1、Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code 98-707 GOVUpdated February 20, 2001Senate Amendment Process:General Conditions and PrinciplesWalter J. OleszekGovernment and Finance DivisionThe amending process in the Senate provides
2、 lawmakers an opportunity to makechanges in the text of a measure (or pending amendment) during its consideration.Senators generally have wide freedom to offer as many amendments as they want,including nongermane changes. In fact, an important feature of the Senate is that it lacksa general germanen
3、ess rule. This absence grants any Senator an opportunity to raise issuesand to offer extraneous “riders” to pending legislation. However, Senators freedom toamend and to offer nongermane amendments can be restricted in certain circumstances,such as when the Senate invokes cloture (which limits furth
4、er debate on a measure) oragrees by unanimous consent to impose restrictions on the offering of amendments. The Senates amending process can be complex, but it is subject to certain conditionsand principles. Whether these conditions and principles apply in all circumstances may beproblematic, becaus
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