Ted Cruz Filibuster LIVE: Senator Filibustering to Defund Obamacare

Impact

Saying he will speak until he can no longer stand, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has begun his "filibuster" on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Although Cruz plans to speak for a very long time, the fact is that he cannot filibuster. The Senate is presently debating on whether to proceed on a vote on a House-passed resolution to fund the government.

Each party been allotted a limited amount of time to speak on whether to proceed to a debate on the continuing resolution — 15 hours total for each side. That means that even if Cruz is still standing and speaking at the 15-hour mark, he must stop. 

At issue is an altered version of Continuing Resolution 59, passed by the House of Representatives. The CR would fund the government until December 15, and would defund Obamacare — President Obama's signature legislation to make sure every American has health insurance. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) stripped out that provision before introducing an alternate version in the Senate.

Cruz is using a filibuster because there it is not enough support among Senate Republicans to block Reid's proposal. Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said they do not support Cruz's efforts. 

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