Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who began talking at 14:41 local time (18:41 GMT) on Tuesday Sep 24,2013 held the floor for 21 hours and 19 minutes, but had to yield at midday. It was the fourth-longest speech in Senate history.
After more than 21 hours, Republican Senator Ted Cruz has finished speaking against the Obama health law, amid bipartisan attempts to avert a looming government shutdown.
The marathon talk was a mainly symbolic gesture of defiance, rather than a filibuster - a tactic made famous by the 1939 Jimmy Stewart film, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - as it could not hold up Senate proceedings.
Note
Other Instances are -
- The longest filibuster came when US Senator Strom Thurmond spoke against civil rights reforms for 24 hours 18 minutes in 1957
- US Senator Alfonse D'Amato (above, left) of New York kept going for 23 hours and 30 minutes in an attempt to block a military bill in 1986
- Robert Byrd (right) of West Virginia spoke against the 1964 Civil Rights Act for 14 hours 13 minutes.
- Huey Long (centre) of Louisiana discussed the merits of various recipes during his 15-hour filibuster in 1935
- In March 2013r, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul criticised US drone policy for nearly 13 hours
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