The Senate: 114th Congress

The Senate 17th Amendment – senators elected by popular vote of people Each state has 2 Senators Senate has 100 voting members (no non-voting delegates) Senate elections are staggered – 1/3 elected every 2 years – each Senator term is 6 years No limit on number of times a Senator can serve Senators chosen by the entire state, NOT districts Has special treaty ratification powers and confirmation powers of presidential appointees

The Senate: Colorado’s Senators Senior Senator, Michael Bennet (D) Junior Senator, Cory Gardner (R)

The Senate: Leadership

The Senate: Leadership President of the Senate VP, Joe Biden Presides over Senate, but does not debate Also does not vote, unless to break a tie Ceremonial position with little power

The Senate: Leadership President Pro Tempore Orin Hatch (R-UT) Stands in as President when VP is not present By tradition, usually the most senior Senator of the majority party Unlike the VP, is a voting member

The Senate: Leadership Majority Floor Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Most influential member of the Senate and majority party spokesman

The Senate: Leadership Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) Role is same as House Majority Whip

The Senate: Leadership Minority Floor Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Same role as House Floor Leader

The Senate: Leadership Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) Role is same as House Majority Whip

Congressional Committees Why a Committee System? High volume of legislation (bills) – sending bills to corresponding committee helps speed up process Allows study of legislation by specialists How the Committee System Works? Congress divides its tasks among approximately 250 committees and sub committees. The House and Senate each have their own committees, but they are similar

Senate Committees Special, Select, and Other Standing Indian Affairs Select Committee on Ethics Select Committee on Intelligence Special Committee on Aging Joint Joint Committee on Printing Joint Committee on Taxation Joint Committee on the Library Joint Economic Committee Standing Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Appropriations Armed Services Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Budget Commerce, Science, and Transportation Energy and Natural Resources Environment and Public Works Finance Foreign Relations Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Judiciary Rules and Administration Small Business and Entrepreneurship Veterans Affairs

Congressional Committees: 4 Types 1.) Standing : permanent committee that deals with specific policy matters (agriculture, energy and natural resources, veterans affairs, etc…) ; divided into subcommittees that handle more specialized problems 2.) Select : temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose; most are formed to investigate a particular issue (Watergate Committee, Hurricane Katrina Committee, Y2K Committee, etc) 3.) Joint : made up of members of both houses of Congress; can be a select committee or perform routine duties 4.) Conference: temporary committee of members from both houses created to resolve differences in House and Senate versions of a bill; is a compromise committee

Congressional Committees: Membership and Leadership Percentage of each committee’s membership reflects the overall percentage of Democrats and Republicans in each house Ex. – 53% of house is Republican, so 53% of all committee members will be Republican Members try to serve on committees where they can influence public policy relating to their district or state, or influence national public policy issues Ex – Kansas senator on the agriculture committee Ex – Iowa representative on the foreign relations committee Leadership Committees are led by a chairperson who belongs to the majority party and is chosen by majority party members of committee