By John Loving, Kilpatrick Stockton Senior Government Relations Advisor

As we await the expected passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800) by the House of Representatives, Senate passage is seeming less likely.  Although Democrats hold a majorityof seats in the Senate, the bill faces a difficult challenge in the Senate as a result of Senate rules permitting members to block a vote by means of a fillabuster.  These rules allow a Senator, or a series of Senators to speak for as long as they wish and on any topic they choose, unless supermajority group of 60 Senators brings debate to a close by invoking cloture.

The has not yet been introduced into the Senate.  The strategy appears to be to  wait for the passage of the House bill and subsequent reporting of the bill to the Senate.  Once the EFCA is reported in the Senate it will be referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.  Committee Chairman Ted Kennedy has indicated strong support for the bill.

The  Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee may report the EFCA to the full Senate with or without amendments.  The bill is likely to be favorably reported by the Committee, as Democrats hold an 11 of the 21 seats.  However, it is widely expected that one or more Republican Senators will attempt to filibuster this bill when it is reported to the full Senate.  A vote on cloture is the only procedure that Senate rules provide for breaking a filibuster.   Under cloture, the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 hours and subsequently allow for a vote on the matter.   A cloture vote requires three-fifths of the Senate, or sixty of the current one hundred senators to be enacted.  The Democrats only hold 51 seats in the Senate.  Though some Republican Senators may vote for cloture, it does not appear at this time that there will be sufficent votes to bring the EFCA to a Senate vote. 

John Loving is a Senior Government Relations Advisor in Kilpatrick Stockton’s Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Loving worked as a Aide in the office of Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah) where he handled appropriations in the areas of Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education and Housing and Urban Development. Prior to working in the Senate, Mr. Loving worked as an aide in the offices of Representative Jim Gibbons (R-Nev) and Representative Dick Armey (R-Tex).