The US Senate is a part of the Legislative branch of the government. It interacts with the executive and judicial branches to implement the checks and balances that prevent any single branch from abusing its power.
Senators are elected to six-year terms. Their terms are staggered such that about one-third of the seats are up for election every two years.
Legislative Functions
The US Senate is the upper chamber of congress, with 100 Senators elected from each state. They serve six-year terms and are part of the Legislative branch of government, enacting legislation and approving treaties with foreign nations that were negotiated by the Executive. They also have the power to convict an executive or judicial official of impeachable offenses with a two-thirds vote in an impeachment trial.
The United States Constitution outlines many of the Senate’s powers, including the power to propose laws and enact them, to filibuster (delay or block legislation via prolonged debate), to oversee the federal budget, and to approve or reject presidential appointees for agencies. The Senate also has the power to determine the qualifications of its members and to settle disputed elections.
Every year the General Assembly convenes on the second Monday of January and meets for no more than 40 legislative days. The Legislature consists of the Senate and House of Representatives, which each represent a population based on its size in the state, and the lieutenant governor.
During the Legislative Session, the Senate and House of Representatives are organized into committees with jurisdiction over different areas. In addition, the Legislature creates interim joint committees. The Legislative Services Committee, established in 1959, studies methods and procedures to operate the General Assembly more efficiently.
In addition to the committees, the legislature has an administrative staff that serves both houses and the executive branch of government. The Secretary of the Senate, who is elected by the Senate for a two-year term, acts as unofficial parliamentarian and administrative officer.
The Office of the Senate Researcher is an independent source of information and research for the Senate. Its centralized staff of seven research experts is available to answer questions and assist individual Senators as well as standing and interim study committees.
A Senator’s duties are much broader than the three-month Legislative Session and involve helping citizens throughout the year by dealing with government agencies and studying problems that citizens feel require legislation. In addition, Senators are responsible for confirming the Governor’s appointments to boards and agencies.
Committee Assignments
After being elected to Congress, members of the Senate and House must select committees they want to serve on. Committee assignments are an important political decision, because they determine a member’s future work in Congress and the power that they will have to influence government policy.
The committee system is one of the most significant features of Congress. The committees act as gatekeepers for bills introduced into the body of Congress, determining which ones will move forward and be considered by the full House and Senate. As a result, committees have a strong influence on the drafting and rewriting of legislation, which is important for ensuring that bills have adequate support from all sides.
There are 17 standing committees in the Senate and 23 in the House, each of which oversees a particular policy area and has subcommittees that take on more specialized areas. The number and form of these committees vary with each Congress, but they all have a similar goal in mind: to provide efficient consideration of legislation.
Committee assignments are often made by party conferences, which consider seniority, expertise, and relevance to a senator’s state when making the decisions. This is because a member from a “safe” district may not be able to effectively contribute on a certain committee, while a senator from an important district might want to be considered for the committee that would have the most impact on the policy of his or her state.
For example, a new Senate member might want to be assigned to the Foreign Relations Committee, since that committee has a lot of influence over world affairs. The same is true for a representative from a state with high interest in its economic policies.
In addition to Senate committees, each party has its own policy committees. These committees are chaired by party leaders and conduct policy analysis and discuss political issues with senators. They are an important part of the political process, as they help promote unity within a party and encourage senators to support the agenda of the leadership.
The autonomy of the committee system can be confusing for new members, who have to determine which committees they want to serve on and how they will influence congressional debate and policy. This can make it difficult for the legislature to adopt a clear, cohesive legislative program.
Unanimous Consent Agreements
In order to expedite the passage of legislation, both chambers rely on a parliamentary tool called “unanimous consent.” This is a process that asks for the agreement of all members present in a given chamber to proceed with a certain action.
While many unanimous consent agreements are routine, others reflect negotiations among senators who are interested in a particular measure. These agreements often include limiting time for debate and specifying what amendments can be offered to the measure.
The Senate’s reliance on unanimous consent has its roots in the 1840s when Senator William Allen of Ohio sought a way to end debate on a bill that would set up the Oregon Territory. He asked the Senate to agree to a specific day on which to end debate and call for a vote, setting a precedent for future use of unanimous consent.
Since then, the Senate has largely used unanimous consent to conduct routine business. This has led to an increasing number of complicated unanimous consent agreements (UCAs).
Although UCAs are a complex parliamentary mechanism that can limit filibusters, opponents have a strong incentive to challenge these measures. In the case of an amendment to a controversial piece of legislation, for example, opposition may be based on fear of the potential effect on the bill’s chances of obtaining final passage.
Nevertheless, presiding officers have consistently interpreted these informal UC agreements as special orders of the Senate, and have enforced them as such. The parliamentary status of UCAs is now firmly established by a large body of precedent.
For example, a presiding officer has the power to enact a UCA that precludes filibusters by requiring a final vote on legislation and by specifying permissible amendments and their proposers.
A presiding officer must also ensure that all senators have agreed to the UCA, which is necessary for it to be enforceable. Historically, this was done by checking with all senators before bringing legislation to the floor.
In addition to preventing filibusters, UCAs have helped speed the passage of non-controversial bills. They also allow the majority and minority leaders to negotiate a time table for consideration of bills without requiring a roll-call vote, saving time and effort.
Floor Debates
The legislative process in Congress, especially in the United States Senate, is governed by a set of rules and precedents, as well as by a variety of established and customary practices and ad hoc arrangements. Senators have a number of rights on the floor of the Senate that they must use, but they also have the ability to forego these rights in order to expedite the business of the chamber.
The most important of these rights is the right to debate a matter at length. This is a very powerful power, but it is not the only way that Senators can exert influence on the Senate’s agenda.
Another opportunity for Senators to exert their influence is to offer amendments on the floor of the Senate. These can be offered on any subject of interest to Senators, and they do not have to be germane or relevant to the bill under consideration.
A third opportunity for Members to exercise their influence on the floor is the cloture process. This allows the majority leader to end debate on a bill with the support of a two-thirds majority of the Senators present and voting. In the past, this procedure has been used to limit debate on controversial bills.
Debates on a bill can often last for many hours or even days. As a result, the majority leaders and floor managers try to reach an overall agreement with all Senators before debate begins on a bill. However, in practice this rarely occurs. In most cases, the majority leader and committee chair try to limit debate and amending on a bill to a few days or weeks before a vote is taken on final passage of a measure.
