The Senate conducts votes, debates, and other business under the direction of the Senate’s presiding officer. The presiding officer is usually a junior senator who is assisted by a parliamentarian—an expert in Senate procedure. The duties of the presiding officer are sometimes assumed by the Senate’s president pro tem (temporary president), who is usually the most senior member of the majority party. On even more unusual occasions, the vice president of the United States presides over the Senate. Article I, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution grants this authority to the vice president, but vice presidents usually limit their appearances to ceremonial events and infrequent instances when a Senate vote is tied. The vice president cannot vote unless the chamber is tied.
D. Rules and Procedures
The Senate follows rules governing procedures for amending and voting on bills, quorum requirements (the minimum number of senators needed to conduct business), and many other matters. These rules give Senate leaders less control over their members than their House counterparts. Because only a third of the Senate changes with each election, Senate rules remain in place from session to session. In contrast, House rules are modified and adopted after each election, every two years. The Senate often speeds its business by unanimously agreeing on how to consider a bill. This procedure, which is known as a unanimous consent agreement, allows the majority and minority leaders to arrange procedures that will satisfy all senators who have a special interest in the measure at hand.
The Senate follows more elaborate rules when the chamber is divided over a bill. These procedures can sometimes slow the proceedings to a crawl. Senators cherish their right to be consulted on bills being considered, to offer amendments, and to speak at length on measures. The Senate rules that permit filibusters give members the power to obstruct legislation merely by threatening to use the procedure. A filibuster can only be stopped if 60 senators vote to invoke cloture, a rule that imposes time limits on further discussion of the issue at hand. Because of the flexible rules for debating, and thereby blocking, legislation, Senate leaders spend much of their time seeking compromises that will satisfy their colleagues and allow the chamber to act. The House of Representatives, in contrast, imposes much more restrictive time constraints on debates.
Senate floor debate is quiet and even leisurely compared to that of the House of Representatives, and (as in the House) attendance is usually sparse. Senators address the chamber from assigned desks on the Senate floor, taking their time and engaging their colleagues in prolonged exchanges called colloquies. An informal code of conduct prevents senators from insulting one another. Modern custom dictates that senators not only refrain from personal attacks on one another while on the Senate floor, but that they avoid even mentioning other senators by name. Instead, if a senator wants to challenge a senator from New York, she or he would address the remarks to the president of the Senate (or to whomever is presiding), and refer to the colleague only as “the senator from New York.” For floor votes—votes of the entire Senate—a clerk calls the roll and records senators’ votes individually. Senators stream onto the floor to cast votes or answer quorum calls, but even then the hubbub is subdued.
V. The Life of a Senator
Senators generally work very long hours. Most arrive at their offices early in the morning to meet with their staff and plan the day’s work. Committee meetings, floor votes, and informal meetings with other senators fill the day. Senators must also make time to give interviews to the press, handle pressing citizen complaints, and plan legislative strategies with their colleagues. On top of this full schedule, senators try to make time to study complex policy questions.
To help them in lawmaking and in dealing with citizens of their states, senators are provided with staff aides and funds according to the population of their state. Some senators have more than 70 people on their staff, but the average senate office has about 35 aides. Some of these workers assist in drafting legislation in complex areas, such as military weapons, transportation planning, and agriculture. Senators rely on their most trusted assistants to confer with other members of the Senate about pending legislation. Senate staff also work on large projects, such as securing federal grants to fund roads and schools in their state.
Some Senate staff spend all their time on constituency service, solving problems that individual citizens have with government agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service and the Veterans Administration. Most senators maintain offices in several major cities in their state. These offices help senators keep in touch with voters and make it easier for their staff to work on citizens’ problems. Many senators choose to assign as many as one-third of their staff to these offices.
In 1998 senators were paid an annual salary of $136,700. They also receive reimbursement for travel and housing expenses.