Supermajority Vote in US Congress

Supermajority Vote in US Congress A supermajority  vote is a vote that must exceed the number of votes comprising a simple majority. For example, a simple majority in the 100-member Senate is 51 votes; while a 2/3 supermajority vote  requires 67 votes. In the 435-member House of Representatives, a simple majority is 218 votes; while a 2/3 supermajority requires 290 votes. Key Takeaways: Supermajority Vote The term â€Å"supermajority vote† refers to any vote by a legislative body that must get more votes than a simple majority of votes in order to win approval.In the 100-member United States Senate, a supermajority vote requires a 2/3 majority or 67 of 100 votes.In the 435-member United States House of Representatives, a supermajority vote requires a 2/3 majority or 290 of 435 votes.In the US Congress, several major legislative actions require a supermajority vote, most notably impeaching the president, declaring a president incapable of serving under the 25th Amendment, and amending the Constitution. Supermajority votes in government are far from a new idea. The first recorded use of supermajority rule took place  in ancient Rome during the 100s BCE. In 1179, Pope Alexander III used a supermajority rule for papal elections at the Third Lateran Council.   While a supermajority vote can technically be specified as any fraction or percentage greater than one-half ( 50%), commonly used supermajorities include three-fifths (60%), two-thirds (67%), and three-quarters (75%) When is a Supermajority Vote Required? By far most measures considered by the U.S. Congress as part of the legislative process require only a simple majority vote for passage. However, some actions, like impeaching presidents or amending the Constitution, are considered so important that they require a supermajority vote. Measures or actions requiring a supermajority vote: Impeaching: In cases of impeachment of federal officials, the House of Representatives must pass articles of impeachment by a simple majority vote. The Senate then holds a trial to consider the articles of impeachment passed by the House. Actually convicting an individual requires a 2/3 supermajority vote of the members present in the Senate. (Article 1, Section 3)Expelling a Member of Congress: Expelling a member of Congress requires a 2/3 supermajority vote in either the House or Senate. (Article 1, Section 5)Overriding a Veto: Overriding a presidential veto of a bill requires a 2/3 supermajority vote in both the House and Senate. (Article 1, Section 7)Suspending the Rules: Temporarily suspending the rules of debate and voting in the House and Senate requires a 2/3 supermajority vote of the members present. (House and Senate rules)Ending a Filibuster: In the Senate only, passing a motion to invoke cloture, ending extended debate or a filibuster on a measure requires a 3/5 supermajo rity vote - 60 votes. (Rules of the Senate) Rules of debate in the House of Representatives preclude the possibility of a filibuster. Note: On November 21, 2013, the Senate voted to require a simple majority vote of 51 Senators to pass cloture motions ending filibusters on presidential nominations for Cabinet secretary posts and lower federal court judgeships only. Amending the Constitution: Congressional approval of a Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires a 2/3 majority of those members present and voting in both House and Senate. (Article 5)Calling a Constitutional Convention: As a second method of amending the Constitution, the legislatures of 2/3 of the states (33 states) can vote to request that the U.S. Congress convenes a constitutional convention. (Article 5)Ratifying an Amendment: Ratification of an amendment to the Constitution requires the approval of 3/4 (38) of the state legislatures. (Article 5)Ratifying a Treaty: Ratifying treaties requires a 2/3 supermajority vote of the Senate. (Article 2, Section 2)Postponing a Treaty: The Senate may pass a motion to indefinitely postpone its consideration of a treaty by a 2/3 supermajority vote. (Senate rules)Repatriating Rebels: An outgrowth of the Civil War, the 14th Amendment gives Congress the power to allow former rebels to hold office in the U.S. gove rnment. Doing so requires a 2/3 supermajority of both the House and Senate. (14th Amendment, Section 3) Removing a President from Office: Under the 25th Amendment, Congress can vote to remove the President of the United States from office if the vice president and the Presidents Cabinet declare the president unable to serve and the president contests the removal. The removal of the president from office under the 25th Amendment requires a 2/3 supermajority vote of both the House and Senate. (25th Amendment, Section 4) Note: The 25th Amendment is an effort to clarify the process of presidential succession. On-the-Fly Supermajority Votes The parliamentary rules of both the Senate and House of Representatives provide means by which a supermajority vote can be required for the passage of certain measures. These special rules requiring supermajority votes are most often applied to legislation dealing with the federal budget or taxation. The House and Senate draw authority for requiring supermajority votes from Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution, which states, Each chamber may determine the Rules of Its Proceedings. Supermajority Votes and the Founding Fathers In general, the Founding Fathers favored requiring a simple majority vote in legislative decision-making. Most of them, for example, objected to the Articles of Confederations requirement for a supermajority vote in deciding such questions as coining money, appropriating funds, and determining the size of the army and navy. However, the framers of the Constitution also recognized the need for supermajority votes in some cases. In Federalist No. 58, James Madison noted that supermajority votes could serve as a shield to some particular interests, and another obstacle generally to hasty and partial measures. Hamilton, too, in Federalist No. 73 highlighted the benefits of requiring a supermajority of each chamber to override a presidential veto. It establishes a salutary check upon the legislative body, he wrote, calculated to guard the community against the effects of faction, precipitancy, or of any impulse unfriendly to the public good, which may happen to influence a majority of that body.

The Ancient City of Rome Has Many Nicknames

The Ancient City of Rome Has Many Nicknames Italys capital city of Rome is known by many names- and not just translations into other languages. Rome has recorded history going back more than two millennia, and legends go back even further, to about 753 BCE, when the Romans traditionally date the founding of their city. Etymology of Rome The city is called Roma in Latin, which has an uncertain origin. Some scholars believe the word refers to the citys founder and first king, Romulus, and roughly translates to oar or swift.  There are also additional theories that Rome derives from the Umbrian language, where the word might mean flowing waters.  Ancestors of the Umbri were likely in Etruria prior to the Etruscans.   Centuries of Names for Rome Rome is often called the Eternal City, a reference to its longevity and used first by the Roman poet Tibullus (c. 54–19 BCE) (ii.5.23) and a bit later, by Ovid (8 CE). Rome is the Caput Mundi (Capital of the world), or so said the Roman poet Marco Anneo Lucano in 61 CE. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus (145–211 CE) first called Rome the Urbs Sacra (the Sacred City)- he was speaking of Rome as the sacred city of the Roman religion, not that of the Christian religion, which it would become later. The Romans were shocked when the city fell to a sack by the Goths in 410 CE, and many said that the reason the city had fallen was that they had forsaken the old Roman religion for Christianity. In response, St. Augustine wrote his City of God in which he censured the Goths for their attack. The perfect society could be a City of God, said Augustine, or an Earthly City, depending on whether Rome could embrace Christianity and be cleaned of its moral turpitude. Rome is the City of Seven Hills: Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Vimina. The Italian painter Giotto di Bondone (1267–1377) perhaps said it best when he described Rome as the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning. A Handful of Quotes â€Å"I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.† Augustus (Roman Emperor 27 BCE–14 CE)†How is it possible to say an unkind or irreverential word of Rome? The city of all time, and of all the world!† Nathaniel Hawthorne (American novelist. 1804–1864)â€Å"Everyone soon or late comes round by Rome.† Robert Browning (English Poet 1812–1889)Irish playwright Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) called Rome the Scarlet Woman, and the the one city of the soul.â€Å"Italy has changed. But Rome is Rome.† Robert De Niro (American actor, born 1943) The Secret Name of Rome Several writers from antiquity- including the historians Pliny and Plutarch- reported that Rome had a sacred name that was secret and that revealing that name would allow the enemies of Rome to ruin the city. The secret name of Rome, the ancients said, was kept by the cult of the goddess Angerona or Angeronia, who was, depending on which source you read, the goddess of silence, of anguish and fear, or of the new year. There was said to be a statue of her at Volupia which showed her with her mouth bound and sealed up. The name was so secret, that no one was allowed to say it, not even in rituals for Angerona. According to reports, one man, the poet and grammarian Quintus Valerius Soranus (~145 BCE–82 BCE), revealed the name. He was seized by the Senate and either crucified on the spot or fled in fear of punishment to Sicily, where he was captured by the governor and executed there.  Modern historians are not so sure any of that is true: although Valerius was executed, it may have been for political reasons. Plenty of names have been suggested for the secret name of Rome: Hirpa, Evouia, Valentia, Amor are just a few. A secret name has the power of a talisman, even if it didnt actually exist, powerful enough to make it into the anecdotes of antiquarians. If Rome has a secret name, there is knowledge of the ancient world that is unknowable. Popular Phrases All roads lead to Rome.  This idiom means that there are many different methods or ways to reach the same goal or conclusion, and likely refers to the extensive Roman Empires road system throughout its hinterlands.When in Rome, do as the Romans do.  Adapt to your decisions and actions to that of the present circumstances.Rome wasnt built in a day.  Great projects take time.Do not sit in Rome and strive with the Pope. It is best not to criticize or oppose someone in his or her own territory. Sources Cairns, Francis. Roma and Her Tutelary Deity: Names and Ancient Evidence. Ancient Historiography and Its Contexts: Studies in Honour of A. J. Woodman. Eds. Kraus, Christina S., John Marincola and Christoper Pelling. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. 245–66.Moore, F. G. On Urbs Aeterna and Urbs Sacra. Transactions of the American Philological Association (1869-1896) 25 (1894): 34–60.Murphy, Trevor. Privileged Knowledge: Valerius Soranus and the Secret Name of Rome. Rituals in Ink. A Conference on Religion and Literary Production in Ancient Rome. Eds. Barchiesi, Alessandro, Jà ¶rg Rà ¼pke and Susan Stephens: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2004.Rome. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Online, Oxford University Press, June 2019Van Nuffelen, Peter. Varros Divine Antiquities: Roman Religion as an Image of Truth. Classical Philology 105.2 (2010): 162–88.