Standing Rules of the United States Senate
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The Standing Rules of the Senate are the
There are currently forty-five rules, with the latest revision adopted on January 24, 2013.[1] The most recent addition of a new rule occurred in 2006, when The Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 introduced a 44th rule on earmarks. The stricter rules are often waived by unanimous consent.
Outline of rules
Quorum
The Constitution provides that a majority of the Senate constitutes a quorum to do business. Under the rules and customs of the Senate, a quorum is always assumed to be present unless a quorum call explicitly demonstrates otherwise. Any senator may request a quorum call by "suggesting the absence of a quorum"; a clerk then calls the roll of the Senate and notes which members are present. In practice, senators almost always request quorum calls not to establish the presence of a quorum, but to temporarily delay proceedings without having to adjourn the session. Such a delay may serve one of many purposes; often, it allows Senate leaders to negotiate compromises off the floor or to allow senators time to come to the Senate floor to make speeches without having to constantly be present in the chamber while waiting for the opportunity. Once the need for a delay has ended, any senator may request unanimous consent to rescind the quorum call.[citation needed]
Debate
The Senate is presided over by the
There are very few restrictions on the content of speeches, and there is no requirement that speeches be germane to the matter before the Senate.
The Senate Rules provide that no senator may make more than two speeches on a motion or bill on the same legislative day (a legislative day begins when the Senate convenes and ends when it adjourns; hence, it does not necessarily coincide with the calendar day). The length of these speeches is not limited by the rules; thus, in most cases, senators may speak for as long as they please. Often, the Senate adopts unanimous consent agreements imposing time limits. In other cases (for example, for the budget process), limits are imposed by statute. In general, however, the right to unlimited debate is preserved.
Filibuster
The filibuster is an obstructionary tactic used to defeat bills and motions by prolonging debate indefinitely. A filibuster may entail, but does not actually require, long speeches, dilatory motions, and an extensive series of proposed amendments. The longest filibuster speech in the history of the Senate was delivered by Strom Thurmond, who spoke for over twenty-four hours in an unsuccessful attempt to block the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The Senate may end a filibuster by invoking cloture. In most cases, cloture requires the support of three-fifths of the Senate. Cloture is invoked very rarely, particularly because bipartisan support is usually necessary to obtain the required supermajority. If the Senate does invoke cloture, debate does not end immediately; instead, further debate is limited to thirty additional hours unless increased by another three-fifths vote.
Closed session
On occasion, the Senate may go into what is called a secret or closed session. During a closed session, the chamber doors are closed and the galleries are completely cleared of anyone not sworn to secrecy, not instructed in the rules of the closed session, or not essential to the session. Closed sessions are rare and are usually held only under certain circumstances in which the Senate is discussing sensitive subject matter, such as information critical to national security, private communications from the president, or discussions of Senate deliberations during impeachment trials. Any Senator has the right to call a closed session as long as the motion is seconded.
Voting
When debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. In many cases, the Senate votes by
Committees
Tasks in the Senate are divided among sixteen
The size of each standing committee is established by Senate rules. The makeup of committees are established through inter-party negotiations before each new Congress,[5] with the percentage of a party's representation within the Senate determining the percentage of seats it will have on each committee.[4]
Reconciliation
Legislation affecting spending, revenues, and the federal debt limit is governed under a special rules process called "Reconciliation" that prohibits filibusters by limiting debate to twenty hours.[6] Congress can pass up to three reconciliation bills per year, with each bill addressing one of the topics of reconciliation (revenue, spending, or the debt limit). However, if Congress passes a reconciliation bill affecting more than one of those topics, it cannot pass another reconciliation bill later in the year affecting one of the topics addressed by the previous reconciliation bill.[6] In practice, reconciliation bills have usually been passed once per year at most.[7] Reconciliation cannot be used to enact or rescind discretionary spending (which is controlled through the annual appropriations process) or adjust Social Security spending, and is limited by the Byrd Rule, which allows senators to block provisions that are "extraneous" to spending, revenues, or the debt limit.[6]
Reconciliation was created by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and significantly altered with the introduction of the Byrd Rule in 1985 (amended in 1990). Originally infrequently used (it did not see first use until 1980).[8]
Nominations
Selected public positions in the United States are appointed by the president but require Senate approval. Senate rule XXXI governs the Senate process for considering the president's nominations.
For most positions the nomination is passed first to a Senate committee for review. Generally it is the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the topic or department related to the position to be filled.[9]
A public hearing by the committee is possible. Historically about half of civilian appointees were approved without a hearing. After consideration, the committee can report a favorable recommendation, or an unfavorable recommendation, or it can report no recommendation. It can also fail to act. To simplify the process, and with the support of the committee, the Senate by unanimous consent might discharge a nomination from the committee without the committee having acted.[9]
It is up to the leadership of the Senate to then place the nomination on the Senate calendar for a vote in executive session. Some nominations are passed by unanimous consent. The leadership may delay putting a nomination on the calendar, in which case it may not be acted upon.[9]
Nomination Time Limit
Paragraph 6 of rule XXXI specifies that if final action has not been taken before Congress adjourns the nomination is returned to the President. By the same rule nominations are returned when the Senate goes into recess for more than 30 days. However, in modern practice some nominations may stay active over long recesses if the Senate holds pro forma sessions during recess or agrees to suspend the rule by unanimous consent. When a nomination is returned without action, the president may nominate a different person or re-nominate the same person.[9][10]
Rules by number
There are currently forty-four Standing Rules of the Senate:[11]
- SR Rule I: Appointment of a Senator to the Chair
- SR Rule II: Presentation of Credentials and Questions of Privilege
- SR Rule III: Oaths
- SR Rule IV: Commencement of Daily Sessions
- SR Rule V: Suspension and Amendment of the Rules
- SR Rule VI: Quorum – Absent Senators May Be Sent For
- SR Rule VII: Morning Business
- SR Rule VIII: Order of Business
- SR Rule IX: Messages
- SR Rule X: Special Orders
- SR Rule XI: Papers – Withdrawal, Printing, Reading of, and Reference
- SR Rule XII: Voting Procedure
- SR Rule XIII: Reconsideration
- SR Rule XIV: Joint Resolutions, and Preambles Thereto
- SR Rule XV: Amendments and Resolutions
- SR Rule XVI: Appropriations and Amendments to General Appropriation Bills
- SR Rule XVII: Reference to Committees; Motions to Discharge; Reports of Committees; and Hearings Available
- SR Rule XVIII: Business Continued from Session to Session
- SR Rule XIX: Debate
- SR Rule XX: Questions for Order
- SR Rule XXI: Session with Closed Doors
- SR Rule XXII: Precedence of Motions
- SR Rule XXIII: Privilege of the Floor
- SR Rule XXIV: Appointments of Committee
- SR Rule XXV: Standing Committees
- SR Rule XXVI: Committee Procedure
- SR Rule XXVII: Committee Staff
- SR Rule XXVIII: Conference Committees; Reports; Open Meetings
- SR Rule XXIX: Executive Sessions
- SR Rule XXX: Executive Session – Proceedings on Treaties
- SR Rule XXXI: Executive Session – Proceedings on Nominations
- SR Rule XXXII: The President Furnished with Copies of Record Executive Sessions
- SR Rule XXXIII: Senate Chamber – Senate Wing of the Capitol
- SR Rule XXXIV: Public Financial Disclosure
- SR Rule XXXV: Gifts
- SR Rule XXXVI: Outside Earned Income
- SR Rule XXXVII: Conflict of Interest
- SR Rule XXXVIII: Prohibition of Unofficial Office Accounts
- SR Rule XXXIX: Foreign Travel
- SR Rule XL: Franking Privilege and Radio and Television Studios
- SR Rule XLI: Political Fund Activity; Definitions
- SR Rule XLII: Employment Practices
- SR Rule XLIII: Representation by Members
- SR Rule XLIV: Congressionally Directed Spending and Related Items
The latest change was the introduction in 2006 of a 44th rule on
References
- ^ 113TH CONGRESS : 1ST SESSION S. RES. 16 : Amending the Standing Rules of the Senate, January 24 (legislative day, January 3), 2013
- ^ "Committees of the U.S. Congress". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-393-11822-3.
- ^ a b "Senate Committees". Senate.gov. United States Senate. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ^ "Committee Assignment Process in the U.S. Senate: Democratic and Republican Party Procedures". Congressional Research Service. November 3, 2006. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ^ a b c Kogan, Richard; Reich, David (January 21, 2021). "Introduction to Budget "Reconciliation"". Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- SSRN 2221712
- ^ Klein, Ezra (February 4, 2021). "The Senate Has Become a Dadaist Nightmare". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c d Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure (Report). Congressional Research Service. May 13, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ Return of Nominations to the President under Senate Rule XXXI (Report). Congressional Research Service. January 29, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
- ^ "Rules Of The Senate". United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. United States Senate. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
External links
- Official text, Standing Rules of the Senate
- Standing Rules of the Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, November 4, 2013 (PDF format)