Senate is one of the two lawmaking bodies of many legislatures. In many of these legislatures, the other chamber is called a house of representatives. In most cases, the senate is smaller. Many countries have a national legislature with a senate, including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and Italy. In the United States, a senate is one of two chambers in 49 state legislatures. Nebraska has a one-chamber legislature. This article deals chiefly with the United States Senate.
The U.S. Senate is one of the two houses of Congress. The other one is the House of Representatives, usually called simply the House. The Senate is often referred to as the upper house and the House of Representatives as the lower house. Both houses have about the same amount of power, but the office of senator is considered a higher distinction than that of representative.
The House and Senate must pass identical versions of a bill before it can become law. The Senate can originate all types of legislation except tax laws. Only the Senate can approve treaties and the president’s nominations to certain government offices.
Membership of the U.S. Senate
Size.
The Constitutional Convention, which established the form of the national government in 1787, disagreed on the question of congressional representation. Delegates from the states that had small populations wanted equal representation for every state. But delegates from states with large populations called for representation according to population. A compromise provided for equal representation in the Senate—two senators from each state, regardless of population. The agreement set up representation in the House based on population. The first Senate had 22 members when it met in 1789 and 26 by the end of the first Congress. The Senate now has 100 members. Its membership reached 100 in 1959, when Hawaii became the 50th state.
Qualifications and election.
The Constitution requires a U.S. senator to be at least 30 years old and to have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years. Senators must maintain legal residence in the state they represent.
Today, voters elect all members of Congress. But the Constitution originally provided that the people elect only the House members, usually called representatives. State legislatures chose the senators and were expected to select wealthy, distinguished men who would promote conservative policies. But Senate elections distracted the legislatures from other duties. In 1913, the 17th Amendment to the Constitution gave voters the right to choose senators.
Senators serve six-year terms. About a third of all United States senators are chosen in the same year. There is no limit on the number of times a senator may be reelected.
Salary and privileges.
The basic salary of senators is $174,000. Each senator also gets an allowance to pay the salaries of his or her staff. The size of the staff allowance depends on the number of people in the senator’s state.
Senators also have the use of Senate office buildings in Washington, D.C., and get an allowance for an office in their home state. They also receive extra allowances to hire legislative assistants and to pay for office and travel expenses. Senators and representatives have legal immunity (protection) for anything they write or say as members of Congress. This immunity enables them to make critical statements about people without fear of being sued.
Organization of the U.S. Senate
The leaders of the Senate
hold special positions established by the Constitution or by the political parties. The Constitution provides that the vice president serve as president of the Senate. The vice president can preside over Senate debate but can vote only to break a tie. As a result, the vice president presides on ceremonial occasions or only when a close vote is expected on an important issue. The Constitution provides that the Senate choose a president pro tempore (temporary president) to preside when the vice president is absent. But the Senate usually gives this position to the senator of the majority party who has the longest continuous service. The majority party is the one with the most members in the Senate. Actually, the president pro tempore rarely presides, and different temporary presidents guide debate in most sessions.
Party leaders in the Senate have much more power than the leaders specified by the Constitution. Party leaders are chosen at a meeting called a caucus or conference, which is held before each new session of Congress begins. Democratic and Republican members hold separate caucuses. The majority party selects the majority leader of the Senate. The other party elects the minority leader. Each party also chooses an assistant leader called a whip. The whip estimates forthcoming votes and tries to persuade party members to support the party’s position. In addition, each party chooses a policy committee, which helps schedule bills for consideration and largely plans the legislative strategy of the party.
Senate committees,
which consist of members of both parties, do most of the actual work of the Senate. Senators serve on four types of committees. These types are (1) standing (permanent), (2) select and special, (3) joint, and (4) conference.
Standing committees, the most important type, deal with bills concerning specific legislative subjects. The Senate has 16 standing committees, the most powerful of which include Appropriations, Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Judiciary. Select and special committees are formed for investigations or other special purposes. These committees may be temporary or permanent. Joint committees and conference committees consist of members of each house of Congress. Joint committees deal with topics that concern both houses, such as economic matters. Conference committees resolve differences in bills that have passed in both houses.
Most Senate committees are divided into subcommittees, which handle much of the committee work. Members of the majority party head most of the committees and subcommittees. Members of both parties vote for committee heads. Often, however, the seniority principle determines who serves as the head of a committee. Under this principle, the majority party senator with the longest continuous service on a committee becomes the head.
Other members of committees are elected by the Senate. However, each party’s caucus makes the committee assignments before the formal election. Every Senate committee has more members from the majority party than from the minority party.
The work of the U.S. Senate
Considering legislation
is the Senate’s chief task. After a senator introduces a bill, it is sent to a committee for study. The committee may lay the bill aside, keeping the Senate from voting on it, or release it with a recommendation to pass it. If a bill is released, it goes on a list for consideration by the Senate. The majority leader largely determines if and when such bills are considered.
The Senate considers most bills under a unanimous consent agreement. Such an agreement allows more flexible procedures than would otherwise be allowed. An objection from even one senator blocks a unanimous consent agreement. Most of these agreements include a limit on debate. Under the normal rules of the Senate, members may speak for as long as they wish on any topic whatsoever. Some senators occasionally use this freedom so they can make long speeches called filibusters, which prevent the Senate from voting. Small groups of senators sometimes use filibusters to force the withdrawal or changing of legislation that is favored by most members. To end a filibuster, the Senate can vote cloture—that is, to limit the debate. Cloture requires the support of at least three-fifths of the Senate.
Most bills require the support of only a simple majority—that is, more than half the senators present—to pass. A bill that the Senate has originated and passed is sent to the House, where it goes through a similar process. If both houses pass a bill, a conference committee may resolve any differences between the two versions of the legislation. After both houses pass identical versions of the bill, it goes to the White House for approval by the president. The bill becomes law if the president signs it or fails to act on it for 10 days—not including Sundays—while Congress is in session. A bill requires the president’s signature to become law if it reaches the chief executive fewer than 10 days—not including Sundays—before Congress adjourns. If the president vetoes the bill, it is sent back to Congress. A vetoed bill becomes law if at least two-thirds of the members present in each house vote to override (reverse) the veto.
Other powers and duties
of the Senate include four important nonlegislative functions. The Senate approves or rejects certain presidential appointments. It also approves or rejects treaties. The Senate elects the vice president if the Electoral College, the group of representatives chosen by the voters in presidential elections, fails to give any candidate a majority. In addition, the Senate judges impeachment cases brought against U.S. government officials by the House. Impeachment is a charge of misconduct in office.
Presidential appointments of ambassadors, federal judges, Cabinet members, and certain other officials are subject to approval by the Senate. The Senate votes on thousands of appointments yearly and usually gives close attention only to the most important ones. Under a custom called senatorial courtesy, the president confers with the senator or senators of his or her party from a state before nominating anyone for an office in that state. If the senator or senators do not approve of the appointment, the Senate almost always rejects it.
Any treaty made by the United States is subject to the approval of at least two-thirds of the senators present. This requirement limits the President’s powers in foreign relations. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is also required for conviction in an impeachment case.
Senates in other countries
Almost half of all nations have a two-house legislature. However, not all upper houses are called senates. Many nations have representation by population in the lower house and equal representation for each state or province in the upper house.
Most upper houses that are not directly chosen by the voters have important limits on their power. For example, the Canadian Senate, whose members are appointed by the governor general on the prime minister’s recommendation, cannot introduce bills involving the spending of money, and cannot stop the passage of a constitutional amendment approved by the House of Commons. Ireland’s senate, which is partly appointed and partly elected by other officials, serves mainly as an advisory body.
