• Representation
• Term Lengths
• Classes of the Senate
• Senatorial Requirements
• Vice President's Role
• President Pro Tempore
• Impeachment Powers
• Power Balance with the Executive
• Approval of Presidential Appointments
• The Committee System

The Constitution

The two houses of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives, were first defined in the Constitution, signed in 1787. The Senate was to, in the vision of James Madison, "first...protect the people against their rulers [and] secondly to protect the people against the transient impressions into which they themselves might be led." In 1787, with the once firm grip of the British monarch fully loosened through Revolution only a decade prior, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia to decide the nature of their new republic. Nearly five months passed before a settlement was made between those who favored a strong executive and those who desired more sovereignty of individual states. The Senate was to rest on these various principles, outlined in Article I of the Constitution:

• Two Senators Per State

  The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State. (I.3.1): As opposed to the much larger House of Representatives, the Senate's rule of two per state was to take power away from far more populated states in favor of a more equal field for debate. The "senior" senator was to be the one who had tenure longer than their "junior" partner.

• Six Year Terms

  The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years. (I.3.1): The length of terms for senators was of lively debate during the Convention. For, if the Senate were to be like the House of Representatives with two year terms, then knowledge and experience would be sacrificed. Yet, if the terms were to be long, then the threat of a aristocratic tyranny would always loom. With longer terms it was hoped that senators would be able to disconnect from the voice of public opinion and to assert greater responsibility and expertise on legislation.

• The Three Classes of the Senate

  Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. (I.3.2): At the beginning of the first session of Congress in 1789, the senators were divided, same-state senators separated, and were designated to have expiring terms with two years between each group. So, while one "class" of the Senate was up for re-election just two years after beginning, the third class had a full six year term before facing re-election. This was to prevent radical idealogical overturns with massive exits of senators after their common term expiration.

The Senate Chamber

• Senator Requirements

• 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. (I.3.3): This clause often results in Senatorial hopefuls moving to the state where the seat is right before the election in order to be eligible. The age requirement is fairly lax, allowing some candidates to run for office as long as they are thirty years old before taking the seat.

• Role of the Vice President

  The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote unless they be equally divided. (I.3.4): The Vice-President of the United States presides over the Senate when he is needed to break a tie during a vote. Since the 20th century, the Vice-President's role in the Senate has been largely passed down to the Presiden pro tempore, yet the Vice-President still receives his paycheck from the Senate budget, not the White House.

• President Pro Tempore

  The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States. (I.3.5): The President pro tempore presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice-President.

• Power of Impeachment

  The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all impeachments...And no person shall be convicted without the COncurrence of two thirds of the Members present (I.3.6): While the power to impeach federal officials lies in the House, the Senate is the body that tries and votes on the impeachment. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial and the official is convicted if 2/3 of the Senate concur.

• The Advice and Consent of the Senate

  [The President] shall have Powers, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur (II.2.2): This clause has been taken intepreted rather loosely; while not all international agreements are considered treaties, the President does not have to always have the 2/3 consent from the Senate. In the case of executive agreements, the president does not even have to talk to the Senate. Additionally, with the establishment of congressional-executive agreements, the President merely needs a simple majority in both Houses of Congress.

Senators Specter, Leahy, Kennedy and Biden

• Presidential Appointments

  *[The President] shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States. (II.2.2): The President's appointments often easily pass through confirmation, yet, depending on the controversy or high-level position, the appointee may face rigorous confirmation hearings by the Senate. The President can slide around the "Advice and Consent" clause, however, during a Congressional recess, therefore installing his appointment without the need for any approval. The position, though, remains only temporarily valid, as the office becomes vacant at the end of the next Congressional session. The President can also remove, without any voice of the Senate, any executive branch officials, resulting in a typical everyone-must-go house cleaning of the White House with a new incoming President.

The Committee System

Although the Senate committee system is similar to that of the House of Representatives, it has its own guidelines, within which each committee adopts its own rules. Standing committees generally have legislative jurisdiction. Subcommittees handle specific areas of the committees' work. The chair of each committee and a majority of its members represent the majority party. The chair primarily controls a committees' business. Each party assigns its own members to committees, and each committee distributes its members among its subcommittees.

The Senate places limits on the number and types of panels any one senator may serve on and chair. Several thousand bills and resolutions are referred to committees during each 2-year Congress. Committees select a small percentage for consideration, and those not addressed often receive no further action. The bills that committees report help to set the Senates' agenda.

When a committee or subcommittee favors a measure, it usually takes four actions. First it asks relevant executive agencies for written comments on the measure. Second, it holds hearings to gather information and views from non-committee experts. At committee hearings, these witnesses summarize submitted statements and then respond to questions from the senators. Third, a committee meets to perfect the measure through amendments, and non-committee members sometimes attempt to influence the language. Fourth, when language is agreed upon, the committee sends the measure back to the full Senate, usually along with a written report describing its purposes and provisions. (Source: Senate)