1. The Senate
Chapter 5
Section 3

2. Name: Date: Oct 28 2013 The Senate Ch. 5 Sec 3
Define 3 Key Terms 1) 2) 3)

3. Warm up
Discuss what you know “the Senate” and/or our California Senators.

4. “Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed.”
- Benjamin Franklin

5. History: The Roman Senate

6. The Senate at Work A. More Informal Atmosphere
1. The Senate has fewer rules
than the House of Representatives
2. There can be Unlimited
Debate on proposed bills

7. B. Senate Leaders
1. The Senate also has a Majority Leader and Minority Leader, but
doesn’t have a Speaker
2. The Vice President presides over
the senate, but can only vote to
break a tie.

8. 3. Senate Presidents usually have little
C. The Vice President
1. President of the
Senate
2. Cannot take part
in Senate debates
3. Senate Presidents usually have little
time to preside over the Senate
Vice President Joe Biden

9. D. Majority and Minority Floor Leaders
1. Most Important Officers in Senate.
2. Elected by members of their party
3. Steer the party’s bill through senate.

10. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
A Democrat from Nevada

11. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
A Republican from Kentucky

12. E. How Senate Bills are Scheduled
1. Any Senate member can introduce a
bill.
2. More informal than the House
because it is smaller (100).
3. Senate Leaders control the
flow of bills to committees to the
floor.
4. Senate brings bills to the
floor by unanimous consent.

13. F. The Filibuster
1. Unlimited debate on a bill
2. Filibuster: to keep talking until a
majority of the Senate either
abandons the bill or agrees to
modify it.

14. (this is a difficult to do though—needs 3/5ths of Senate)
Filibuster:
Senator Strom Thurmond (South Carolina) set the record as a Democrat (later changed to a Republican). Spoke against the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes.
Senate can vote to stop a filibuster with a 3/5th vote for cloture.
Cloture: Procedure that limits each Senator to speak only 1 hour on a bill under debate
(this is a difficult to do though—needs 3/5ths of Senate)

15. History: The Early “Filibuster” (p. 139)
In 60 B.C.E., Cato the Younger initiated a filibuster to block Caesar’s election as consul.

16. In Class/Homework Questions:
Pg. 140: #1 #4 #5