129-884: Minority (49) The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress . The Senate and 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
258-762: A Legislative Council prior to joining Canada , as did Ontario when it was Upper Canada and Quebec from 1791 (as Lower Canada ) to 1968. Nebraska is the only state in the United States with a unicameral legislature, having abolished its lower house in 1934, while the Senate of Nebraska , the upper house prior to 1934, continues to assemble. The Australian state of Queensland also once had an appointed Legislative Council before abolishing it in 1922. All other Australian states continue to have bicameral systems, though all members are now directly elected (the two self-governing territories, along with Norfolk Island until 2016, have always been unicameral). Like Queensland,
387-415: A bill (S. 101) proposed by Democrat Dennis Chávez that would have created a permanent Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) to prevent discrimination in the workplace . The filibuster lasted weeks, and Senator Chávez was forced to remove the bill from consideration after a failed cloture vote, even though a majority of senators supported the bill. In 1949, in response to filibusters of amendments to
516-462: A bill so that it does not fit within the legislative schedule, or until a general election produces a new lower house that no longer wishes to proceed with the bill. Nevertheless, some states have long retained powerful upper houses. For example, the consent of the upper house to legislation may be necessary (though, as noted above, this seldom extends to budgetary measures). Constitutional arrangements of states with powerful upper houses usually include
645-419: 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
774-516: A filibuster on the Natural Gas Policy Act, the Senate set a series of precedents to restrict filibusters after cloture has been invoked. For instance, the Senate held that if cloture has been invoked on a measure, the presiding officer must take the initiative in ruling nongermane amendments out of order. At first, the only effect of cloture on the time available for debate was to limit each senator to one hour of debate. In 1979,
903-429: A filibuster. A filibuster can also be conducted through the use of other dilatory measures, such as proposing dilatory amendments or making dilatory motions. Throughout the Senate's history, senators have frequently made efforts to curtail the use of the Senate's filibuster. Notably, in 2013 and 2017, the Senate used the nuclear option to set a series of precedents that reduced the threshold for cloture on nominations to
1032-457: 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 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
1161-407: 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
1290-407: A means to resolve situations where the two houses are at odds with each other. In recent times, parliamentary systems have tended to weaken the powers of upper houses relative to their lower counterparts. Some upper houses have been fully abolished; others have had their powers reduced by constitutional or legislative amendments. Also, conventions often exist that the upper house ought not to obstruct
1419-461: A memo to the task force noted, "While the substance is obviously controversial, there is apparently great disquiet in the Capitol over whether we understand the interactivity between reconciliation and health, procedurally, and in terms of timing and counting votes for both measures." In 2001, President George W. Bush was unable to obtain sufficient Democratic support for his tax cut proposals. As
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#17327760142161548-697: 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 the United States serves as presiding officer and president of
1677-411: A motion to proceed ripens one hour after the Senate convenes on the following calendar day. If cloture is invoked, the motion to proceed is not debatable. Under rule XXVIII, paragraph 2, added on January 24, 2013, a cloture motion on a compound motion to go to conference ripens two hours after it is filed. If cloture is invoked, the compound motion is not debatable. The modern-era filibuster—and
1806-406: A new national bank. After Whig Senator Henry Clay proposed a rules change to limit debate, Democratic Senator William R. King threatened an even longer filibuster, saying that Clay "may make his arrangements at his boarding house for the winter". Other senators sided with King, and Clay backed down. In 1917, during World War I , at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson , the Senate adopted
1935-488: A quorum after they finish their speeches, which has the effect of preventing the presiding officer from putting the pending question to the Senate even though no senator seeks recognition. This is commonly regarded as the "silent filibuster." In 1975, the Senate revised its cloture rule so that three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn could limit debate (except for measures amending the Standing Rules, on which
2064-434: A result, policy in these areas is increasingly determined by executive preference, and is more easily changed after elections, rather than through more permanent legislative policy. The Supreme Court's caseload has declined significantly, with various commenters suggesting that the decline in major legislation has been a major cause. Meanwhile, more policy issues are resolved judicially without action by Congress—despite
2193-719: A result, the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 were each passed using reconciliation, which required that the tax cuts expire within the 10-year budget window to avoid violating the Byrd rule in the Senate. The status of the tax cuts would remain unresolved until the late 2012 " fiscal cliff ," with a portion of the cuts being made permanent by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 . In the 111th Congress , President Barack Obama briefly enjoyed an effective 60-vote Democratic majority (including independents caucusing with
2322-422: A rule by a vote of 76–3 to allow cloture to be used to limit debate on a measure. This took place after a group of twelve anti-war senators managed to kill a bill that would have allowed Wilson to arm merchant vessels in the face of unrestricted German submarine warfare . Under the new rule, at any time while a measure was pending, a senator could present a cloture motion signed by 16 senators. One hour after
2451-413: 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 , 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
2580-534: A senator who seeks recognition is entitled to speak for as long as they wish. Only when debate concludes (whether naturally or using cloture ) can the measure be put to a vote. Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the United States Senate allows the Senate to vote to limit debate by invoking cloture on the pending question. In most cases, however, this requires a majority of three-fifths of
2709-412: 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, was $ 35,952. By tradition, seniority
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#17327760142162838-444: 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) 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
2967-443: 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
3096-508: A simple majority. Since then, nominations can be confirmed without the support of 60 senators, though they may nonetheless be delayed by a filibuster. Moreover, a number of rulemaking statutes have been enacted to limit the scope of the filibuster by imposing an automatic time limit on Senate debate of certain questions. These include the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (which created the budget reconciliation process),
3225-583: A treaty (two-thirds of senators present), expelling a member of Congress (two-thirds of members voting in the house in question), overriding presidential vetoes (two-thirds of members voting of both houses), and proposing constitutional amendments (two-thirds of members voting of both houses). Through negative textual implication, the Constitution also gives a simple majority the power to set procedural rules. In Federalist No. 22 , Alexander Hamilton described supermajority requirements as being one of
3354-482: A two-thirds majority of those present and voting is still needed to invoke cloture). By returning to an absolute number of all senators, rather than a proportion of those present and voting, the change also made any filibusters easier to sustain on the floor by a small number of senators from the minority party without requiring the presence of their minority colleagues. This further reduced the majority's leverage to force an issue through extended debate. In 1977, during
3483-399: 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 the senior senator , while the other
3612-409: 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
3741-430: Is as follows: After cloture is invoked, the Senate automatically proceeds to consider the measure on which cloture was invoked (if it was not before the Senate already). The following restrictions then apply: Under rule XXII, paragraph 3, added on January 24, 2013, a cloture motion signed by 16 senators (including the majority leader, minority leader, 7 other majority senators and 7 other minority senators) presented on
3870-472: 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 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
3999-538: 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, 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 ,
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4128-444: 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 a regular or special Senate election. Senators serve terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of
4257-471: 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 the Constitution debated more about how to award representation in the Senate than about any other part of the Constitution. While bicameralism and
4386-598: Is sometimes seen as having a special role of safeguarding the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom and important civil liberties against ill-considered change. The House of Lords has a number of ways to block legislation and to reject it; however, the House of Commons can eventually use the Parliament Act to force something through. The Commons will often accept amendments passed by the Lords; however,
4515-608: 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 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
4644-642: Is the British House of Lords . Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 , the House of Lords can no longer prevent the passage of most bills, but it must be given an opportunity to debate them and propose amendments, and can thereby delay the passage of a bill with which it disagrees. Bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month. The House of Lords
4773-467: 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
4902-437: 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
5031-580: The Congressional Review Act and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act . Since debate on such measures ends without cloture being invoked, they are not subject to the 60-vote threshold. Only a small number of supermajority requirements were explicitly included in the original United States Constitution , including conviction on impeachment (two-thirds of senators present), agreeing to a resolution of advice and consent to ratification of
5160-517: The German state of Bavaria had an appointed second chamber, the Senate of Bavaria , from 1946 to 1999. The Senate of the Philippines was abolished – and restored – twice: from 1935 to 1945 when a unicameral National Assembly convened, and from 1972 to 1987 when Congress was closed, and later a new constitution was approved instituting a unicameral Parliament. The Senate was re-instituted with
5289-767: The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 , which was enacted days later, following a 56–43 vote in the Senate. The near-60-vote Senate majority that Democrats held throughout the 111th Congress was also critical to passage of other major Obama initiatives, including the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (passed 60–38, with three Republicans voting "Yea"), and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (passed 60–39, with three Republicans voting "Yea" and one Democrat voting "Nay"). However,
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5418-490: 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 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
5547-413: 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
5676-497: The nuclear option , voting 48–52 to overrule a decision of the chair and set the cloture threshold for all nominations, other than those to the Supreme Court of the United States , at a simple majority of senators present and voting. All Republicans and three Democrats voted in favor of sustaining the decision of the chair. The Democrats' stated motivation was what they saw as an expansion of filibustering by Republicans during
5805-494: 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
5934-502: The "design of the Virginians [...] was to talk away the time, so that we could not get the bill passed." Although between 1789 and 1806 the Senate's rules provided for a motion for the previous question , this motion was itself debatable, so it could not be used as an effective cloture mechanism. Rather, it was used by the Senate to reverse its decision to consider a measure (much like today's motion to postpone). Beginning in 1811,
6063-457: 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 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
6192-478: The 113th Congress, debate on certain motions to proceed to bills would be limited to four hours, and the minority would be guaranteed the opportunity to offer amendments. Postcloture debate time on district judge nominations was limited to two hours, and postcloture debate time on executive nominations, other than those at Level I of the Executive Schedule, was limited to eight hours. Permanent changes to
6321-488: The 2013 precedent to include Supreme Court nominees. This was done in order to allow a simple majority to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The vote was 48–52 against sustaining the decision of the chair on a point of order raised by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell . 61 Senators from both parties later wrote a letter to Senate leadership, urging them to preserve the filibuster for legislation. In 2019,
6450-705: The British House of Lords until 1999 and in the Japanese House of Peers until it was abolished in 1947. It is also common that the upper house consists of delegates chosen by state governments or local officials. Members of the Rajya Sabha in India are nominated by various states and union territories, while 12 of them are nominated by the President of India. Similarly, at the state level, one-third of
6579-406: 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 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;
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#17327760142166708-518: 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
6837-878: The Democratic Party holding a substantial majority in the 111th Congress, the "public option" provision in the Affordable Care Act was removed because one senator— Joe Lieberman of Connecticut—threatened to filibuster the bill if it remained. Presidents of both parties have increasingly filled the policymaking vacuum with expanded use of executive power, including executive orders in areas that had traditionally been handled through legislation. For example, Barack Obama effected major changes in immigration policy by issuing work permits to some undocumented workers, while Donald Trump issued several significant executive orders after taking office in 2017, along with undoing many of Obama's initiatives. As
6966-583: The Democrats) in the Senate. During that time period, the Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as "Obamacare", on December 24, 2009 by a vote of 60–39 (after invoking cloture by the same margin). However, Obama's proposal to create a public health insurance option was removed from the health care legislation because it could not command 60-vote support. House Democrats did not approve of all aspects of
7095-549: The House of Representatives set a series of precedents to make the previous question a way of limiting debate, and throughout the 19th century, some senators unsuccessfully attempted to introduce this version of the previous question into the Senate's rules. During most of the pre–Civil War period, the filibuster was seldom used to block measures, as northern senators desired to maintain southern support over fears of disunion and secession , and made compromises over slavery in order to avoid confrontation with new states admitted to
7224-599: 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 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
7353-535: 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
7482-482: The Journal and motions to proceed to the consideration of bills, the cloture rule was amended to allow cloture to be filed on "any measure, motion, or other matter pending before the Senate, or the unfinished business". However, the Senate simultaneously made invoking cloture more difficult by requiring two-thirds of senators duly chosen and sworn to vote in favor of a cloture motion. Moreover, future proposals to change
7611-665: The Obama administration, especially with respect to nominations for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit , and out of frustration with filibusters of executive branch nominees for agencies such as the Federal Housing Finance Agency . On April 6, 2017, Senate Republicans eliminated the sole exception to the 2013 change by invoking the nuclear option to extend
7740-464: The Senate bill, but after 60-vote Senate control was permanently lost in February 2010 due to the election of Scott Brown to fill the seat of the late Ted Kennedy , House Democrats decided to pass the Senate bill intact, and it became law. Several House-desired modifications to the Senate bill—those sufficient to pass scrutiny under the Byrd rule—were then made under reconciliation through
7869-520: 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 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
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#17327760142167998-408: The Senate convened on the second calendar day of session following the filing of the cloture motion, the business then pending would be set aside, and the presiding officer would put to the Senate the question, "Is it the sense of the Senate that the debate shall be brought to a close?" If two-thirds of senators present and voting voted in favor of cloture, the measure would become unfinished business to
8127-399: The Senate has cratered: in the 85th Congress , over 25% of all bills introduced in the Senate were eventually enacted; by 2005, that number had fallen to 12.5%; and by 2010, only 2.8% of introduced bills became law—a 90% decline from 50 years prior. During times of unified party control, majorities have attempted (with varying levels of success) to enact their major policy priorities through
8256-442: 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 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
8385-444: 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
8514-440: The Senate imposed a 100-hour limit on the total time available for consideration of a clotured measure. The tactic of using points of order to delay legislation because they were not counted as part of the limited time allowed for debate was rendered ineffective by this rule change. In 1986, this time limit was reduced to 30 hours. Generally, motions to proceed are debatable and can be filibustered. However, on March 5, 1980,
8643-507: 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 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
8772-541: 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
8901-639: The Senate rules were themselves specifically exempted from being subject to cloture. In 1953, Senator Wayne Morse set a record by filibustering for 22 hours and 26 minutes while protesting the Tidelands oil legislation. Then-Democratic senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina broke this record in 1957 by filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes, during which he read laws from different states and recited George Washington's farewell address in its entirety, although
9030-413: The Senate voted 38–54 against sustaining a decision of the chair and thus set a precedent that a nondebatable motion to proceed to executive session to consider a specific nomination (or treaty) is in order. Therefore, nominations can now be brought up without the threat of a filibuster on the motion to proceed. In 2005, a group of Republican senators, led by Majority Leader Bill Frist , proposed having
9159-518: The Senate voted 49–51 to overturn a ruling of the chair to set a precedent that postcloture debate on nominations—other than those to the Supreme Court of the United States , to the United States courts of appeals and to positions at Level I of the Executive Schedule —is two hours. All Republicans except Senators Susan Collins and Mike Lee voted against sustaining the decision of the chair. The current procedure for invoking cloture
9288-540: 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 the FERS retirement plan and pay 6.2% of their salary in Social Security taxes. The amount of
9417-403: 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 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
9546-478: 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. 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
9675-494: 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 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
9804-416: The Standing Rules of the Senate provided for a simplified cloture procedure for bipartisan motions to proceed and for compound motions to go to conference. Despite these modest changes, 60 votes were still required to overcome a filibuster, and the "silent filibuster"—in which a senator can, in practice, delay a bill even if they leave the floor—remained unaffected. On November 21, 2013, Senate Democrats used
9933-440: 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
10062-625: The Union in pairs to preserve the sectional balance in the Senate, most notably in the Missouri Compromise of 1820. One of the early notable filibusters occurred in 1837 when a group of Whig senators filibustered to prevent allies of the Democratic President Andrew Jackson from expunging a resolution of censure against him. In 1841, a defining moment came during a filibuster on a bill to charter
10191-472: The Weatherill Amendment to the House of Lords Act 1999 , which preserved 92 hereditary peers in the house. Compromise and negotiation between the two houses make the Parliament Act a very rarely used backup plan. Even without a veto, an upper house may defeat legislation. Its opposition may give the lower chamber a chance to reconsider or even abandon a controversial measure. It can also delay
10320-534: The abolition, while the centrist Fianna Fáil was alone among major parties in supporting the retention of the Seanad. Filibuster in the United States Senate A filibuster is a tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. The Senate's rules place few restrictions on debate; in general, if no other senator is speaking,
10449-488: The absence of a threatened filibuster. Thus, the presence or absence of cloture attempts is not necessarily a reliable indicator of the presence or absence of a threatened filibuster. Because filibustering does not depend on the use of any specific rules, whether a filibuster is present is always a matter of judgment. The supermajority rule has made it very difficult, often impossible, for Congress to pass controversial legislation in recent decades. The number of bills passed by
10578-402: The bill ultimately passed. In 1959, anticipating more civil rights legislation, the Senate, under the leadership of Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson , restored the cloture threshold to two-thirds of senators present and voting . Although the 1949 rule had eliminated cloture on rules changes themselves, the resolution was not successfully filibustered, and on January 5, 1959, the resolution
10707-413: The bill, cloture was invoked by a 71–29 vote on June 10, 1964. This was only the second successful cloture vote since 1927. From 1917 to 1970, the Senate took a cloture vote nearly once a year (on average); during this time, there were a total of 49 cloture votes. After a series of filibusters in the 1960s over civil-rights legislation, the Senate began to use a two-track system introduced in 1972 under
10836-409: 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
10965-490: The budget reconciliation process, resulting in legislation constrained by narrow budgetary rules . Meanwhile, public approval for Congress as an institution has fallen to its lowest levels ever, with large segments of the public seeing the institution as ineffective. Shifting majorities of both parties—and their supporters—have often been frustrated as major policy priorities articulated in political campaigns are unable to obtain passage following an election. Despite
11094-449: The business of government for frivolous or merely partisan reasons. These conventions have tended to harden with a passage of time. In presidential systems, the upper house is frequently given other powers to compensate for its restrictions: There are a variety of ways an upper house's members are assembled: by direct or indirect election, appointment or a mixture of these. Many upper houses are not directly elected but appointed: either by
11223-483: 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
11352-409: 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
11481-489: 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 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
11610-531: 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 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
11739-457: The exclusion of all other business; no dilatory motions or amendments would be allowed; all amendments would be required to have been submitted before the cloture vote; and each senator would be limited to one hour of debate (which must be relevant to the clotured measure). The first cloture vote occurred in 1919 to end debate on the Treaty of Versailles . Although cloture was invoked, the treaty
11868-478: The existence of potential simple majority support in the Senate—;on topics such as the legalization of same-sex marriage. The implied threat of a filibuster—and the resulting 60-vote requirement in the modern era—has had major impacts on the ability of recent majorities to enact their top legislative priorities into law. The effects of the 60-vote requirement are most apparent in periods where
11997-496: The floor simultaneously by designating specific periods during the day when each one will be considered. The notable side effect of this change was that by no longer bringing Senate business to a complete halt, filibusters became politically easier for the minority to sustain. As a result, the number of filibusters began increasing rapidly, eventually leading to the modern era in which an effective supermajority requirement exists to pass legislation, with no practical requirement that
12126-499: The general process of changing the rules by setting a precedent that conflicted with the plain text of the rules. However, a group of 14 senators—seven Democrats and seven Republicans, collectively dubbed the " Gang of 14 "—reached an agreement to temporarily defuse the conflict. From April to June 2010, under Democratic control, the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration held a series of monthly public hearings on
12255-405: 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 a result, it is uncertain whether an Alaska governor may appoint an interim senator to serve until a special election
12384-550: The head of state, by the head of government or in some other way. This is usually intended to produce a house of experts or otherwise distinguished citizens, who would not necessarily be returned in an election. For example, members of the Senate of Canada are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. In the past, some upper houses had seats that were entirely hereditary, such as in
12513-460: The history and use of the filibuster in the Senate. On October 6, 2011, in a further effort to restrict the postcloture filibuster, the Senate voted 48–51 against sustaining a decision of the chair in order to set a precedent that motions to suspend the rules are not in order after cloture has been invoked. During the 113th Congress, two packages of procedural changes were adopted, one temporary for that Congress and one permanent. Firstly, during
12642-658: 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 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,
12771-414: 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
12900-724: 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 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
13029-435: The leadership of Majority Leader Mike Mansfield and Majority Whip Robert Byrd . Before this system was introduced, a filibuster would stop the Senate from moving on to any other legislative activity. Tracking allows the Senate, by unanimous consent , to set aside the measure being filibustered and consider other business. If no senator objects, the Senate can have two or more pieces of legislation or nominations pending on
13158-467: The main problems with the previous Articles of Confederation , and identified several evils which would result from such a requirement: Originally, the Senate's rules did not provide for a procedure for the Senate to vote to end debate on a question so that it could be voted on, which opened the door to filibusters. Indeed, a filibuster took place at the very first session of the Senate. On September 22, 1789, Senator William Maclay wrote in his diary that
13287-494: The members of the State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) are nominated by local governments, one-third by sitting legislators, and the rest are elected by select members of the electorate. The United States Senate was chosen by state legislatures until the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The upper house may be directly elected but in different proportions to the lower house - for example,
13416-413: The minority party actually hold the floor or extend debate. Since then, a measure could be delayed simply by a senator placing a hold on it; in this case, the leadership will generally not attempt to advance the measure unless cloture is invoked on it (usually by a 60-vote majority). In particular, as a courtesy to senators who have holds on a bill or nomination, senators generally suggest the absence of
13545-568: 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 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,
13674-499: The other chamber being the lower house . The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted power than the lower house. A legislature composed of only one house (and which therefore has neither an upper house nor a lower house) is described as unicameral . An upper house is usually different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects (though they vary among jurisdictions): Powers: Status: In parliamentary systems
13803-410: 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
13932-482: The president and both houses of Congress are controlled by the same political party. In the 103rd Congress , President Bill Clinton enjoyed Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress. However, the Clinton health care plan of 1993 , formulated by a task force led by First Lady Hillary Clinton , was unable to pass, in part due to the filibuster and the limitations of budget reconciliation. As early as April 1993,
14061-582: 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 the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). FERS has been
14190-406: The presiding officer rule that a filibuster on judicial nominees was unconstitutional, as it was inconsistent with the president's power to appoint judges with the advice and consent of a simple majority of senators. Senator Trent Lott , the former Republican leader, used the word "nuclear" to describe the plan, and so it became known as the " nuclear option ". The term thereafter came to refer to
14319-467: 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 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
14448-405: 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 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
14577-426: 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. Upper chamber An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature ,
14706-460: 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
14835-533: The restoration of a bicameral Congress via a constitutional amendment in 1941, and via adoption of a new constitution in 1987. A previous government of Ireland (the 31st Dáil) promised a referendum on the abolition of its upper house , the Seanad Éireann , during the 24th Seanad session. By a narrow margin, the Irish public voted to retain it. Conservative-leaning Fine Gael and Left-leaning Sinn Féin both supported
14964-425: The resulting 60-vote supermajority requirement—has had significant policy and political effects on all three branches of the federal government. As the filibuster has evolved from a rare practice that required holding the floor for extended periods into a routine 60-vote supermajority requirement, Senate leaders have increasingly used cloture motions as a regular tool to manage the flow of business, often even in
15093-399: 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,
15222-434: 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
15351-404: The same form by both houses. Additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as "perfect bicameralism" or "equal bicameralism." The role of a revising chamber is to scrutinise legislation that may have been drafted over-hastily in the lower house and to suggest amendments that the lower house may nevertheless reject if it wishes to. An example
15480-458: 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 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
15609-454: 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 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
15738-536: The senates of Australia, Brazil and the United States have a fixed number of elected members from each state, regardless of the population. Many jurisdictions once possessed upper houses but abolished them to adopt unicameral systems, including Croatia , Denmark , Estonia , Hungary , Iceland , Iran , Mauritania , New Zealand , Peru , Sweden , Turkey , Venezuela , many Indian states , Brazilian states , Canadian provinces , subnational entities such as Queensland , and some other jurisdictions. Newfoundland had
15867-475: The senators duly chosen and sworn (60 votes if there is no more than one vacancy), so a minority of senators can block a measure, even if it has the support of a simple majority. Even once cloture has been invoked, in most cases debate can continue for a further 30 hours, and most major bills are subject to two or three filibusters before the Senate can vote on passage. Even bills supported by 60 or more senators (as well as nominations) may therefore be delayed by
15996-414: 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 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
16125-561: The two houses have sometimes reached a constitutional standoff. For example, when the Labour Government of 1999 tried to expel all hereditary peers from the Lords, the Lords threatened to wreck the Government's entire legislative agenda and to block every bill which was sent to the chamber. This standoff led to negotiations between Viscount Cranborne, the then Shadow Leader of the House, and the Labour Government, resulting in
16254-550: The upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or a "house of review" chamber; for this reason, its powers of direct action are often reduced in some way. Some or all of the following restrictions are often placed on upper houses: In parliamentary democracies and among European upper houses the Italian Senate is a notable exception to these general rules, in that it has the same powers as its lower counterpart: any law can be initiated in either house and must be approved in
16383-488: Was agreed to by a 72–22 vote. The 1959 change also eliminated the 1949 exemption for amendments to the rules, allowing cloture to once again be invoked on future changes. One of the most notable filibusters of the 1960s occurred when southern senators attempted to block the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by filibustering for a continuous 75 hours, including a 14-hour-and-13-minute address by Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia . After 60 days of consideration of
16512-450: 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 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
16641-486: Was then rejected against the wishes of the cloture rule's first champion, President Wilson. During the 1930s, Senator Huey Long of Louisiana used long filibusters to promote his populist policies. He recited Shakespeare and read out recipes for " pot-likkers " during one of his filibusters, which occupied 15 hours of debate. In 1946, five Democratic senators, John H. Overton , Richard Russell Jr. , Millard Tydings , Clyde R. Hoey and Kenneth McKellar , filibustered
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