What Everyone Should Know About the U. S. Senate

We hear the names of key U. S. Senators any time we turn on the national news. Senators it seems are very busy people going places, visiting other important people, calling still other people to committee meetings. Some Senators develop such name recognition across the nation that they begin to consider the possibility of parlaying their Senatorial seat into a run for the office of U. S. President. Among current U. S. Senators certainly names like Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain, Barak Obama, Chris Dodd and others have become well known, almost household words as they pursue the idea of a presidential run. But beyond personality recognition far too few Americans have been taught or have retained these key aspects of what everyone should know about the U. S. Senate.

1. It's historic past. The United States Senate was created and became active in 1789 under Article I of the United States Constitution. At the time of its institution the Founding Fathers tried to balance two ideas about government. First they believed that it was important in the U. S. Constitution to include an opportunity for the voices of the people to be heard in the legislative body. Second they were equally concerned about putting too much power in the hands of that same general public. As a compromise, the writers of the Constitutions created a legislative branch with two houses ( bi-cameral). One, the House of Representatives was to be chosen by the people, while the other, the Senate, would be chosen by the elected state legislatures of each state. .

When the country eventually became more confident in its own ability to chose wisely, a movement developed to put the power to chose the Senate into the hands of the general public. In 1913, the 17th Amendment to the Constitution was passed and it provided for the direct election of U. S. Senators, a system which prevails today. What everyone should know about the U. S. Senate is that it is a popularly elected body that forms one half of the U. S. Congress.

2. Make-up and Election. The United States Constitution also described what the Senate would look like and how frequently it would be chosen. As a result today U. S. Senators are elected for a full six year term, the equivalent of three terms in the House of Representatives. Senate elections are rotated so that one third of the Senatorial body is chosen every two years.

The total number of United States Senators is 100 as two senators are selected from each of the fifty states. Because the number of Senators is much smaller than the total number of U. S. Representatives and because they sit for a longer time, U. S. Senators are seen as being the more powerful and ordinarily the better known among all legislators.

Because the Senate is the more elite of the two legislative bodies the requirements for candidates to serve as U. S. Senators are slightly more rigorous. While the House requires that those seeking an office there be at least 25 years old and a citizen for seven years, candidates seeking a seat in the U. S. Senate must be thirty years old and be citizens for 9 years.

What everyone should know is that from the start the Senate of the U. S. was constitutionally accorded longer terms of office and a certain sense of its ascendancy over the House of Representatives, though both in fact were given the power to write law.

3. Special powers of the U. S. Senate. Both houses of Congress participate in the legislative function of the United States Government but, according to the Constitution , each has specific powers assigned to it as well. What everyone should know about the U. S. Senate is that it has several unique and important legislative tasks.

For example the power to try cases of Impeachment is given specifically to the Senate. While the House of Representatives may bring a case for Impeachment, it is the Senate, by a vote of two thirds, that eventually determines the innocence or guilt of the impeached party. The power to judge an impeachment gives the Senate the power to hold various government officials, including the President of the United States, in check.

Constitutionally, it is the Senate which has the authority to approve or reject foreign treaties entered into by the President on behalf of the nation. U. S. President Woodrow Wilson discovered to his dismay that all of his plans to build a League of Nations to keep peace after World War I were for naught when the U. S. Senate did not give him the two - thirds approval vote he need for that treaty.

The Senate too, is given the power to accept or reject nominations submitted by the President to fill specific government positions. The mere existence of this power has often meant that presidents are highly selective in their nominations, anxious to obtain quick Senate confirmation.

What every American should know is that by a unique set of checks and balances that Founding Fathers have made it nearly impossible for one branch of government to totally supersede the other two. In this regard the U. S. Senate has been given its own specific roles to play.

4. How Senators work. For most Senators the work week is divided between a variety of mutually supportive tasks. Because they are elected by their home state, Senators need to give some time to a consideration of the needs of their constituency. This means visiting back at the home state and holding informative meetings and in some cases office hours. More often it means meeting with staff to oversee and direct the responses to the sea of mail that most Senators receive. What everyone should know about the U. S Senate is that most of its members spend considerable time during each work week connecting with people back home, listening to their thoughts, opinions and needs.

A more structured use of Senatorial time is their weekly schedule of Senate meetings. Most Senators are assigned to at least three U. S. Senate committees that deal with specific types of legislation. For example in the Senate there are committees like the U. S. Foreign Relations Committee, Armed Services Committee, even Indian Affairs Committee. These committees have their own schedule of meetings to consider legislation that fits into their area of interest and expertise. During the week there will also be times when the Senate will be called into session for full debate on legislation and roll call votes.

The Senators days and nights are very full and demanding. As much as there is a lot of celebrity that goes with the position of U. S. Senator the energy it requires and the sacrifices that Senators and their families are asked to make are considerable. What every American should know about the U. S. Senate is that being a member requires a very strong physical and mental commitment and constitution.

The United States Senate went into operation in 1789. Since that time it has produced mountains of laws meant for the good of the nation. What everyone should know about the United States Senate is how central it has truly been in the growth and development of our nation