Praxis II Government/Political Science Exam Prep

Category - Praxis II Government/Political Science Test

Senator Knowsome is really upset about a bill that would remove all federal funding from his alma mater, Elite University. According to Senate rules, what can the senator do to prevent the bill from passing?
  1. Refuse to vote
  2. Quit
  3. Hold a filibuster
  4. Appoint an Education Secretary who would refuse to follow that law.
  5. Bribe the Speaker of the House to not let the bill come out of committee.
Explanation
Answer: C - To prevent the bill from passing, Senator Knowsome could hold a filibuster, a tactic allowed in the Senate in which a Senator "talks a bill to death". In the old days, a senator could literally speak for as long as he could until everyone else gave up and withdrew the bill (this was made famous in the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"). The current Senate rules, though, allow for cloture (forcing the end of debate) if there are 60 votes. So, for Senator Knowsome to keep up his filibuster today, he would need to get 41 colleagues to join him.
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