138-717: The 54th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives . It met in Washington, D.C. , from March 4, 1895, to March 4, 1897, during the last two years of Grover Cleveland 's second presidency . The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives
276-424: A general ticket . (2 Republicans) The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress. Two seats were added when Utah was admitted and one seat was filled late. There were 4 deaths, 2 resignations, 13 election challenges, 1 new seat, and 4 seats vacant from the previous Congress. Democrats had a 10-seat net loss; Republicans had a 12-seat net gain; and Populists had
414-411: A nonpartisan blanket primary (also known as a "jungle primary" or "top-two primary") is held in which all candidates participate in a single primary regardless of party affiliation and the top two candidates in terms of votes received at the primary election advance to the general election, where the winner is the candidate with the greater number of votes. In Louisiana, the blanket primary is considered
552-597: A 2-seat net gain. Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On
690-521: A bill and the president to sign into law an act to reapportion the House from since the ratification of the constitution up until 1941, which is when a self-executing statute was enacted, thus making reapportionment an automatic process. Although the first sentence in this clause originally concerned apportionment of both House seats and taxes among the several states, the Fourteenth Amendment sentence that replaced it in 1868 mentioned only
828-419: A chair in the front of the Senate chamber. The powers of the presiding officer of the Senate are far less extensive than those of the speaker of the House . The presiding officer calls on senators to speak (by the rules of the Senate, the first senator who rises is recognized); ruling on points of order (objections by senators that a rule has been breached, subject to appeal to the whole chamber); and announcing
966-474: A full-term). The Seventeenth Amendment permits state legislatures to empower their governors to make temporary appointments until the required special election takes place. The manner by which the Seventeenth Amendment is enacted varies among the states. A 2018 report breaks this down into the following three broad categories (specific procedures vary among the states): In ten states within
1104-545: A house of Congress exercising its Section 5 authority to "judge...the...qualifications of its own members" or by a state in its exercise of its Section 4 authority to prescribe the "times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives." The Supreme Court, as well as other federal courts , have repeatedly barred states from additional restrictions, such as imposing term limits on members of Congress, allowing members of Congress to be subject to recall elections , or requiring that Representatives live in
1242-407: A majority of the Senate constitutes a quorum to do business. Under the rules and customs of the Senate, a quorum is always assumed as present unless a quorum call explicitly demonstrates otherwise. A senator may request a quorum call by "suggesting the absence of a quorum"; a clerk then calls the roll and notes which members are present. In practice, senators rarely request quorum calls to establish
1380-418: A method to remove that disqualification: a two-thirds vote of both chambers of Congress. Originally, senators were selected by the state legislatures , not by popular elections . By the early years of the 20th century, the legislatures of as many as 29 states had provided for popular election of senators by referendums. Popular election to the Senate was standardized nationally in 1913 by the ratification of
1518-466: A more deliberative and prestigious body than the House of Representatives due to its longer terms, smaller size, and statewide constituencies, which historically led to a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. , the nation's capital. Despite not being a senator, the vice president of
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#17327754294451656-471: A necessary sacrifice to that spirit of conciliation, which was indispensable to the union of states having a great diversity of interests, and physical condition, and political institutions". Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) later superseded Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and explicitly repealed the compromise. Following the completion of each census, Congress is empowered to use
1794-492: A proper purpose ("in aid of" its legislative powers) functions as a limit on Congress's ability to investigate the private affairs of individual citizens; matters that simply demand action by another branch of government, without implicating an issue of public policy necessitating legislation by Congress, must be left to those branches due to the doctrine of separation of powers. The courts are highly deferential to Congress's exercise of its investigation powers, however. Congress has
1932-401: A regular or special Senate election. Senators serve terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the seats are up for election every two years. This was achieved by dividing the senators of the 1st Congress into thirds (called classes ), where the terms of one-third expired after two years, the terms of another third expired after four, and the terms of
2070-471: A replacement to serve out the remainder of the senator's term. If the state legislature was not in session, its governor could appoint a temporary replacement to serve until the legislature could elect a permanent replacement. This was superseded by the Seventeenth Amendment , which provided for the popular election of senators, instead of their appointment by the state legislature. In a nod to
2208-556: A representative must be twenty-five. And the former must have been a citizen nine years; as seven years are required for the latter. The propriety of these distinctions is explained by the nature of the senatorial trust, which, requiring greater extent of information and stability of character, requires at the same time that the senator should have reached a period of life most likely to supply these advantages; and which, participating immediately in transactions with foreign nations, ought to be exercised by none who are not thoroughly weaned from
2346-487: A result, including: three presidents ( Andrew Johnson , Bill Clinton , and Donald Trump , twice), two Cabinet secretaries ( William W. Belknap and Alejandro Mayorkas ), one senator ( William Blount ), one Supreme Court associate justice ( Samuel Chase ), and fourteen federal judges . Also, notably, impeachment proceedings compelled the resignation of President Richard Nixon . The Constitution does not specify how impeachment proceedings are to be initiated. Until
2484-423: A result, it is uncertain whether an Alaska governor may appoint an interim senator to serve until a special election is held to fill the vacancy. In May 2021, Oklahoma permitted its governor again to appoint a successor who is of the same party as the previous senator for at least the preceding five years when the vacancy arises in an even-numbered year, only after the appointee has taken an oath not to run in either
2622-514: A senator by a two-thirds vote. Fifteen senators have been expelled in the Senate's history: William Blount , for treason, in 1797, and fourteen in 1861 and 1862 for supporting the Confederate secession . Although no senator has been expelled since 1862, many senators have chosen to resign when faced with expulsion proceedings – for example, Bob Packwood in 1995. The Senate has also censured and condemned senators; censure requires only
2760-447: A separate ballot referendum that took effect on the same day, but that conflicted with each other. The effect of the ballot-approved law is to withhold from the governor authority to appoint a senator. Because the 17th Amendment vests the power to grant that authority to the legislature – not the people or the state generally – it is unclear whether the ballot measure supplants the legislature's statute granting that authority. As
2898-443: A simple majority and does not remove a senator from office. Some senators have opted to withdraw from their re-election races rather than face certain censure or expulsion, such as Robert Torricelli in 2002. The "majority party" is the political party that either has a majority of seats or can form a coalition or caucus with a majority of seats; if two or more parties are tied, the vice president's affiliation determines which party
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#17327754294453036-465: A uniform law) the power to legislate a method by which senators are elected. Ballot access rules for independent and minor party candidates also vary from state to state. In 45 states, a primary election is held first for the Republican and Democratic parties (and a select few third parties , depending on the state) with the general election following a few months later. In most of these states,
3174-546: Is a vesting clause that bestows federal legislative power exclusively to Congress. Similar clauses are found in Article II , which confers executive power upon the president alone, and Article III , which grants judicial power solely to the federal judiciary. These three articles create a separation of powers among the three branches of the federal government . This separation of powers, by which each branch may exercise only its own constitutional powers and no others,
3312-410: Is anticipated. The Constitution authorizes the Senate to elect a president pro tempore ( Latin for "president for a time"), who presides over the chamber in the vice president's absence and is, by custom, the senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service. Like the vice president, the president pro tempore does not normally preside over the Senate, but typically delegates
3450-490: Is central to the theory. The nondelegation doctrine is primarily used as a way of interpreting a congressional delegation of authority narrowly, in that the courts presume Congress intended only to delegate that which it certainly could have, unless it clearly demonstrates it intended to "test the waters" of what the courts would allow it to do. Although not mentioned in the Constitution, Congress has also long asserted
3588-581: Is currently impossible, because while the size of the House of Representatives is fixed at 435, several states had less than 1/435 of the national population at the time of the last reapportionment in 2020. However, the Supreme Court has interpreted the provision of Clause One that Representatives shall be elected "by the People" to mean that, in those states with more than one member of the House of Representatives, each congressional election district within
3726-603: Is fundamental to the idea of a limited government accountable to the people. The separation of powers principle is particularly significant for Congress. The Constitution declares that the Congress may exercise only those legislative powers "herein granted" within Article I (as later limited by the Tenth Amendment ). It also, by implied extension, prohibits Congress from delegating its legislative authority to either of
3864-468: Is the majority party. One hundred desks are arranged in the chamber in a semicircular pattern and are divided by a wide central aisle. The Democratic Party traditionally sits to the presiding officer's right, and the Republican Party traditionally sits to the presiding officer's left, regardless of which party has a majority of seats. Each senator chooses a desk based on seniority within
4002-437: Is the majority party. The next-largest party is known as the minority party. The president pro tempore, committee chairs, and some other officials are generally from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the "ranking members" of committees) in the minority party. Independents and members of third parties (so long as they do not caucus support either of the larger parties) are not considered in determining which
4140-574: Is the sole judge of a senator's qualifications. During its early years, however, the Senate did not closely scrutinize the qualifications of its members. As a result, four senators who failed to meet the age requirement were nevertheless admitted to the Senate: Henry Clay (aged 29 in 1806), John Jordan Crittenden (aged 29 in 1817), Armistead Thomson Mason (aged 28 in 1816), and John Eaton (aged 28 in 1818). Such an occurrence, however, has not been repeated since. In 1934, Rush D. Holt Sr.
4278-516: Is up for re-election every two years, but the entire body is never up for re-election in the same year (as contrasted with the House, where its entire membership is up for re-election every 2 years). As originally established, senators were elected by the Legislature of the State they represented in the Senate. If a senator died, resigned, or was expelled, the legislature of the state would appoint
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4416-561: The 1920 census , Congress failed to apportion the House, with the House using the allocations of the Apportionment Act of 1911 until after the 1932 elections, which was the date determined by Congress after it passed and the president signed the Reapportionment Act of 1929 . This resulted in the representation within the House to remain frozen for twenty years. Reapportionment of the House required Congress to pass
4554-557: The Constitution debated more about how to award representation in the Senate than about any other part of the Constitution. While bicameralism and the idea of a proportional "people's house" were widely popular, discussions about Senate representation proved contentious. In the end, some small states—unwilling to give up their equal power with larger states under the Articles of Confederation —threatened to secede in 1787, and won
4692-572: The District of Columbia full representation in the Congress without also granting it statehood. Their argument is that an amendment that would allow a non-state district to have two senators would deprive the states of their equal suffrage in the Senate and would therefore require unanimous ratification by all the states. Those in favor of the amendment have argued that the States are merely entitled to equal suffrage amongst one another, and that granting
4830-529: The Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). FERS has been the Senate's retirement system since January 1, 1987, while CSRS applies only for those senators who were in the Senate from December 31, 1986, and prior. As it is for federal employees, congressional retirement is funded through taxes and the participants' contributions. Under FERS, senators contribute 1.3% of their salary into
4968-412: The Reapportionment Act of 1929 , a constant 435 House seats have been apportioned among the states according to each census, and determining the size of the House is not presently part of the apportionment process. With one exception, the apportionment of 1842, the House of Representatives had been enlarged by various degrees from sixty-five members in 1788 to 435 members by 1913. The determination of size
5106-541: The Seventeenth Amendment . Elections to the Senate are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years, Election Day , and occur simultaneously with elections for the House of Representatives . Senators are elected by their state as a whole. The Elections Clause of the United States Constitution grants each state (and Congress, if it so desires to implement
5244-526: The Supreme Court , the power to raise and support an army and a navy, the power to call forth the militia "to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions" and to provide for the militia's "organizing, arming, disciplining...and governing" and granting Congress the power to declare war . Section 8 also provides Congress the power to establish a federal district to serve as
5382-520: The United States House of Representatives (which is the lower chamber of Congress) comprise the federal bicameral legislature of the United States . Together, the Senate and the House have the authority under Article One of the U.S. Constitution to pass or defeat federal legislation. The Senate has exclusive power to confirm U.S. presidential appointments to high offices, approve or reject treaties, and try cases of impeachment brought by
5520-413: The gavel of the Senate to maintain order. A " hold " is placed when the leader's office is notified that a senator intends to object to a request for unanimous consent from the Senate to consider or pass a measure. A hold may be placed for any reason and can be lifted by the senator who placed it at any time. A senator may place a hold simply to review a bill, to negotiate changes to the bill, or to kill
5658-458: The income tax to income derived from real estate and specifically income in the form of dividends from personal property ownership such as stock shares was found to be unconstitutional because it was not apportioned among the states; that is to say, there was no guarantee that a State with 10% of the country's population paid 10% of those income taxes collected, because Congress had not fixed an amount of money to be raised and apportioned it between
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5796-434: The parliamentarian . In the early 1920s, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began. The Senate's legislative and executive business is managed and scheduled by the Senate's majority leader, who on occasion negotiates some matters with the Senate's minority leader. A prominent practice in the Senate is the filibuster on some matters and its remedy the vote on cloture . The drafters of
5934-414: The senior senator , while the other is the junior senator . For example, majority leader Chuck Schumer is the senior senator from New York, having served in the senate since 1999, while Kirsten Gillibrand is New York's junior senator, having served since 2009. Like members of the House of Representatives, Senators use the prefix " The Honorable " before their names. Senators are usually identified in
6072-439: The separation of powers among the three branches of the federal government. Section 2 of Article One addresses the House of Representatives, establishing that members of the House are elected every two years, with congressional seats apportioned to the states on the basis of population. Section 2 includes various rules for the House of Representatives, including a provision stating that individuals qualified to vote in elections for
6210-423: The state legislature of their respective states. However, since 1913, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment , senators have been elected through a statewide popular vote . As the upper chamber of Congress, the Senate has several powers of advice and consent . These include the approval of treaties , as well as the confirmation of Cabinet secretaries , federal judges (including justices of
6348-441: The three-fifths compromise , was a compromise between Southern and Northern states in which three-fifths of the population of slaves would be counted for enumeration purposes and for the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives and of taxes among the states. It was, according to Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story (writing in 1833 ), a "matter of compromise and concession, confessedly unequal in its operation, but
6486-418: The veto power of the president of the United States . Under Section 7, the president can veto a bill, but Congress can override the president's veto with a two-thirds vote of both chambers. Section 8 lays out the powers of Congress. It includes several enumerated powers, including the power to lay and collect "taxes, duties, imposts, and excises" (provided duties, imposts, and excises are uniform throughout
6624-454: The "Changes in membership" section. This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district. Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers , which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term began in
6762-499: The Congress to determine its convening and adjournment dates and other dates and schedules as it desires. Article 1, Section 3, provides that the president has the power to convene Congress on extraordinary occasions at his discretion. A member who has been elected, but not yet seated, is called a senator-elect ; a member who has been appointed to a seat, but not yet seated, is called a senator-designate . The Constitution requires that senators take an oath or affirmation to support
6900-430: The Constitution stipulates that no constitutional amendment may be created to deprive a state of its equal suffrage in the Senate without that state's consent. The United States has had 50 states since 1959, thus the Senate has had 100 senators since 1959. Before the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were elected by the individual state legislatures . Problems with repeated vacant seats due to
7038-548: The Constitution of the United States establishes the legislative branch of the federal government , the United States Congress . Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate . Article One grants Congress various enumerated powers and the ability to pass laws " necessary and proper " to carry out those powers. Article One also establishes
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#17327754294457176-519: The Constitution, the vice president serves as president of the Senate. They may vote in the Senate ( ex officio , for they are not an elected member of the Senate) in the case of a tie, but are not required to. For much of the nation's history the task of presiding over Senate sessions was one of the vice president's principal duties (the other being to receive from the states the tally of electoral ballots cast for president and vice president and to open
7314-537: The Constitution. Congress has prescribed the following oath for all federal officials (except the President), including senators: I, ___ ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge
7452-525: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment , finding that, "construed in its historical context, the command of Art. I, § 2, that Representatives be chosen 'by the People of the several States' means that as nearly as is practicable one man's vote in a congressional election is to be worth as much as another's." Court involvement in this issue developed slowly from an initial practice of electing representatives at-large, until in
7590-507: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In a dissenting opinion of a 1964 Supreme Court case involving reapportionment in the Alabama state legislature, Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II included Minor v. Happersett (an 1875 case which allowed states to deny women the right to vote) in a list of past decisions about voting and apportionment which were no longer being followed. In Oregon v. Mitchell (1970),
7728-619: The Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. After
7866-583: The FERS retirement plan and pay 6.2% of their salary in Social Security taxes. The amount of a senator's pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest three years of their salary. The starting amount of a senator's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of their final salary. In 2006, the average annual pension for retired senators and representatives under CSRS was $ 60,972, while those who retired under FERS, or in combination with CSRS,
8004-420: The House of Representatives shall choose its Speaker and its other officers. Though the Constitution does not mandate it, every Speaker has been a member of the House of Representatives. The Speaker rarely presides over routine House sessions, choosing instead to deputize a junior member to accomplish the task. Finally, Section Two grants to the House of Representatives the sole power of impeachment . Although
8142-417: The House of Representatives and the Senate the power to judge their own elections, determine the qualifications of their own members, and punish or expel their own members. Section 6 establishes the compensation, privileges, and restrictions of those holding congressional office. Section 7 lays out the procedures for passing a bill, requiring both houses of Congress to pass a bill for it to become law, subject to
8280-442: The House to serve as the prosecution team in the impeachment trial in the Senate (see Section 3, Clause 6 below). The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. The first Clause of Section Three provides that each state is entitled to have two senators, who would be elected by its state legislature (now by
8418-448: The House. No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. A senator must be at least 30 years of age, must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years before being elected, and must reside in
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#17327754294458556-537: The House. The Senate and the House provide a check and balance on the powers of the executive and judicial branches of government. The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution . Each of the 50 states is represented by two senators who serve staggered six-year terms . In total, the Senate consists of 100 members. From its inception in 1789 until 1913, senators were appointed by
8694-443: The Senate mails one of three forms to the state's governor to inform them of the proper wording to certify the appointment of a new senator. If a special election for one seat happens to coincide with a general election for the state's other seat, each seat is contested separately. A senator elected in a special election takes office as soon as possible after the election and serves until the original six-year term expires (i.e. not for
8832-444: The Senate has several officers who are not members. The Senate's chief administrative officer is the secretary of the Senate , who maintains public records, disburses salaries, monitors the acquisition of stationery and supplies, and oversees clerks. The assistant secretary of the Senate aids the secretary's work. Another official is the sergeant at arms who, as the Senate's chief law enforcement officer, maintains order and security on
8970-541: The Senate premises. The Capitol Police handle routine police work, with the sergeant at arms primarily responsible for general oversight. Other employees include the chaplain , who is elected by the Senate, and pages , who are appointed. The Senate uses Standing Rules for operation. Like the House of Representatives , the Senate meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. At one end of
9108-530: The Senate." Thus, no individual state may have its individual representation in the Senate adjusted without its consent. That is to say, an amendment that directly changed this clause to provide that all states would get only one senator (or three senators, or any other number) could become valid as part of the Constitution if ratified by three-fourths of the states; however, one that provided for some basis of representation other than strict numerical equality (for example, population, wealth, or land area), would require
9246-561: The State they will represent at the time of the election. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Qualifications Clause as an exclusive list of qualifications that cannot be supplemented by a House of Congress exercising its Section 5 authority to "Judge... the... Qualifications of its own Members," or by a state in its exercise of its Section 4 authority to prescribe the "Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives,..." The Vice President of
9384-475: The States according to their respective shares of the national population. To permit the levying of such an income tax, Congress proposed and the states ratified the Sixteenth Amendment , which removed the restriction by specifically providing that Congress could levy a tax on income "from whatever source derived" without it being apportioned among the States or otherwise based on a State's share of
9522-440: The Supreme Court ), flag officers , regulatory officials, ambassadors , other federal executive officials , and federal uniformed officers . If no candidate receives a majority of electors for vice president , the duty falls to the Senate to elect one of the top two recipients of electors for that office. The Senate conducts trials of officials who have been impeached by the House. The Senate has typically been considered both
9660-553: The Supreme Court has not had an occasion to interpret this specific provision, the Court has suggested that the grant to the House of the " sole " power of impeachment makes the House the exclusive interpreter of what constitutes an impeachable offense. This power, which is analogous to the bringing of criminal charges by a grand jury , has been used only rarely. The House has begun impeachment proceedings 62 times since 1789, and twenty-one federal officials have been formally impeached as
9798-480: The Supreme Court has recognized voting as a fundamental right, the Equal Protection Clause places very tight limitations (albeit with uncertain limits) on the states' ability to define voter qualifications; it is fair to say that qualifications beyond citizenship, residency, and age are usually questionable. In the 1960s, the Supreme Court started to view voting as a fundamental right covered by
9936-547: The Supreme Court held that the Qualifications clause did not prevent Congress from overriding state-imposed minimum age restrictions for voters in Congressional elections. Since clause 3 provides that Members of the House of Representatives are apportioned state-by-state and that each state is guaranteed at least one Representative, exact population equality between all districts is not guaranteed and, in fact,
10074-451: The U.S. Constitution places no restrictions on state or local office-holders simultaneously holding federal office , most state constitutions today effectively ban state and local office holders from also holding federal office at the same time by prohibiting federal office holders from also holding state and local office. Unlike other state-mandated restrictions, these sorts of prohibitions are constitutional as long they are enforced purely at
10212-409: The United States serves as presiding officer and president of the Senate by virtue of that office ; the vice president may vote only if the Senate is equally divided. In the vice president's absence, the president pro tempore , who is traditionally the most senior member of the Senate's majority party, presides over the Senate, and more often by rule allows a junior senator to take the chair, guided by
10350-536: The United States Constitution disqualifies as senators any federal or state officers who had taken the requisite oath to support the Constitution but who later engaged in rebellion or aided the enemies of the United States. This provision, which came into force soon after the end of the Civil War, was intended to prevent those who had sided with the Confederacy from serving. That Amendment, however, also provides
10488-479: The United States for at least nine years; and (3) they must be inhabitants of the states they seek to represent at the time of their election. The age and citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those for representatives. In Federalist No. 62 , James Madison justified this arrangement by arguing that the "senatorial trust" called for a "greater extent of information and stability of character": A senator must be thirty years of age at least; as
10626-402: The United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. Section Three provides that the vice president is the president of the Senate . Excepting the duty to receive the tally of electoral votes for president, this is the only regular responsibility assigned to the office of the vice president by the Constitution. When serving in this capacity,
10764-467: The United States), "to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States", the power to regulate interstate and international commerce , the power to set naturalization laws , the power to coin and regulate money, the power to borrow money on the credit of the United States, the power to establish post offices and post roads, the power to establish federal courts inferior to
10902-423: The aggregate population in all the states (according to the prevailing Constitutional rule for determining population) to determine the relative population of each state to the population of the whole, and, based on its calculations, to establish the appropriate size of the House and to allocate a particular number of representatives to each state according to its share of the national population. Since enactment of
11040-401: The apportionment of House seats. Even so, the constraint placed upon Congress's taxation power remained, as the restriction was reiterated in Article 1 Section 9 Clause 4. The amount of direct taxes that could be collected by the federal government from the people in any State would still be tied directly to that state's share of the national population. Due to this restriction, application of
11178-409: The bill. A bill can be held for as long as the senator who objects to the bill wishes to block its consideration. Holds can be overcome, but require time-consuming procedures such as filing cloture. Holds are considered private communications between a senator and the leader, and are sometimes referred to as "secret holds". A senator may disclose the placement of a hold. The Constitution provides that
11316-483: The certificates "in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives", so that the total votes could be counted). Since the 1950s, vice presidents have presided over few Senate debates. Instead, they have usually presided only on ceremonial occasions, such as swearing in new senators, joint sessions, or at times to announce the result of significant legislation or nomination, or when a tie vote on an important issue
11454-409: The chamber of the Senate is a dais from which the presiding officer presides. The lower tier of the dais is used by clerks and other officials. Sessions of the Senate are opened with a special prayer or invocation and typically convene on weekdays. Sessions of the Senate are generally open to the public and are broadcast live on television, usually by C-SPAN 2 . Senate procedure depends not only on
11592-408: The committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee. United States Senate Minority (49) The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress . The Senate and
11730-635: The congressional district in which they represent. A 2002 Congressional Research Service report also found that no state could implement a qualification that a Representative not be a convicted felon or incarcerated. However, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that certain ballot access requirements, such as filing fees and submitting a certain number of valid petition signatures do not constitute additional qualifications and thus few Constitutional restrictions exist as to how harsh ballot access laws can be. Finally, although
11868-607: The day by a vote of 5–4 in what became known as the Connecticut Compromise . The Connecticut Compromise provided, among other things, that each state—regardless of population—would be represented by two senators. First convened in 1789, the Senate of the United States was formed on the example of the ancient Roman Senate . The name is derived from the senatus , Latin for council of elders , derived from senex , meaning old man in Latin. Article Five of
12006-443: The denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Nineteenth Amendment prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on sex. The Twenty-fourth Amendment prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of a poll tax . The Twenty-sixth Amendment prohibits the denial of the right of US citizens, eighteen years of age or older, to vote on account of age. Moreover, since
12144-530: The direct election of senators. Section 3 lays out various other rules for the Senate, including a provision that establishes the vice president of the United States as the president of the Senate. Section 4 of Article One grants the states the power to regulate the congressional election process but establishes that Congress can alter those regulations or make its own regulations. Section 4 also requires Congress to assemble at least once per year. Section 5 lays out various rules for both houses of Congress and grants
12282-524: The duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. The annual salary of each senator, since 2009, is $ 174,000; the president pro tempore and party leaders receive $ 193,400. In 2003, at least 40 senators were millionaires; by 2018, over 50 senators were millionaires (partly due to inflation). Along with earning salaries, senators receive retirement and health benefits that are identical to other federal employees, and are fully vested after five years of service. Senators are covered by
12420-544: The early 20th century, a House member could rise and propose an impeachment, which would then be assigned to a committee for investigation upon a formal resolution vote of the judicial committee. Presently, it is the House Judiciary Committee that initiates the process and then, after investigating the allegations, prepares recommendations for the whole House's consideration. If the House votes to adopt an impeachment resolution, " managers " are appointed by
12558-456: The executive authority of all states with vacancies to hold a special election within 49 days of the announcement. This election is initiated via a writ of election from the Governor ( 2 U.S.C. § 8(b) ). The House of Representatives shall chuse [ sic ] their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. Section Two further provides that
12696-544: The federal district Senate representation does not violate that right. Whether unanimous consent of the 50 states would be required for such an amendment to become operative remains an unanswered political question. Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at
12834-534: The final category above – Arizona , Hawaii , Kentucky , Maryland , Montana , North Carolina , Oklahoma , Utah , West Virginia , and Wyoming – the governor must appoint someone of the same political party as the previous incumbent. In September 2009, Massachusetts changed its law to enable the governor to appoint a temporary replacement for the late senator Edward Kennedy until the special election in January 2010. In 2004, Alaska enacted legislation and
12972-662: The first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse [ sic ] three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. After much debate,
13110-534: The first group of senators was elected to the First Congress (1789–1791), the senators were divided into three "classes" as nearly equal in size as possible, as required by this section. This was done in May 1789 by lot . It was also decided that each state's senators would be assigned to two different classes. Those senators grouped in the first class had their term expire after only two years; those senators in
13248-408: The framers of the Constitution decided to make population the basis of apportioning the seats in the House of Representatives and the tax liability among the states. To facilitate this, the Constitution mandates that a census be conducted every ten years to determine the population of each state and of the nation as a whole and establishes a rule for who shall be counted or excluded from the count. As
13386-413: The general election and candidates receiving a majority of the votes is declared the winner, skipping a run-off. In Maine and Alaska , ranked-choice voting is used to nominate and elect candidates for federal offices, including the Senate. The Seventeenth Amendment requires that vacancies in the Senate be filled by special election. Whenever a senator must be appointed or elected, the secretary of
13524-407: The governors of the states were expressly allowed by the Constitution to make temporary appointments. The current system, under the Seventeenth Amendment, allows governors to appoint a replacement only if their state legislature has previously decided to allow the governor to do so; otherwise, the seat must remain vacant until the special election is held to fill the seat, as in the case of a vacancy in
13662-503: The inability of a legislature to elect senators, intrastate political struggles, bribery and intimidation gradually led to a growing movement to amend the Constitution to allow for the direct election of senators. In contrast to the House of Representatives, the Senate has historically had stronger norms of conduct for its members. Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution , sets three qualifications for senators: (1) they must be at least 30 years old; (2) they must have been citizens of
13800-416: The inside of the desk's drawer with a pen. Except for the president of the Senate (who is the vice president), the Senate elects its own officers, who maintain order and decorum, manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate, and interpret the Senate's rules, practices and precedents. Many non-member officers are also hired to run various day-to-day functions of the Senate. Under
13938-419: The largest chamber of their state's legislature have the right to vote in elections for the House of Representatives. Section 3 addresses the Senate, establishing that the Senate consists of two senators from each state, with each senator serving a six-year term. Section 3 originally required that the state legislatures elect the members of the Senate, but the Seventeenth Amendment , ratified in 1913, provides for
14076-452: The last Congress, requiring re-election in 1898; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1900; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1896. The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers. Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket . (2 Republicans) Both representatives were elected statewide on
14214-418: The last third expired after six years. This arrangement was also followed after the admission of new states into the union. The staggering of terms has been arranged such that both seats from a given state are not contested in the same general election, except when a vacancy is being filled. Class I comprises Senators whose six-year terms are set to expire on January 3, 2025. There is no constitutional limit to
14352-530: The late 1940s and the early 1950s the Court used the " political question " doctrine in Baker v. Carr to decline to adjudicate districting and apportionment suits. The Supreme Court has held in Rucho v. Common Cause that there was no "constitutional directive" nor any "legal standards to guide" the Court in claims of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering , and such claims today are considered nonjusticiable. At
14490-464: The less populist nature of the Senate, the amendment tracks the vacancy procedures for the House of Representatives in requiring that the governor call a special election to fill the vacancy, but (unlike in the House) it vests in the state legislature the authority to allow the governor to appoint a temporary replacement until the special election is held. Note, however, that under the original Constitution,
14628-414: The male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State." The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits
14766-442: The media and other sources by party and state; for example, Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer , who represents New York, may be identified as "D–New York" or (D-NY). And sometimes they are identified as to whether they are the junior or senior senator in their state ( see above ). Unless in the context of elections, they are rarely identified by which one of the three classes of senators they are in. The Senate may expel
14904-402: The national capital and gives Congress the exclusive power to administer that district. In addition to various enumerated powers, Section 8 grants Congress the power to make laws necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated powers and other powers vested in it. Section 9 places various limits on the power of Congress, banning bills of attainder and other practices. Section 10 places limits on
15042-636: The national population. When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies. Generally states and territories fill vacancies within the House of Representatives according to their own laws, however when vacancies within the House exceed 100 members, the Speaker of the House will announce "extraordinary circumstances" have occurred, which obligates
15180-444: The new form of government would become operational prior to the completion of a national census, the Constitution also provides for a temporary apportionment of seats. Originally, the population of each state and of the nation as a whole was ascertained by adding to the whole number of free Persons, three-fifths the number of all other Persons (i.e. slaves ), but excluding non-taxed Native Americans . This Constitutional rule, known as
15318-456: The nominee may receive only a plurality, while in some states, a runoff is required if no majority was achieved. In the general election, the winner is the candidate who receives a plurality of the popular vote. However, in five states, different methods are used. In Georgia , a runoff between the top two candidates occurs if the plurality winner in the general election does not also win a majority. In California , Washington , and Louisiana ,
15456-454: The number of terms a senator may serve. The Constitution set the date for Congress to convene — Article 1, Section 4, Clause 2, originally set that date for the third day of December. The Twentieth Amendment , however, changed the opening date for sessions to noon on the third day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. The Twentieth Amendment also states that the Congress shall assemble at least once every year, and allows
15594-444: The other branches of government, a rule known as the nondelegation doctrine . However, the Supreme Court has ruled that Congress does have the latitude to delegate regulatory powers to executive agencies as long as it provides an "intelligible principle" which governs the agency's exercise of the delegated regulatory authority. That the power assigned to each branch must remain with that branch, and may be expressed only by that branch,
15732-411: The party. By custom, the leader of each party sits in the front row along the center aisle. Forty-eight of the desks date back to 1819, when the Senate chamber was reconstructed after the original contents were destroyed in the 1812 Burning of Washington . Further desks of similar design were added as new states entered the Union. It is a tradition that each senator who uses a desk inscribes their name on
15870-511: The people of each state), serve for staggered six-year terms, and have one vote each. Through these provisions, adopted following the Connecticut Compromise , the Framers sought to protect the sovereignty and interests of states. This clause has been superseded by the Seventeenth Amendment , ratified in 1913, which, in part, provides as amended , that The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by
16008-545: The people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. Article Five specifies the means by which the Constitution of the United States can be amended. It ends by shielding three Article I clauses from being amended. The clause guaranteeing equal representation is among them. (The others are first and fourth clauses in Section 9, which were amendable after 1808.) Article Five provides that "no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in
16146-430: The power to investigate and the power to compel cooperation with an investigation. The Supreme Court has affirmed these powers as an implication of Congress's power to legislate. Since the power to investigate is an aspect of Congress's power to legislate, it is as broad as Congress's powers to legislate. However, it is also limited to inquiries that are "in aid of the legislative function"; Congress may not "expose for
16284-797: The power to investigate that which it could regulate, and the courts have interpreted Congress's regulatory powers broadly since the Great Depression . The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. Election districts in each state have recently been required to be structured so that each elected representative represents substantially equal populations, based on court interpretations of
16422-405: The prepossessions and habits incident to foreign birth and education. The term of nine years appears to be a prudent mediocrity between a total exclusion of adopted citizens, whose merits and talents may claim a share in the public confidence, and an indiscriminate and hasty admission of them, which might create a channel for foreign influence on the national councils. The Senate (not the judiciary)
16560-482: The procedures for passing a bill and places various limits on the powers of Congress and the states from abusing their powers. Article One's Vesting Clause grants all federal legislative power to Congress and establishes that Congress consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. In combination with the vesting clauses of Article Two and Article Three, the Vesting Clause of Article One establishes
16698-495: The quorum as present; instead, quorum calls are generally used to temporarily delay proceedings. Usually, such delays are used while waiting for a senator to reach the floor to speak or to give leaders time to negotiate. Once the need for a delay has ended, a senator may request unanimous consent to rescind the quorum call. Article One of the United States Constitution Article One of
16836-461: The responsibility of presiding to a majority-party senator who presides over the Senate, usually in blocks of one hour on a rotating basis. Frequently, freshmen senators (newly elected members) are asked to preside so that they may become accustomed to the rules and procedures of the body. It is said that, "in practice they are usually mere mouthpieces for the Senate's parliamentarian , who whispers what they should do". The presiding officer sits in
16974-399: The results of votes. Each party elects Senate party leaders . Floor leaders act as the party chief spokesmen. The Senate majority leader is responsible for controlling the agenda of the chamber by scheduling debates and votes. Each party elects an assistant leader (whip) , who works to ensure that his party's senators vote as the party leadership desires. In addition to the vice president,
17112-434: The rules, but also on a variety of customs and traditions. The Senate commonly waives some of its stricter rules by unanimous consent . Unanimous consent agreements are typically negotiated beforehand by party leaders. A senator may block such an agreement, but in practice, objections are rare. The presiding officer enforces the rules of the Senate, and may warn members who deviate from them. The presiding officer sometimes uses
17250-449: The sake of exposure". It is uncontroversial that a proper subject of Congress's investigation power is the operations of the federal government, but Congress's ability to compel the submission of documents or testimony from the president or his subordinates is often-discussed and sometimes controversial (see executive privilege ), although not often litigated. As a practical matter, the limitation of Congress's ability to investigate only for
17388-402: The second class had their term expire after only four years, instead of six. After this, all senators from those states have been elected to six-year terms, and as new states have joined the Union, their Senate seats have been assigned to two of the three classes, maintaining each grouping as nearly equal in size as possible. In this way, election is staggered; approximately one-third of the Senate
17526-435: The state in which he or she is elected, and must have been a citizen of the United States for the previous seven years. There is no requirement that a Representative reside within the district in which he or she represents; although this is usually the case, there have been occasional exceptions. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Qualifications Clause as an exclusive list of qualifications that cannot be supplemented by
17664-534: The state level (i.e. against active federal office holders seeking to obtain or hold a state or local office). Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after
17802-435: The state must have nearly identical populations. No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. The Constitution provides three requirements for Representatives: A Representative must be at least 25 years old, must be an inhabitant of
17940-401: The states' broad powers to set voter qualification standards. Though never enforced, clause 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that "when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for president and vice president of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of
18078-412: The states, prohibiting them from entering into alliances with foreign powers, impairing contracts , taxing imports or exports above the minimum level necessary for inspection, keeping armies, or engaging in war without the consent of Congress. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Section 1
18216-523: The time of its creation, the Constitution did not explicitly give citizens an inherent right to vote. However, by stipulating that those qualified to vote in elections for the largest chamber of a state's legislature could vote in Congressional (House of Representatives) elections the Framers expressed a rather explicit intent that the House was to be directly elected. Since the Civil War , several constitutional amendments have been enacted that have curbed
18354-456: The unanimous consent of all the states. Denying the states their intended role as joint partners in the federal government by abolishing their equality in the Senate would, according to Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase (in Texas v. White ), destroy the grounding of the Union. This Article V provision has been employed by those opposed to contemplated constitutional amendments that would grant
18492-442: The vice president may cast tie-breaking votes . Early in the nation's history, vice presidents frequently presided over the Senate. In modern times, the vice president usually does so only during ceremonial occasions or when a tie in the voting is anticipated. As of August 7, 2022 , there have been 294 tie-breaking votes cast by vice presidents. The Senate shall chuse [ sic ] their other Officers, and also
18630-402: Was $ 35,952. By tradition, seniority is a factor in the selection of physical offices and in party caucuses' assignment of committees. When senators have been in office for the same length of time, a number of tiebreakers are used, including comparing their former government service and then their respective state population. The senator in each state with the longer time in office is known as
18768-459: Was based on the 1890 United States census . The House had a Republican majority, and the Republicans were the largest party in the Senate. This count identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in
18906-415: Was elected to the Senate at the age of 29; he waited until he turned 30 (on the next June 19) to take the oath of office. On November 7, 1972, Joe Biden was elected to the Senate at the age of 29, which was only 13 days prior to his 30th birthday on November 20, 1972. Therefore, he reached his 30th birthday before the swearing-in ceremony for incoming senators in January 1973. The Fourteenth Amendment to
19044-413: Was made based on the aggregate national population, so long as the size of the House did not exceed 1 member for every 30,000 of the country's total population nor the size of any state's delegation exceed 1 for every 30,000 of that state's population. With the size of the House still fixed at 435, the current ratio, as of the 2020 Census , is around 1 Representative per 760,000 Persons. However, after
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