Definition: A series of stacked votes in short succession

Used in a Sentence: “A big chunk of the upcoming Senate budget vote-a-rama will be a waste of time — like votes on senators’ pet causes or generic partisan issues. But there’s some good news buried in the dozens of amendments that are coming across the Senate floor between now and Friday: A handful of them will matter.” From Politico, “‘Vote-a-rama’: The Senate budget votes that tell the tale”

History: Senate rules allow for special consideration of amendments during the budget process. After 50 hours of debate on the budget, Senators may bring any remaining amendments, as long as they are germane (relevant to the legislation at hand), to the floor for a vote. The budget is not subject to filibuster and only 51 votes are needed to pass a measure. When a vote-a-rama starts, Senators are given a few minutes introduce their amendment and state their case. The opposition is usually then given a short period of time to present their argument. Then the Senate votes; each vote lasts about ten minutes. This process repeats for each amendment presented and ruled germane. Amendments may be filed any time before the vote-a-rama begins, or they may be presented any time before the voting concludes.

What it Means: This week, the Senate will begin a “vote-a-rama.” There are expected to be votes on dozens of amendments to the Senate budget resolution, some of which may be mere political posturing, some of which will serve as “test votes” for later votes on related legislation. As of Thursday evening, 130 amendments had been filed. Amendments may touch on topics ranging from the Affordable Care Act, to the Ryan Budget, to drones (for more information on what could be offered, see Roll Call’s “10 Senate Budget Amendments to Watch For“). This marathon session will allow the Senate to (hopefully) make progress on their fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget resolution – their first budget resolution in four years – before they adjourn for a two week recess.