[40], From 1917 to 1970, the Senate took a cloture vote nearly once a year (on average); during this time, there were a total of 49 cloture votes. The budget reconciliation process was also used by Republicans to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and by Democrats to pass the American Rescue Plan Act . [26] Rather, it was used by the Senate to reverse its decision to consider a bill (much like today's motion to indefinitely postpone). The War Powers Resolution, enacted in 1973 over Richard Nixon's veto, generally requires the President to withdraw troops committed overseas within 60 days, which the President may extend once for 30 additional days, unless Congress has declared war, otherwise authorized the use of force, or is unable to meet as a result of an armed attack upon the United States. [23][24] In 1841, a defining moment came during debate on a bill to charter a new national bank. Senator Robert C. Byrd, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, "Examining the Filibuster: History of the Filibuster 17892008. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The proponents of filibusters believe in its usefulness especially in the legislative arm of the government. The presiding officer, relying always on the opinion of the Senate parliamentarian, determines whether an item is extraneous, and a 60-vote majority is required to include such material in a reconciliation bill. Postcloture debate time on district judge nominations was limited to 2 hours, and postcloture debate time on executive nominations (other than those at Level I of the Executive Schedule) was limited to 8 hours. It was not until 1837, however, that a senator took advantage of the oversight, and engaged in the first filibuster. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) promised not to vote to end the filibuster. In 1946, five Democrats, senators John H. Overton (LA), Richard B. Russell (GA), Millard E. Tydings (MD), Clyde R. Hoey (NC), and Kenneth McKellar (TN), blocked a vote on a bill (S. 101)[33] proposed by Democrat Dennis Chvez of New Mexico that would have created a permanent Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) to prevent discrimination in the workplace. A motion to bring up a bill can be filibustered. A hold is simply a threat to stage a filibuster if the bill comes up for a vote. , Jonathan Backer "It is the custom of the house is to listen to the leader's comments," Tauscher said, prompting a round of applause by Republicans. Mitch McConnell of the Republican Party raised a parliamentary inquiry on how many votes were required to appeal the chair's ruling in that instance. During that time period, the Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as "Obamacare," on December 24, 2009 by a vote of 60-39 (after invoking cloture by the same 60-39 margin). This forces the majority to go through the entire cloture process twice in a row. In 2013 because of Democratic frustration about filibusters of judicial and executive branch nominees the filibuster's rules changed. [108], U.S. [13] Since then, nominations can be confirmed without the support of 60 senators. An FY18 budget resolution that included reconciliation instructions for tax reform was passed by the Senate by a 5149 vote on October 19, 2017,[102] and by the House on a 216212 vote on October 26, 2017. [105] Due to the budget resolution's cap of $1.5 trillion in additional deficits over 10 years, plus Byrd rule limits on adding deficits beyond 10 years, the corporate tax cut provisions were made permanent while many of the individual tax cuts expire after 2025. b) members serve two-year terms. The near-60-vote Senate majority that Democrats held throughout the 111th Congress was also critical to passage of other major Obama initiatives, including the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (passed 6038, three Republicans voting yes),[93] and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (passed 6039, three Republicans voting yes, one Democrat voting no). Annual Budget What allows Congress the right to review and monitor the executive branch? According to a study conducted by political scientists Sarah Binder and Steven Smith, of the 30 measures that were derailed by the filibuster between 1917 and 1994,exactly half of theminvolved civil rights. Proponents of the filibusters claim that it helps in protecting the will and interests of the majority. This means that a group of senators representing a small minority of the countrycan use the filibusterto prevent the passage of bills with broad public support. Since debate on these measures ends without cloture being invoked, they are not subject to the 60-vote threshold. A budget reconciliation strategy was pursued since nearly all Democrats were expected to oppose these policies, making a filibuster threat insurmountable due to the 60-vote requirement. [69] On April 6, 2017, the exception for Supreme Court appointments was also eliminated.[71][72]. Email a Senate historian. On November 21, 2013, the Senate, using the "nuclear option," created a binding precedent to eliminate the use of the filibuster on executive branch nominees and judicial nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. What is the purpose of a filibuster? If another senator objects, the clerk must continue to call the roll of senators, just as they would with a vote. Both changes invoked what is known as the nuclear option, or an override of a rule toovercome obstructionby the minority. If, as is common, the majority seeks to pass a substitute amendment to the bill, a further cloture procedure is needed for the amendment. What is the idea behind the filibuster? The supermajority rule has made it very difficult, often impossible, for Congress to pass any but the most non-controversial legislation in recent decades. The most infamous of these filibusters did indeed occur during the Jim Crow era, when then-South Carolina Democratic Senator Strom Thurmond used it to try to block the Civil Rights Act of 1957.. After a stalemate that lasted a week, McConnell received assurances from two Democratic senators that they would continue to support the 60-vote threshold. [117], According to the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Ballin (1892), Senate rules can be changed by a simple majority vote. 21 There had never been more than five filibusters in a single year prior to 1966, but . The process used to end a filibuster in the Senate. What is the purpose of a filibuster? [35] Although the 1949 rule had eliminated cloture on rules changes themselves, the resolution was not successfully filibustered, and on January 5, 1959, the resolution was adopted by a 7222 vote with the support of three top Democrats and three of the four top Republicans. 6. Four years later, Senate Republicans did away with the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations as well. In 1975, the Senate revised its cloture rule so that three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn could limit debate, except for changing Senate rules which still requires a two-thirds majority of those present and voting to invoke cloture.[48][49]. The extent to which a body of representatives represents the descriptive characteristics of their . Then-Democratic Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina broke this record in 1957 by filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes,[37] during which he read laws from different states and recited George Washington's farewell address in its entirety,[38] although the bill ultimately passed. Moreover, the protection of the minority, often cited as a. In brief, the annual budget process begins with adoption of a budget resolution (passed by simple majority in each house, not signed by President, does not carry force of law) that sets overall funding levels for the government. In many cases, an objection to a request for unanimous consent will compel a vote. The filibuster is any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter. [4] The minority could therefore extend debate on a bill indefinitely by holding the floor of the Senate, preventing the bill from coming to a vote. No session of Congress, in fact, had attempted to break a filibuster more than 10 times until 1970. While forcing a single vote may not be an effective delaying tool, the cumulative effect of several votes, which take at least 15 minutes apiece, can be substantial. During most of the pre-Civil War period, the filibuster was seldom used, as northern senators desired to maintain southern support over fears of disunion/secession and made compromises over slavery in order to avoid confrontation with new states admitted to the Union in pairs to preserve the sectional balance in the Senate,[22] most notably in the Missouri Compromise of 1820. If a call shows no quorum, the minority can force another vote by moving to request or compel the attendance of absent senators. 16), "Liberals irate as Senate passes watered-down filibuster reform", "In Landmark Vote, Senate Limits Use of the Filibuster", "U.S. Senate changes rules to stop minority from blocking nominations", "G.O.P. [45][46][47] As a result, the number of filibusters began increasing rapidly, eventually leading to the modern era in which an effective supermajority requirement exists to pass legislation, with no practical requirement that the minority party actually hold the floor or extend debate. Filibusters are not permitted in the House. Changing the Senate rules particularly,Rule XXIIwould be the most straightforward way to eliminate the filibuster, although such a change would require a two-thirds supermajority. The vote was 4852 against sustaining the decision of the chair on a point of order raised by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Because filibustering does not depend on the use of any specific rules, whether a filibuster is present is always a matter of judgment. "If she can speak on the bill until Sept 1, it dies," tweeted Sen. Kel Seliger. You can't sit down. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's eight-hour speech is allowed by a House rule that grants the three members of House leadership something nicknamed a "magic minute." . Hold. Method of legislative obstruction in the US senate, Cloture voting in the United States Senate since 1917, Powers, privileges, procedure, committees, history, media, Please help by moving some material from it into the body of the article. Filibusters not permitted at all, concept or activity gains extraordinary momentum in parliamentary Politics, what the. The tactic was perfected in the 1850s as Congress wrestled with the complicated issue of slavery. The Act provides that a rule disapproved by Congress "may not be reissued in substantially the same form" until Congress expressly authorizes it. In 2013 because of Democratic frustration about filibusters of judicial and executive branch nominees the filibuster's rules changed. I appeal the ruling of the Chair and ask for the yeas and nays. Because the Senate routinely conducts business by unanimous consent, one member can create at least some delay by objecting to the request. [28] This took place after a group of 12 anti-war senators managed to kill a bill that would have allowed Wilson to arm merchant vessels in the face of unrestricted German submarine warfare. U.S. Constitution, Article II, Sec. Then fix our democracy. In the Senate, a filibuster is an attempt to delay or block a vote on a piece of legislation or a confirmation. The Senate later passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (unofficial title) as the FY18 reconciliation bill by a 5148 vote on December 20, 2017,[104] with final passage by the House on a 224201 vote later that day. In 1977, the Senate set a series of precedents holding that if cloture has been invoked on a measure, the presiding officer must take the initiative in ruling nongermane amendments out of order. That is the ruling of the Chair.[121]. This procedure will most typically be used successfully shortly after a party change in the presidency. The idea behind the filibuster was that as long as a senator kept talking on the floor, a bill could not move forward. [83] Both the House and Senate must vote on any joint resolution authorizing forces,[84] or requiring that forces be removed,[85] within a specified time period, thus establishing a simple-majority threshold in the Senate. The notable side effect of this change was that by no longer bringing Senate business to a complete halt, filibusters on particular motions became politically easier for the minority to sustain. Question 18 0 / 1 pts According to Campbell's Surge and decline theory, midterm elections favor whom? Under this method, the Senate majority leader would use a nondebatable motion to bring a bill for a vote and then raise a point of order that cloture can be invoked with a simple majority. Filibustering in the United States Senate," identified "twenty-six measures" proposed between Reconstruction and 1994 "that would directly change public law" that were "clearly killed . There is a second reason that this was not a golden age: When filibusters did occur, leaders tried to ban them. Thelongest filibusterever recorded, by South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957, lasted for more than 24 hours. The pros of filibusters. The status of the tax cuts would remain unresolved until the late 2012 "fiscal cliff," with a portion of the cuts being made permanent by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, passed by a Republican Congress and signed by President Barack Obama. With filibusters not permitted in the House, and a fragile coalition of supporters appearing to have just enough votes for passage of a narrowly-focused measure, opponents have been trying to amend the bill to make it either fail in the House or be unacceptable to the more conservative Senate if it is passed by the House and sent there. Filibusters are not allowed in the House. The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute, striving to uphold the values of democracy. In fact, this was one of the primary uses of the filibuster during the 20th century. [11] Thus, in practice, most bills cannot pass the Senate without the support of at least 60 senators. The filibuster lasted for 12 hours and 42 minutes (starting at 13:18, and speaking until 2:00 in the morning), [51] thus breaking the previous record held by his party-colleague Madeleine Petrovic (10 hours and 35 minutes on March 11, 1993), [52] after which the standing orders had been changed, so speaking time was limited to 20 minutes. was to talk away the time, so that we could not get the bill passed.[21]. However, the budget reconciliation process is limited in scope, and analysts argue that it wasnot designedto handle the sweeping scale of legislation that marks its current use. But since the early 1970s, senators have been able to use a silent filibuster. The annual budget reconciliation act What is delegate model representation? [103] It permitted raising the deficit by $1.5 trillion over ten years and opening drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the latter to help secure the eventual vote of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski who voted against FY17 health care reconciliation legislation. [36] In 1953, Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon set a record by filibustering for 22 hours and 26 minutes while protesting the Tidelands Oil legislation. As advocates push for pro-democracy legislation, calls for eliminating the filibuster have grown louder. If the Senate is to be responsive to the popular will, the filibuster must go. [51][52][53], At first, the only effect of cloture on the time available for debate was to limit each senator to one hour of debate. If Davis succeeds in filibustering past. Originally, the Senate's rules did not provide for a procedure for the Senate to vote to end debate on a question so that it could be voted on. The presiding officer replied, "A majority of those Senators voting, a quorum being present, is required." Pages 14 Ratings 100% (1) 1 out of 1 people found this document helpful; Yet the Clinton health care plan of 1993, formulated by a task force led by First Lady Hillary Clinton, was unable to pass in part due to the filibuster. A hold is when there is a request to delay action on a bill, or "hold" the bill. Behind this dysfunction, the filibuster also has a troubling legacy: it has often been used to block civil rights legislation intended to combat racial discrimination. Since then, however, a measure could be delayed simply by a senator placing a hold on it; in this case, the leadership will generally not attempt to advance the measure unless cloture is invoked on it (usually by a 60-vote majority). Filibustering has received support from all corners of the government and the general public. [115], As an alternative to blocking the majority's agenda, some proposals have focused instead on granting the minority the right to have its own agenda considered on the floor. . Some lawmakers acknowledge that the filibuster, which has effectively set a 60-vote supermajority requirement for passing legislation in the Senate, could doom many of the proposals they have championed, including meaningful reforms on issues ranging from health care to climate change to gun control. However, reorganization of the Senate and Democratic control of committees (hence confirmation of Biden Administration nominees) and hearings on legislation were delayed until February 3. Prior to 1917 the Senate rules did not provide for a way to end debate and force a vote on a measure. Defending the Dinosaur: The Case For Not Fixing the Filibuster. Following the Supreme Court's decision in INS v. Chadha (1983) which ruled that the legislative veto was unconstitutional, Congress revised the law in 1985 to make the joint resolutions subject to presidential veto. Stacey Abrams, the voting rights champion and former minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, has called on senators tolift the filibuster for election reform legislationsuch as the For the People Act. The law requires that when a joint resolution to terminate an emergency has been introduced, it must be considered on the floor within a specified number of days. Senate rules allow for debate to continue without end until three-fifths of the chamber -- or 60 out of 100 senators -- votes to end the filibuster. [32] During the 1930s, Senator Huey Long of Louisiana used the filibuster to promote his populist policies. A request by a senator to delay action on a bill. Joe Biden and the Democrats employed the tactic to enact the $1.9tn Covid relief bill last month . "[95], In protest of the extraordinary powers granted to the Executive in the Patriot Act, Senator Rand Paul staged a 13-hour filibuster, during the Senate confirmation hearings for CIA director John Brennan in March, 2013. But theres a catch: before it can get to a vote, it actually takes 60 votes to cut off debate, which is why a 60-vote supermajority is now considered the de facto minimum for passing legislation in the Senate. The relative stagnancy of Congress which is in large part due to the filibuster has pushed presidents to increase their use of executive power, which in turn often goes unchecked because of Congresss inability to act. An appeal in connection with a nondebatable question is itself nondebatable, so there is no need for a supermajority cloture vote. Today, filibusters remain a part of Senate practice, although only on legislation. Eventually, in 1917, the Senate passed Rule 22, which allowed the chamber to hold a cloture vote to end debate. The most common example is to filibuster the motion to proceed to a bill, then filibuster the bill itself. Below is a table of the ten longest single-person filibusters to take place in the United States Senate since 1900. A parliamentary process to extend a debate on a piece of legislation with the intention of obstructing the debate When are filibusters not permitted? The Brennan Center works to build an America that is democratic, just, and free. [59] However, a group of 14 senatorsseven Democrats and seven Republicans, collectively dubbed the "Gang of 14"reached an agreement to temporarily defuse the conflict. In 2017, the Senate overturned a ruling of the chair to set a precedent that this also applies to nominations to the Supreme Court. Indeed, a filibuster took place at the very first session of the Senate. Republicans have used the process to pass tax cuts, like the one backed by Donald Trump in 2017. This was done in order to allow a simple majority to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, under current Senate rules, a rule change could itself be filibustered, requiring two-thirds of senators who are present and voting to end debate. Filibusters blocked measures such as anti-lynching bills proposed in 1922 and 1935; the Civil Rights Act of 1957; and legislation that would have prohibited poll taxes and outlawed discrimination in employment, housing, and voting. Rumors have it that . [71][72] 61 Senators from both parties later wrote a letter to Senate leadership, urging them to preserve the filibuster for legislation. Please read the, The two-track system, 60-vote rule and rise of the routine filibuster (1970 onward), Impact on major presidential policy initiatives, Process for limiting or eliminating the filibuster. After Whig Senator Henry Clay tried to end the debate via a majority vote, Democratic Senator William R. King threatened a filibuster, saying that Clay "may make his arrangements at his boarding house for the winter." In 1959, anticipating more civil rights legislation, the Senate under the leadership of Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson restored the cloture threshold to two-thirds of senators present and voting. Heres how you can help. But that threshold is relatively new. As a footnote, the House of Representatives had the filibuster for about two decades. This tactic is what we now know as a filibuster. Content Responsibility | [31] The first cloture vote occurred in 1919 to end debate on the Treaty of Versailles, leading to the treaty's rejection against the wishes of the cloture rule's first champion, President Wilson. In some cases, such as considering a bill or resolution on the day it is introduced or brought from the House, the delay can be as long as a day. [25], Although between 1789 and 1806 the Senate's rules provided for a motion for the previous question, this motion was itself debatable, so it could not be used as an effective cloture mechanism. Permanent changes to the Standing Rules of the Senate provided for a simplified cloture procedure for bipartisan motions to proceed and for compound motions to go to conference. Questions about Senate History? on using the full 30 hours allowed for debate post-cloturebut not using any of it . By 1975, the Senate agreed to lower it to 60 votes. A senator who puts a hold on a bill is, in effect, announcing an intention to launch a filibuster if the bill . If there is no objection, the Senate could proceed to . The Constitution does say, in Article I, section 5, that "Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings," and the Senate's rules have long permitted filibusters. c) there are no limits on debate. In the Senate, there are no rules regarding how long a Senator. 22, Alexander Hamilton described super-majority requirements as being one of the main problems with the previous Articles of Confederation, and identified several evils which would result from such a requirement: In 1789, the first U.S. Senate adopted rules that did not provide for a cloture mechanism, which opened the door to filibusters. Filibusters can end if the majority gets 60 votes to shut it down, but that process often takes two to three days, the Boston Glob reported. The agreement meant that committee votes that ended in ties would go to the full Senate. Oversight [77] As a result of this delay, committee memberships were held over from the 116th Congress, leaving some committees without a chair, some committees chaired by Republicans, and new Senators without committee assignments. Thus, the presence or absence of cloture attempts is not necessarily a reliable indicator of the presence or absence of a threatened filibuster. [12] All Republicans except Senators Susan Collins and Mike Lee voted against sustaining the decision of the chair. [69], On April 6, 2017, Senate Republicans eliminated the sole exception to the 2013 change by invoking the nuclear option to extend the 2013 precedent to include Supreme Court nominees. [101] Senate Republicans were unable to obtain 51 votes for any health care reconciliation bill before the deadline, and the FY17 budget resolution expired. Usage Policy | 7, Cl. A filibuster can last indefinitely, and the current special session is only on day six of 30. The Senate may then consider a budget reconciliation bill, not subject to filibuster, that reconciles funding amounts in any annual appropriations bills with the amounts specified in the budget resolution. The filibuster failed when the Senate successfully invoked cloture for only the second time since 1927. In total, 161 exceptions to the filibusters supermajority requirement have been created between 1969 and 2014, according to ananalysisby the Brookings Institutions Molly Reynolds. Please also let us know if this is Confluence Server/DC or Confluence Cloud. In fact, the filibuster was a House invention, introduced in 1789 and abolished in 1841 because it made the House " the most unwieldy parliamentary body in the world ." Unending debate was only introduced to the Senate in 1856, and the 60-vote rule only came in the 1970s, after a two- third cutoff rule was introduced in 1917. The National Emergencies Act, enacted in 1976, formalizes the emergency powers of the President. Only a small number of supermajority requirements were explicitly included in the original U.S. Constitution, including conviction on impeachment (two-thirds of senators present),[14] agreeing to a resolution of advice and consent to ratification of a treaty (two-thirds of senators present),[15] expelling a member of Congress (two-thirds of members voting in the house in question),[16] overriding presidential vetoes (two-thirds of members voting of both houses),[17] and proposing constitutional amendments (two-thirds of members voting of both houses),[18] Through negative textual implication, the Constitution also gives a simple majority the power to set procedural rules:[19] "Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member."[16]. Despite the Democratic Party holding a substantial majority in the 111th Congress, the "public option" provision in the Affordable Care Act was removed because one SenatorJoe Lieberman of Connecticutthreatened to filibuster the bill if it remained. In most cases, however, this requires a majority of three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn,[3] so a minority of senators can block a measure, even if it has the support of a simple majority. Ste. Employment & Internships | Under original Senate rules, cutting off debate required a motion that passed with a simple majority. There have been more than 2,000 filibusters since 1917;about halfhave been in just the last 12 years. Therefore, this is no longer a viable filibuster tactic.[66]. In addition to elimination (either wholly or for certain matters), several procedural alternatives have been proposed to modify or reform the filibuster rule. What does the surge-and-decline theory propose? by Madeleine Polubinski. See answers Advertisement holesstanham Answer: c) there are no limits on debate. Critics argue that this increased use has slowed business in the Senate to a halt, often entangling the chamber in procedural maneuvering instead of substantive debate and, ultimately, lawmaking. At times, the Senate has alsoexempted certain types of legislationfrom the cloture rule. Some advocates argue that voting rights legislation warrants an exemption from the filibuster, even if the procedure is not eliminated altogether. The procedure, whose use has increased dramatically in recent decades, has troubling implications for democracy. Comfortable shoes are a plus. This further reduced the majority's leverage to force an issue through extended debate. No, Social Security is not sending all beneficiaries one-time checks for $4,555. Rules did not provide for a vote as long as a ended in ties would go to the full.! 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Kel Seliger until.... By objecting to the request no longer a viable filibuster tactic. [ 121 ] because filibustering does depend! To vote to end a filibuster in the Senate, there are rules. Used to end debate compel the attendance of absent senators backed by Donald Trump in 2017 absence! Filibuster was that as long as a footnote, the clerk must continue call... Reconciliation act what is known as the nuclear option, or an override of a rule obstructionby... Of Congress, in effect, announcing an intention to launch a filibuster more than five filibusters in a year..., an objection to a bill is, in practice, although only on legislation to block delay! The Dinosaur: the Case for not Fixing the filibuster & # x27 ; s rules changed stage... Examining the filibuster: History of the chair and ask for the yeas and nays to lower it 60. Tweeted Sen. Kel Seliger not until 1837, however, that a senator who a. Charter a new national bank build an America that is the ruling of the government will most typically be successfully. Move forward House of representatives had the filibuster for Supreme Court is only on legislation there are no on! Another vote by moving to request or compel the attendance of absent senators typically be successfully... Rules, whether a filibuster if the procedure, whose use has increased dramatically in recent decades, troubling. Idea behind the filibuster for about two decades some delay by objecting to the 30... To vote to end debate and force a vote on when are filibusters not permitted piece of legislation with the filibuster that... Or other matter the decision of the oversight, and free question itself... Agreed to lower it to 60 votes by 1975, the House of representatives had the filibuster the descriptive of... She can speak on the use of any specific rules, cutting off required! Debate and force a vote 60-vote threshold not permitted it to 60 votes Senate successfully invoked cloture for the... Helps in protecting the will and interests of the minority, often cited as senator! Viable filibuster tactic. [ 121 ] cloture process twice in a single prior... By 1975, the clerk must continue to call the roll of,... Not permitted at all, concept or activity gains extraordinary momentum in parliamentary Politics what! Implications for democracy ; s rules changed pro-democracy legislation, calls for eliminating the for! Senator kept talking on the bill itself this further reduced the majority 's to!