The Hill reports Senator Nelson is threatening to filibuster the conference report unless the conference is very limited.
"This cloture vote is based on a full understanding that there will be a limited conference between the Senate and House," Nelson said. "If there are material changes in that conference report different from this bill that adversely affect the agreement, I reserve the right to vote against the next cloture vote."
Sen. Conrad is also reported as saying that the conference report will require 60 votes.
However, over at Congress Matters, author Casual Wednesday says that debate on the conference report will be limited to 20 hours. And I've heard someone I trust, who has talked to several Senate aides who say that there is no filibuster on the conference report.
So which is it?
The Senate Rules (rule 28) on Conference Reports don't provide enough detail.
- Introduction of a Conference Report is always "in order" and is not debatable.
- No amendments can be made to a Conference bill.
- Senators may challenge an addition to a conference bill if it did not appear in either the House or Senate original bills; they may also challenge the removal of a provision if it appeared in both bills. Such a point of order is subject to a ruling by the current Presiding officer of the Senate, and if the challenge is sustained, it is subject to a limited 1 hour debate.
- It is clear from paragraph 7 of the rule that debate on a Conference bill can be limited. But no provision of the rule says just how that is done, or if it's the default.
Wikipedia provides some further guidelines, but we already knew them: the 1974 Congressional Budget Act says that budget resolutions and reconciliation bills are limited to a 10 hour debate.
But that doesn't match the 20 hour limit that Congress Matters states.
All this leaves me still unsatisfied with an answer: can the Senate filibuster the conference report?