Introduction

The United States spent viii long years of desperate fighting for independence from 1775 to 1783. By 1789, the Founding Fathers had set most constructing a government "built on the cardinal conviction of revolutionary-era republicanism: that no central authority empowered to coerce or discipline the citizenry was permissible , since it merely duplicated the monarchical and aristocratic principles that the American Revolution had been fought to escape. The United States is now the oldest enduring republic in world history, with a set of political institutions and traditions that have stood the test of fourth dimension."

Co-ordinate to House.gov , "To ensure a separation of powers, the U.S. Federal Government is made up of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. To ensure the government is effective and citizens' rights are protected, each co-operative has its ain powers and responsibilities, including working with the other branches." This is often referred to as " checks and balances ," and prevents any one function of regime from wielding too much political ability.

Why information technology Matters

America benefits from a judicial branch positioned to halt executive co-operative overreach. The President of the The states cannot stay in power indefinitely and is unable to force the U.S. Congress to pass laws. From the very beginning, and however to today, the American people have access to and influence over their elected representatives.

The House of Representatives tends to reflect popular passions and passing enthusiasms, while the Senate is expected to provide advice and consent on presidential appointments and treaties and to temper enthusiasm with wisdom and experience. Together they form Congress, the legislative co-operative of our federal government. Understanding the structure of our government is essential to agreement how policy translates into law.  The policy choices our legislators make tin can shape the direction of our land.

In serving the people, the Senate works at its ain step and sometimes in disharmonize with the other branches of government.  In this brief nosotros will look at the U.S. Senate, its structure, its unique role in regime and what yous can practice to influence your senator in the legislative process. For a brief on the U.S. House of Representatives, click here.

What is the Legislative Co-operative?

branchesThe Senate and House of Representatives incorporate the United states Congress, which serves as the legislative branch of our government and is based in The Capitol in Washington D.C. Amid other powers, the legislative branch "makes all laws, declares state of war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies."

Through the " Great Compromise " of July sixteen, 1787, it was decided that House seats would be apportioned by population and straight elected by the people, and that each state would have at least ane representative. The Senate would be composed of two senators from each state elected by the state legislatures and thus indirectly past the people; in 1913, that inverse so that senators would exist directly elected past the people of each state.

Congress carries the " power of the purse, " which is the power to revenue enhancement and spend public money for the national authorities. Simply it also means that Congress tin can cake activeness by refusing to authorize public funding for an agency, program or entity.  The Senate in particular was designed to serve as a counterbalance to the House of Representatives and as a restriction on executive power from the president.

CrashCourse U.S. Authorities and Politics, produced in collaboration with PBS, explains the Bicameral Congress (9 min):

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Size and Structure of the Senate

There are two senators from each state serving in Congress . Small and large states alike each have two Senators, and so at that place is no differentiation in representation based on population, different the House, and in that location are fewer senators (100) compared to representatives in the House (435).

Elections

Senators were originally chosen past state legislatures, but that procedure began to break down in the 1850s. " Intimidation and blackmail marked some of the states' option of senators," with forty-five deadlocks in twenty states between 1891 and 1905. In 1899, in fact, " bug in electing a senator in Delaware were so astute that the state legislature did not ship a senator to Washington for four years." In order to "remove command of regime from the influence of special interests and corrupt land legislators," reform came with the 17th Amendement to the Constitution in 1913, which provided for the directly pop election of Senators.

A senator must exist at least 30 years old, a citizen of the Usa for at least nine years, and a resident of the state they correspond.

Senators are elected to 6-yr terms. The idea for a six-year term "represented a compromise between those constitutional framers who wanted a strong, contained Senate and those who feared the possible tyranny of an aristocratic upper business firm, insulated from popular opinion." In an endeavor to provide both continuity and rotation, the terms are staggered in the Senate, with one-third of the Senate's members facing reelection every 2 years. According to Constitutional commentator Joseph Story , the framers hoped "biennial elections would bring stability to the Senate," and that, "as the federal regime'southward merely continuing body, the Senate could provide leadership after major elections and during other periods of national doubt."

Life of a Senator

A senator generally carries more power than the average individual member of the House because a senator represents an entire state while a House fellow member represents only ane district within a state. In representing an entire country, a senator is in well-nigh cases responsible for more constituents than a House Representative – except in the states where Senators outnumber House Representatives, as is the case in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, N Dakota, Due south Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, with each having one representative. Also because at that place are fewer of them, senators comport a larger megaphone to bring attention to a particular issue.

The day-to-twenty-four hours activities of a senator are not entirely dissimilar from a House representative. They spend their days meeting with constituents, discussing policy problems in committee meetings and making public appearances to convey their message to the public. The Firm of Representatives passes legislation more frequently than the more deliberative Senate, so senators spend less time voting on the Senate floor and more than time negotiating compromises before a bill reaches the Senate floor for a vote.

What Does the Senate Do?

The framers originally created the Senate "to protect the rights of individual states and safeguard minority opinion in a organization of authorities designed to give greater power to the national authorities."

Responsibilities of the Senate

The Senate has two important and specific duties . Senators are empowered to conduct impeachment proceedings of high federal officials, are tasked with exercising the power of communication and consent on treaties, and play an important role in the confirmation (or denial) of sure appointments including ambassadors and judicial court justices.

Impeaching High Officials

Article I, section 3, clause 6 of the Constitution explains, "The Senate shall have the sole ability to try all Impeachments… And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present."

The Senate presides over impeachments of the president or other loftier officials and tin remove them past a 2-thirds vote. An official is impeached in one case the House votes to approve an article of impeachment. The House then sends an indictment – the manufactures of impeachment – to the Senate, which forms itself into a jury.

If the official defendant is below the level of the president, the vice president acts as the presiding officer of the impeachment. Only if the official being impeached is the president, the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the Senate proceedings.

The Senate could vote to acquit the accused official, simply if two-thirds of the Senate finds the official guilty, that official is removed from function and and so subject field to the regular penalties of law.

Providing Communication and Consent

Article Ii, department 2, clause 2 of the Constitution says, "[The president] shall nominate, and by and with the Communication and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the U.s.a.." Senators have this unique role based on the idea that "senators as statewide officials ' would exist uniquely qualified to place suitable candidates' ." The detail duty came about as a compromise betwixt the framers who wanted the President to take the sole power of date and those who wanted the power to reside with the Senate.

Commodity Two, section 2, clause ii likewise says the president "shall have Powers, past and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to brand Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators nowadays concord." Originally , the Continental Congress dispatched agents to negotiate treaties, which could just exist approved if nine of the thirteen states consented. The individualized nature of the process, complicated by the fact that states as well had the ability to enter into treaties themselves, made that detail system inefficient.

Leadership in the Senate

Vice President

The vice president is designated as the "' ex-officio President of the Senate .'" The vice president has a " constitutional duty" to "preside over the Senate, " although the vice president cannot vote in the Senate (except to break a necktie) or formally accost the Senate without the senators' permission. "To secure definitive resolutions, the Senate's president must be able to cast necktie-breaking votes, yet exist denied a vote at all other times. Therefore, the Senate's presiding officer must not be a member of the Senate," explains Senate.gov 's interpretation of Alexander Hamilton'south The Federalist , No. 68.

From John Adams in 1789 to Richard Nixon in the 1950s, presiding over the Senate was the chief function of vice presidents, who had an office in the Capitol, received their staff support and office expenses through the legislative appropriations, and rarely were invited to participate in cabinet meetings or other executive activities. In 1961, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson changed the vice presidency by moving his chief office from the Capitol to the White Business firm, by directing his attending to executive functions, and by attending Senate sessions merely at critical times when his vote, or ruling from the chair, might exist necessary. Vice presidents since Johnson's time accept followed his case.

President Pro Tempore

The " president pro tempore " presides over the Senate in absenteeism of the vice president and is third in the line of succession to the presidency, behind the vice president and Speaker of the Firm. The Senate elects i senate fellow member to serve as president pro tempore.

Majority & Minority Leadership

The political political party with over 50% of the Senate seats holds the bulk and is therefore empowered to fill the position of senate majority leader . The majority leader is elected by members of his/her party and serves as a spokesperson for the party's positions on relevant issues, and is frequently considered the spokesperson for the Senate every bit well. The "correct of outset recognition" enables the majority leader to speak before whatever other senator regarding a slice of legislation. It is likewise the bulk leader's responsibleness to piece of work with committee chairs and ranking members to schedule the daily legislative flooring agenda.

The minority party, with fewer than l% of the Senate seats, as well has a minority leader position . Like to the majority leader, the minority leader represents his/her political party on the Senate floor, simply does not accept the right of beginning recognition or the ability to set the flooring agenda. The minority leader and bulk are meant to consult ane another to come to agreements on flooring debate rules and to equally dissever debate time between the parties.

Other of import positions for both the majority and minority parties include:

  • Political party Whips , who are banana leaders responsible for "rounding up political party members for votes and quorum calls," also every bit for sometimes standing in for their majority or minority leaders in the instance of their absence.
  • Conference Chairpersons preside over closed sessions known as party conferences (or party caucuses), during which members of each political party come across to elect floor leaders, decide committee assignments, and ready legislative agendas. The Democratic floor leader serves as his/her party's chair, while the Republican Party elects a chairperson that is not the floor leader.
  • Policy Committee Chairs serve as leaders of their respective party's policy committees. The Republican and Democratic Senate policy committees were created in 1947 " to achieve policy integration and to promote political party unity through the dissemination of information nearly policy and other Senate matters." Each serves as " an analytical arm of its corresponding party leadership " and provides analysis of policy issues, solutions, and alternatives, besides as a forum for policy discussions.

The Role of Committees

Like the House, the Senate has committees that study issues in depth. Committee membership "enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the matters under their jurisdiction." The role of committees is to "monitor on-going governmental operations, identify issues suitable for legislative review, gather and evaluate information, and recommend courses of action" to the Senate as a whole.

Earlier the showtime of each new Congress, party conferences convene to make up one's mind committee assignments based on the party'due south allotted committee seats. In the Senate in that location are iii types of committees : standing committees, which are permanent bodies with specific responsibilities and jurisdictions; special/select committees, which have a clearly specified purpose and often elapse after submitting a final report; and joint committees with the Business firm of Representatives, which "perform housekeeping functions or conduct studies." There are xvi standing committees, 4 special/select committees, and 4 articulation committees.

In that location are a few restrictions on committee membership , which are intended to treat senators deservedly in the assignment process. Beginning, when a state is represented past two senators from the same political party, they may non serve together on the same committee. Additionally, each senator is limited to service on two of the "A" committees, and one of the "B" committees. Service on "C" committees is unrestricted.

More prestigious committees ("A" committees) are generally more than powerful (and are therefore an advantageous platform for potential political fundraising). For instance, a senator that serves on the Appropriations Committee has more ability over what programs get what level of funding.

For a full listing of committees and their classifications, see this Congressional Research Service report .

Legislation in the Senate

During the form of each two-yr congressional session, the Senate will refer approximately iii,000 bills and resolutions to its committees . Committees act on a small-scale proportion of these, equally some are only meant to telephone call attending to problems or exam future support. Approximately 500 bills and resolutions are reported to the full Senate.

Committee Procedure

In one case a beak is introduced, information technology is assigned to i of the Senate'southward standing committees by the Senate Parliamentarian. The Senate commission studies the nib and summons numerous witnesses to hearings on the beak, including members of Congress, administrative officials, representatives from the business sector, and the general public. Later hearings, the committee "marks-upwardly" the bill, meaning the members contend, modify, and ultimately vote for or confronting the neb (similar to the House committees). One time released from the commission, the bill goes to the Senate floor for consideration.

Floor Debate

Unlike in the Firm, bills in the Senate are non subject to the aforementioned type of parameters set by the Business firm Committee on Rules. The Senate does not have a rules committee similar the House Rules Committee that exists to manage floor procedures because the Senate was meant to have a more open, deliberative method of exploring policies, which allow senators to offer amendments that have no relation to the underlying bill. This makes the Senate nearly a leaderless body in the sense that any senator tin have control of the agenda by offering an amendment and so force a debate on that amendment. Every bit a result, it can be very difficult to get a neb passed in the Senate. For example, if most Republicans and Democrats want to pass a transportation neb, but 1 senator is against the bill, that 1 senator can bring up an amendment on a divisive result (e.g., gun control) that ends up killing the underlying bill.

During a typical flooring debate on an individual piece of legislation, every senator is given the opportunity to speak for or against a bill, and each has the right to unlimited debate. To ensure legislation continues to move in a timely mode, the Senate works out unanimous consent agreements that gear up parameters around debates. Non-controversial bills can also exist "hotlined," meaning the majority and minority leaders – after consulting with their Senate colleagues – concur to laissez passer the legislation by unanimous consent and without a roll-phone call vote in guild to save time past moving legislation more than speedily.

Motion to Go along

The Senate must showtime agree to consider a piece of legislation by voting on a motion to proceed , which requires 60 votes. The Senate majority leader attempts to get all senators to hold by unanimous consent to accept up the bill he wishes to have debated. If senators withhold their consent, they are implicitly threatening extended debate on the question of considering the bill. Senators may do this because they oppose the bill or because they wish to filibuster consideration of one measure in the pecker in the hope of influencing the fate of some other, possibly unrelated, mensurate. Senators can also place a hold on a pecker , by which they inquire their party's floor leader to object on their behalf to any unanimous consent request to consider the bill, at least until they have been consulted.

Filibuster

A filibuster is a method of extending debate by introducing extraneous or unrelated bug to a legislation, an appointment or other issue that the Senate is debating.

The idea backside the filibuster was that "unlimited debate continued on the grounds that any senator should have the right to speak as long every bit necessary on whatsoever problems." As long every bit a senator kept talking on the floor, a bill could not move forward. Throughout the 19th century, the Senate left ending the filibuster up to the filibustering senators. When they felt they had been adequately heard, they could requite upwardly the floor and permit contend to move on to a vote.

During World State of war I, ane mensurate related to war in Europe "tied the Senate upwards for 33 days and blocked passage of 3 major appropriations bills," prompting President Woodrow Wilson to act. At his urging, senators adopted Dominion 22 in 1917, which "allowed the Senate to terminate a debate with a two-thirds majority vote, a device known as 'cloture'." Since 1975, the cloture motion only needs to be adopted past three-fifths of the Senate (sixty votes), after which debate can but proceed for a maximum of xxx additional hours before the Senate needs to vote on the thing (merely a simple bulk is needed to pass the bill). Important exceptions to the filibuster rule include nominations to executive branch positions and federal judgeships, which only require a simply majority rather than three-fifths to end contend.

There is a fence over the delay.  One side argues it is not needed because our Founding Fathers structured the Senate in such a way that the minority view is protected. Others disagree, maxim the filibuster is required to protect the minority.

The Federalist Lodge explains the filibuster farther (four min):

Briefing Committee

When the Senate and House pass the same pecker with unlike policy language, the differences are worked out in a briefing committee . A conference committee is a temporary committee made up of members from both the Senate and the Firm who work together to come to a consensus about the different provisions in the bill. Each chamber and so has to corroborate the final compromise legislative text and it is and then sent to the President to be signed into law.

Once sent, the president has ten days to sign or veto the beak. If the president vetoes the beak, it tin still go a law if 2-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House then vote in favor of the pecker.

Khan Academy dives deeper into the Senate (6 min):

Additional Resources

Senate.gov

Glossary of Terms

GovTrack

Ballotpedia

Ways to Get Involved/What Yous Tin Do

Measure & Identify : Who influences policy that affects your state, county, or customs? Learn about their priorities and consider how to contact them.

  • Do you know who your Senator is ? Find out who they are and what committee(s) they serve on.
  • Find out what bills your senators accept sponsored, and track their votes with GovTrack.

Achieve out: You are a catalyst. Finding a mutual cause is a great opportunity to develop relationships with people who may be exterior of your immediate network. All information technology takes is a modest team of 2 or 3 people to ready a path for real improvement. The Policy Circle is your platform to convene with experts you lot want to hear from.

  • Find allies in your community or in nearby towns and elsewhere in the state.
  • Foster collaborative relationships with colleagues, neighbors, friends, and local organizations to mobilize an effort to bring attention to your consequence to your local Congressional office. Besides reach out to community leaders to educate them and request their engagement on the issue.

Programme: Set some milestones based on your country's legislative calendar .

  • Yous tin observe the legislative calendar for the Senate here .
  • Don't hesitate to contact The Policy Circle team, communications@thepolicycircle.org, for connections to the broader network, advice, insights on how to build rapport with policy makers and plant yourself as a civic leader.

Execute: Give it your best shot. You can:

  • Research: Make sure you know the facts nearly the issue you are raising. Regime agencies, think tanks, and media outlets can all exist good resource. Remember to research all sides of the issue to make sure you empathize various angles. Yous can as well talk with people who are affected by the event with which you are concerned; anecdotal information combined with measured data can be powerful.
  • Write : Although we may be more than inclined to email in the digital historic period, writing an sometime-fashioned letter of the alphabet to your local elected representatives or to members of Congress is still one of the most constructive ways to influence lawmakers.
    • See these tips for pace-by-step instructions to write messages to elected officials, including how to address your representative, reference specific legislation, and properly send your correspondence.
    • Run into these tips on how to make an appointment with your senator or their staff, and what to wait and how to prepare.
  • Organize: Organize people to call in, follow-up on written material, and reach out to other community members to educate them on the issue. Demonstrating wide support can exist very effective in influencing a legislator to back up your position.

Working with others, you may create something great for your community. Hither are some tools to acquire how to contact your representatives and write an op-ed .