Filibuster, the problem of.
Possible solution for current healthcare reform lull..
Lesson for stubborn politician.

The three-fifths version of the cloture rule does not apply to motions to end filibusters relating to Senate Rule changes. In order to invoke cloture to end debate over changing the Senate Rules, the original version of the rule (two-thirds of those Senators "present and voting") still applies. First established 1917. U.S. Senate voted to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule.

The procedure for "invoking cloture," or ending a filibuster, is as follows:

A minimum of sixteen senators must sign a petition for cloture.

The petition may be presented by interrupting another Senator's speech.

The clerk reads the petition.
The cloture petition is ignored for one full day during which the Senate is sitting (If the petition is filed on a Friday, it is ignored until Monday, assuming that the Senate did not sit on Saturday or Sunday.)

On the second calendar day during which the Senate sits after the presentation of the petition, after the Senate has been sitting for one hour, a "quorum call" is undertaken to ensure that a majority of the Senators are present.

The President of the Senate or President pro tempore presents the petition.

The Senate votes on the petition; three-fifths of the whole number of Senators (sixty with no vacancies) is the required majority; however, when cloture is invoked on a question of changing the rules of the Senate, two-thirds of the Senators voting (not necessarily two-thirds of all Senators) is the requisite majority.

After cloture has been invoked, the following restrictions apply:

No more than thirty hours of debate may occur.

No Senator may speak for more than one hour.

No amendments may be moved unless they were filed on the day in between the
presentation of the petition and the actual cloture vote.

All amendments must be relevant to the debate.

Certain procedural motions are not permissible.

The presiding officer gains additional power in controlling debate.

No other matters may be considered until the question upon which cloture was invoked is disposed of.

The ability to invoke cloture was last attained by a US political party in the 111th Congress.

The new version of the cloture rule, which has remained in place since 1975, makes it considerably easier for the Senate majority to invoke cloture. This has considerably strengthened the power of the majority, and allowed it to pass many bills that would otherwise have been filibustered. (The Democratic Party had held a two-thirds majority in the 89th Congress of 1965, but regional divisions among Democrats meant that many filibusters were invoked by Southern Democrats against civil rights bills supported by the Northern wing of the party.) Some senators wanted to reduce it to a simple majority (51 out of 100) but this was rejected, as it would greatly diminish the ability of the minority to check the majority.