when the policy and political stakes are high.
Once a Senator has offered an amendment, the conditions for debating it depend on whether or not there is a time limitation for considering that particular amendment or all amendments to the bill. If there is no such limitation, each Senator may debate the amendment for as long as he or she pleases, subject only to the rule limiting each Senator to two speeches on a question during each legislative day. However, any Senator who has been recognized may move to table the amendment, and that motion is not debatable. If there is a time limitation, the time provided is both a minimum and a maximum. Senators may not make motions or points of order, or propose other amendments, until all the time for debating the amendment has been used or until all remaining time has been yielded back. After the time has expired, on the other hand, the amendment can be debated further only by unanimous consent or if the Senators controlling time for debating the bill as a whole choose to yield part of that time.
There are a number of general principles governing the amending process. For example, an amendment that has been defeated may not be offered again without substantive change. An amendment should not make changes in two or more different places in the bill, nor may it propose only to amend a part of the bill that already has been amended. If an amendment consists of two or more parts that could each stand as separate and independent propositions, any Senator may demand that the amendment be divided and each division treated as if it were a separate amendment (except that a motion to strike out and insert is not divisible). Generally speaking, Senators may not propose amendments to their own amendments, but they can modify their amendments instead. If the Senate takes some "action" on an amendment, such as ordering the yeas and nays on it, the Senator who offered the amendment loses his right to modify it, but now gains the right to offer an amendment to his own amendment.
As mentioned before, floor amendments to most bills need not be germane unless a germaneness requirement is part of the unanimous consent agreement under which a particular bill is being considered. Alternatively, the Senate may, by unanimous consent, require that amendments to a bill be relevant to it; relevancy is a somewhat less restrictive standard that seeks to ensure that unrelated issues will not be raised in the form of amendments.
The amending process continues until Senators have no other amendments they wish to offer or until the entire bill has been changed by amendments. At either point, the Senate orders the bill engrossed and read a third time--a formal stage that precludes further amendments--and then votes on final passage.
(The information in this section was compiled under the authority and direction of the Secretary of the Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Questions regarding content on this site can be directed to the Office of the Secretary Webmaster at webmaster@sec.senate.gov.)