Making laws
previous question
The House motion that cuts off debate and forces an immediate vote. A simple majority is enough, which is why the House has no filibuster.
In full
Moving the previous question ends debate and amendment on whatever is pending and brings it to an immediate vote. Because it needs only a majority, the House majority can always close debate, the structural difference that makes the House fast and the Senate slow. The Senate abolished its own previous-question motion in 1806, and the filibuster grew into the gap that left.
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Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.