Senator James Abourezk’s Thirteen-Day Filibuster

“Filibuster is an extended debate, generally in the United States Senate, which, because of its rules, allows unlimited debate for those who can count votes well enough to know that their side will lose should a vote be taken on an issue.” Sen. James G. Abourezk (D-Sd.)

In the 1970s the United States faced and energy crisis on multiple fronts. The oil crisis of 1973, caused by a global oil embargo imposed by OAPEC, now OPEC, against countries that supported Israel in the Arab-Israeli War. Again, in 1979, when global oil production decreased due to the Iranian Revolution and subsequent Iran-Iraq War in 1980. Energy and oil production policy was the focus of Congress during the 1970s, resulting in the establishment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 1973 and the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977. The goal of this restructuring was to make the nation less reliant on foreign oil and energy production, as well as maintain regulatory control over the cost of energy for the US public.

During these policy changes, there was a push by energy industry lobbyists to deregulate the domestic energy market. President Nixon’s Federal Power Commission appointees made deregulation their goal. President Carter promised to veto any new legislation that would deregulate the oil and natural gas industry in the United States, and by April 20, 1977, had submitted his energy policy proposals to the Senate for debate.

As deregulation of the natural gas industry was debated on the Senate floor, with prospective votes in favor of deregulation, Sen. Abourezk and Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-Oh.) agreed to filibuster. They employed a less common filibuster technique by flooding the Senate floor with new amendments and proposals to extend debate and delay voting. On September 19, 1977, Senators Abourezk and Metzenbaum began proposing a slew of amendments to the Natural Gas Policy Act to force debate in the hope that they may win over the few votes needed to prevent deregulation before a final vote.

It came as a surprise when Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (D-Wv.) and Vice President Walter Mondale, seemingly with the support of President Carter, conspired to end the filibuster. In the final hours of debate on October 3, Sen. Byrd called up the latest round of amendments proposed by Sen. Abourezk, and as quickly as they were called, Vice Pres. Mondale called the amendments out of order effectively forcing an end to the thirteen-day filibuster. The final vote in the Senate came in at 50-46 in favor of deregulation.

Photograph courtesy of University of South Dakota Archives & Special Collections, James G. Abourezk papers

By Ryan Burdge Archivist & Special Collections Librarian

Additional reading: James Abourezk. “Natural Gas And the Filibuster.” New York Times (New York City, NY), October 9, 1977. Robert G. Ryan. “President Carter and the National Energy Policy.” Environment International vol. 2 (1979): 45-48.