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United States Senate

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

   The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the United
   States Congress, the other being the House of Representatives. In the
   Senate, each state is equally represented by two members; as a result,
   the total membership of the body is currently 100. Senators serve for
   six-year terms that are staggered so elections are held for
   approximately one-third of the seats (a " class") every second year.
   The Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate
   and serves as its presiding officer, but is not a Senator and does not
   vote except to break ties. The Vice President rarely acts as President
   of the Senate unless casting a tie-breaking vote or during ceremonial
   occasions, so the duty of presiding usually falls to the President Pro
   Tempore, customarily the most senior senator of the majority party.
   Most often, the President Pro Tempore will designate a member from his
   or her party to serve as presiding officer for the day.

   The Senate is regarded as a more deliberative body than the House of
   Representatives; the Senate is smaller and its members serve longer
   terms, allowing for a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere that
   is somewhat more insulated from public opinion than the House. The
   Senate has several exclusive powers enumerated in Article One of the
   Constitution not granted to the House; most significantly, the
   President cannot ratify treaties or make important appointments without
   the advice and consent of the Senate.

   The Framers of the Constitution created a bicameral Congress out of a
   desire to have two houses to check each other. One house was intended
   to be a "people's house" that would be very sensitive to public
   opinion. The other house was intended to be a more reserved, more
   deliberate forum of elite wisdom that represented the state
   legislatures. The Constitution provides that the approval of both
   chambers is necessary for the passage of legislation. The exclusive
   powers enumerated to the Senate in the Constitution are regarded as
   more important than those exclusively enumerated to the House. As a
   result, the responsibilities of the Senate (the " upper house") are
   more extensive than those of the House of Representatives (the " lower
   house").

   The Senate of the United States was named after the ancient Roman
   Senate. The chamber of the United States Senate is located in the north
   wing of the Capitol building, in Washington, D.C., the national
   capital. The House of Representatives convenes in the south wing of the
   same building.

Members and elections

   The partisan makeup of the Senate during the 110th Congress, by state.
   Red states are represented by two Republican Senators; blue states, by
   two Democratic Senators; magenta states, by one Senator from each
   party; and grey states, by an Independent and a Democrat. Connecticut
   is colored blue, as incumbent Senator Joseph Lieberman, while
   re-elected by running independently from his affiliated party in 2006,
   remained a Democrat.
   Enlarge
   The partisan makeup of the Senate during the 110th Congress, by state.
   Red states are represented by two Republican Senators; blue states, by
   two Democratic Senators; magenta states, by one Senator from each
   party; and grey states, by an Independent and a Democrat. Connecticut
   is colored blue, as incumbent Senator Joseph Lieberman, while
   re-elected by running independently from his affiliated party in 2006,
   remained a Democrat.

   Article One of the Constitution states that each state may elect two
   senators. The Constitution further stipulates that no constitutional
   amendment may deprive a state of its equal suffrage in the Senate
   without the consent of the state concerned. The District of Columbia
   and territories are not entitled to any representation. As there are
   presently 50 states, the Senate has 100 members. The senator from each
   state with the longer tenure is known as the " Senior Senator," and
   their counterpart is the "junior senator"; this convention, however,
   does not have any official significance.

   Senators serve for terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so
   that approximately one-third of the Senate seats are up for election
   every two years. The staggering of the terms is arranged such that both
   seats from a given state are never contested in the same general
   election. Senate elections are held on the first Tuesday after the
   first Monday in November, Election Day, and coincide with elections for
   the House of Representatives. Each senator is elected by his or her
   state as a whole. Generally, the Republican and Democratic parties
   choose their candidates in primary elections, which are typically held
   several months before the general elections. Ballot access rules for
   independent and third party candidates vary from state to state. For
   the general election, almost all states use the first-past-the-post
   system, under which the candidate with a plurality of votes (not
   necessarily an absolute majority) wins. Exceptions include Georgia and
   Louisiana, which use runoff voting.

   Once elected, a senator continues to serve until the expiry of his or
   her term, death, or resignation. Furthermore, the Constitution permits
   the Senate to expel any member; with a two-thirds majority vote
   required to do so. Fifteen members have been expelled in the history of
   the Senate; 14 of them were removed in 1861 and 1862 for supporting the
   Confederate secession, which led to the American Civil War. No senator
   has been expelled since; however, many have chosen to resign when faced
   with expulsion proceedings (most recently, Bob Packwood in 1995). The
   Senate has also passed several resolutions censuring members; censure
   requires only a simple majority and does not remove a senator from
   office.

   The Seventeenth Amendment provides that vacancies in the Senate,
   however they arise, may be filled by special elections. A special
   election for a Senate seat need not be held immediately after the
   vacancy arises; instead, it is typically conducted at the same time as
   the next biennial congressional election. If a special election for one
   seat happens to coincide with a general election for the state's other
   seat, then the two elections are not combined, but are instead
   contested separately. A senator elected in a special election serves
   until the original six-year term expires, and not for a full term of
   his own. Furthermore, the Seventeenth Amendment provides that any state
   legislature may empower the Governor to temporarily fill vacancies. The
   interim appointee remains in office until the special election can be
   held. All states, with the sole exception of Arizona, have passed laws
   authorizing the Governor to make temporary appointments.

   Senators are entitled to prefix " The Honorable" to their names. The
   annual salary of each senator, as of 2006, was $165,200; the President
   pro tempore and party leaders receive larger amounts. Analysis of
   financial disclosure forms by CNN in June 2003 revealed that at least
   40 of the then senators were millionaires. In general, senators are
   regarded as more important political figures than members of the House
   of Representatives because there are fewer of them, and because they
   serve for longer terms, represent larger constituencies (except for
   House at-large districts, which also comprise entire states), sit on
   more committees, and have more staffers. The prestige commonly
   associated with the Senate is reflected by the background of presidents
   and presidential candidates; far more sitting senators have been
   nominees for the presidency than sitting representatives.

Qualifications

   Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution sets forth three
   qualifications for senators: each senator must be at least 30 years
   old, must have been a citizen of the United States for at least the
   past nine years, and must be (at the time of the election) an
   inhabitant of the state he or she seeks to represent. The age and
   citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those
   for representatives. In Federalist No. 62, James Madison justified this
   arrangement by arguing that the "senatorial trust" called for a
   "greater extent of information and stability of character."

   Furthermore, under the Fourteenth Amendment, any federal or state
   officer who takes the requisite oath to support the Constitution, but
   later engages in rebellion or aids the enemies of the United States, is
   disqualified from becoming a senator. This provision, which came into
   force soon after the end of the Civil War, was intended to prevent
   those who sided with the Confederacy from serving. The Amendment,
   however, provides that a disqualified individual may still serve if
   two-thirds of both Houses of Congress vote to remove the disability.

   Under the Constitution, the Senate (not the courts) is empowered to
   judge if an individual is qualified to serve. During its early years,
   however, the Senate did not closely scrutinize the qualifications of
   members. As a result, three individuals that were constitutionally
   disqualified due to age were admitted to the Senate:
   twenty-nine-year-old Henry Clay (1806), and twenty-eight-year-olds
   Armistead Mason (1816) and John Eaton (1818). Such an occurrence,
   however, has not been repeated since. In 1934, Rush Holt was elected to
   the Senate at the age of twenty-nine; he waited until he turned thirty
   to take the oath of office. Likewise, Joseph Biden was elected to the
   Senate shortly before his 30th birthday in 1972; he had passed his 30th
   birthday by the time the Senate conducted its swearing-in ceremony for
   that year's electees in January, 1973.

Officers

   The party with a majority of seats is known as the majority party; if
   two or more parties in opposition are tied, the Vice President's
   affiliation determines which party is the majority party. The
   next-largest party is known as the minority party. The President pro
   tempore, committee chairmen, and some other officials are generally
   from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the
   "ranking members" of committees) in the minority party. Independents
   and members of third parties (so long as they do not caucus with or
   support either of the larger parties) are not considered in determining
   which is the majority party.

   The Constitution provides that the Vice President of the United States
   serves as the President of the Senate and holds a vote which can only
   be cast to break a tie. By convention, the Vice President presides over
   very few Senate debates, attending only on important ceremonial
   occasions (such as the swearing-in of new senators) or at times when
   his vote may be needed to break an equally divided tie vote. The
   Constitution also authorizes the Senate to elect a President pro
   tempore (Latin for "temporary president") to preside in the Vice
   President's absence; the most senior senator of the majority party is
   customarily chosen to serve in this position. The President pro tempore
   is currently Senator Ted Stevens (R) of Alaska, but when the 110th
   Congress convenes in January 2007, he will be replaced with Robert Byrd
   (D) of West Virginia. Like the Vice President, the President pro
   tempore does not normally preside over the Senate. Instead, he
   typically delegates the responsibility of presiding to junior senators
   of the majority party. Frequently, freshmen senators (newly elected
   members) are allowed to preside so that they may become accustomed to
   the rules and procedures of the body.

   The presiding officer sits in a chair in the front of the Senate
   chamber. The powers of the presiding officer are extremely limited; he
   primarily acts as the Senate's mouthpiece, performing duties such as
   announcing the results of votes. The Senate's presiding officer
   controls debates by calling on members to speak; the rules of the
   Senate, however, compel him to recognize the first senator who rises.
   The presiding officer may rule on any " point of order" (a senator's
   objection that a rule has been breached), but the decision is subject
   to appeal to the whole house. Thus, the powers of the presiding officer
   of the Senate are far less extensive than those of the Speaker of the
   House.

   Each party elects a senator to serve as floor leader, a position which
   entails acting as the party's chief spokesperson. The Senate Majority
   Leader is, furthermore, responsible for controlling the agenda of the
   Senate; for example, he schedules debates and votes. Each party also
   elects a whip to assist the leader. A whip works to ensure that his
   party's senators vote as the party leadership desires.

   The Senate is also served by several officials who are not members. The
   Senate's chief administrative officer is the Secretary of the Senate,
   who maintains public records, disburses salaries, monitors the
   acquisition of stationery and supplies, and oversees clerks. The
   Secretary is aided in his work by the Assistant Secretary of the
   Senate. Another official is the Sergeant-at-Arms, who, as the Senate's
   chief law enforcement officer, maintains order and security on the
   Senate premises. The Capitol Police handles routine police work, with
   the Sergeant-at-Arms primarily responsible for general oversight. Other
   employees include the Chaplain and Pages.

Procedure

   The Senate meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
   Enlarge
   The Senate meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

   Like the House of Representatives, the Senate meets in the United
   States Capitol in Washington, D.C. At one end of the Chamber of the
   Senate is a dais from which the Presiding Officer (the Vice President
   or the President pro Tempore) presides. The lower tier of the dais is
   used by clerks and other officials. One hundred desks are arranged in
   the Chamber in a semicircular pattern; the desks are divided by a wide
   central aisle. By tradition, Democrats sit on the right of the centre
   aisle, while Republicans sit on the left, as viewed from the presiding
   officer's chair. Each senator chooses a desk on the basis of seniority
   within his party; by custom, the leader of each party sits in the front
   row. Sittings are normally held on weekdays; meetings on Saturdays and
   Sundays are rare. Sittings of the Senate are generally open to the
   public and are broadcast live on television by C-SPAN 2.

   Senate procedure depends not only on the rules, but also on a variety
   of customs and traditions. In many cases, the Senate waives some of its
   stricter rules by unanimous consent. Unanimous consent agreements are
   typically negotiated beforehand by party leaders. Any senator may block
   such an agreement, but, in practice, objections are rare. The presiding
   officer enforces the rules of the Senate, and may warn members who
   deviate from them. The presiding officer often uses the gavel of the
   Senate to maintain order.

   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. Such a delay may serve
   one of many purposes; often, it allows Senate leaders to negotiate
   compromises off the floor. Once the need for a delay has ended, any
   senator may request unanimous consent to rescind the Quorum Call.

   During debates, senators may only speak if called upon by the presiding
   officer. The presiding officer is, however, required to recognize the
   first senator who rises to speak. Thus, the presiding officer has
   little control over the course of debate. Customarily, the Majority
   Leader and Minority Leader are accorded priority during debates, even
   if another senator rises first. All speeches must be addressed to the
   presiding officer, using the words "Mr. President" or "Madam
   President." Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in
   speeches; other Members must be referred to in the third person. In
   most cases, senators do not refer to each other by name, but by state,
   using forms such as "the senior senator from Virginia" or "the junior
   senator from California."

   There are very few restrictions on the content of speeches; there is no
   requirement that speeches be germane to the matter before the Senate.

   The rules of the Senate 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 with
   adjournment; 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.

   The filibuster is a tactic used to defeat bills and motions by
   prolonging debate indefinitely. A filibuster may entail 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; however, if the
   matter before the Senate involves changing the rules of the body, a
   two-thirds majority is required. 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.

   When debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. In many
   cases, the Senate votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the
   question, and Members respond either "Aye" (in favour of the motion) or
   "No" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the
   result of the voice vote. Any senator, however, may challenge the
   presiding officer's assessment and request a recorded vote. The request
   may be granted only if it is seconded by one-fifth of the senators
   present. In practice, however, senators second requests for recorded
   votes as a matter of courtesy. When a recorded vote is held, the clerk
   calls the roll of the Senate in alphabetical order; each senator
   responds when his or her name is called. Senators who miss the roll
   call may still cast a vote as long as the recorded vote remains open.
   The vote is closed at the discretion of the presiding officer, but must
   remain open for a minimum of 15 minutes. If the vote is tied, the Vice
   President, if present, is entitled to a tie-breaking vote. If the Vice
   President is not present, however, the motion fails.

   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 quite rare, and usually held only under
   very certain circumstances where the senate is discussing sensitive
   subject-matter such as information critical to national security,
   private communications from the President, or even to discuss Senate
   deliberations during impeachment trials. Any Senator may call for and
   force a closed session as long as the motion is seconded by at least
   one other member.

   Budget bills are governed under a special rule process called "
   Reconciliation" that disallows filibusters. Reconciliation was devised
   in 1974 but came into use in the early 1980s.

Committees

   Dirksen Senate Office Building Committee Room 226 is used for hearings
   by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
   Enlarge
   Dirksen Senate Office Building Committee Room 226 is used for hearings
   by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

   The Senate uses committees (as well as their subcommittees) for a
   variety of purposes, including the review of bills and the oversight of
   the executive branch. The appointment of committee members is formally
   made by the whole Senate, but the choice of members is actually made by
   the political parties. Generally, each party honours the preferences of
   individual senators, giving priority on the basis of seniority. Each
   party is allocated seats on committees in proportion to its overall
   strength.

   Most committee work is performed by sixteen standing committees, each
   of which has jurisdiction over a specific field such as Finance or
   Foreign Relations. Each standing committee may consider, amend, and
   report bills that fall under its jurisdiction. Furthermore, each
   standing committee considers presidential nominations to offices
   related to its jurisdiction. (For instance, the Judiciary Committee
   considers nominees for judgeships, and the Foreign Relations Committee
   considers nominees for positions in the Department of State.)
   Committees have extensive powers with regard to bills and nominees;
   they may block nominees and impede bills from reaching the floor of the
   Senate. Finally, standing committees also oversee the departments and
   agencies of the executive branch. In discharging their duties, standing
   committees have the power to hold hearings and to subpoena witnesses
   and evidence.

   The Senate also has several committees that are not considered standing
   committees. Such bodies are generally known as select committees or
   special committees; examples include the Select Committee on Ethics and
   the Special Committee on Aging. Legislation is referred to some of
   these committees, though the bulk of legislative work is performed by
   the standing committees. Committees may be established on an ad hoc
   basis for specific purposes; for instance, the Senate Watergate
   Committee was a special committee created to investigate the Watergate
   scandal. Such temporary committees cease to exist after fulfilling
   their tasks.

   Finally, the Congress includes joint committees, which include members
   of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Some joint
   committees oversee independent government bodies; for instance, the
   Joint Committee on the Library oversees the Library of Congress. Other
   joint committees serve to make advisory reports; for example, there
   exists a Joint Committee on Taxation. Bills and nominees are not
   referred to joint committees. Hence, the power of joint committees is
   considerably lower than those of standing committees.

   Each Senate committee and subcommittee is led by a chairman (always a
   member of the majority party). Formerly, committee chairmanship was
   determined purely by seniority; as a result, several elderly senators
   continued to serve as chairmen despite severe physical infirmity or
   even senility. Now, committee chairmen are in theory elected, but in
   practice, seniority is very rarely bypassed. The chairman's powers are
   extensive; he controls the committee's agenda, and may prevent the
   committee from approving a bill or presidential nomination. Modern
   committee chairmen are typically not forceful in exerting their
   influence, although there have been some exceptions. The second-highest
   member, the spokesperson on the committee for the minority party, is
   known in most cases as the Ranking Member. In the Select Committee on
   Intelligence and the Select Committee on Ethics, however, the senior
   minority member is known as the Vice Chairman.

Legislative functions

   Most bills may be introduced in either House of Congress. However, the
   Constitution provides that "All bills for raising Revenue shall
   originate in the House of Representatives." As a result, the Senate
   does not have the power to initiate bills imposing taxes. Furthermore,
   the House of Representatives holds that the Senate does not have the
   power to originate appropriation bills, or bills authorizing the
   expenditure of federal funds. Historically, the Senate has disputed the
   interpretation advocated by the House. However, whenever the Senate
   originates an appropriations bill, the House simply refuses to consider
   it, thereby settling the dispute in practice. The constitutional
   provision barring the Senate from introducing revenue bills is based on
   the practice of the British Parliament, in which only the House of
   Commons may originate such measures.

   Although the Constitution gave the House the power to initiate revenue
   bills, in practice the Senate is equal to the House in the respects of
   taxation and spending. As Woodrow Wilson wrote:


   United States Senate

     [T]he Senate's right to amend [revenue bills] has been allowed the
   widest possible scope. The upper house may add to them what it pleases;
   may go altogether outside of their original provisions and tack to them
   entirely new features of legislation, altering not only the amounts but
    even the objects of expenditure, and making out of the materials sent
        them by the popular chamber measures of an almost totally new
                                 character.


   United States Senate

   The approval of both the Senate and the House of Representatives is
   required for any bill, including a revenue bill, to become law. Both
   Houses must pass the exact same version of the bill; if there are
   differences, they may be resolved by a conference committee, which
   includes members of both bodies.

Checks and balances

   The Constitution provides that the President can make certain
   appointments only with the advice and consent of the Senate. Officials
   whose appointments require the Senate's approval include members of the
   Cabinet, heads of federal executive agencies, ambassadors, Justices of
   the Supreme Court, and other federal judges. However, Congress may pass
   legislation to authorize the appointment of less important officials
   without the Senate's consent. Typically, a nominee is first subject to
   a hearing before a Senate committee. Committees may block nominees, but
   do so relatively infrequently. Thereafter, the nomination is considered
   by the full Senate. In a majority of the cases, nominees are confirmed;
   rejections of Cabinet nominees are especially rare (there have been
   only nine nominees rejected outright in the history of the United
   States).

   The powers of the Senate with respect to nominations are, however,
   subject to some constraints. For instance, the Constitution provides
   that the President may make an appointment during a congressional
   recess without the Senate's advice and consent. The recess appointment
   remains valid only temporarily; the office becomes vacant again at the
   end of the next congressional session. Nevertheless, Presidents have
   frequently used recess appointments to circumvent the possibility that
   the Senate may reject the nominee. Furthermore, as the Supreme Court
   held in Myers v. United States, although the Senate's advice and
   consent is required for the appointment of certain executive branch
   officials, it is not necessary for their removal.

   The Senate also has a role in the process of ratifying treaties. The
   Constitution provides that the President may only ratify a treaty if
   two-thirds of the senators vote to grant advice and consent. However,
   not all international agreements are considered treaties, and therefore
   do not require the Senate's approval. Congress has passed laws
   authorizing the President to conclude executive agreements without
   action by the Senate. Similarly, the President may make
   congressional-executive agreements with the approval of a simple
   majority in each House of Congress, rather than a two-thirds majority
   in the Senate. Neither executive agreements nor congressional-executive
   agreements are mentioned in the Constitution, leading some to suggest
   that they unconstitutionally circumvent the treaty-ratification
   process. However, the validity of such agreements has been upheld by
   the courts.
   The Senate has the power to try impeachments. Shown above is the
   impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson.
   Enlarge
   The Senate has the power to try impeachments. Shown above is the
   impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson.

   The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach
   federal officials for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and
   Misdemeanors" and empowers the Senate to try such impeachments. If the
   sitting President of the United States is being tried, the Chief
   Justice of the United States presides over the trial. During any
   impeachment trial, senators are constitutionally required to sit on
   oath or affirmation. Conviction requires a two-thirds majority of the
   senators present. A convicted official is automatically removed from
   office; in addition, the Senate may stipulate that the defendant be
   banned from holding office in the future. No further punishment is
   permitted during the impeachment proceedings; however, the party may
   face criminal penalties in a normal court of law.

   In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives has
   impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted. (One
   resigned before the Senate could complete the trial.) Only two
   Presidents of the United States have ever been impeached: Andrew
   Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1999. Both trials ended in
   acquittal; in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the
   two-thirds majority required for conviction.

   Under the Twelfth Amendment, the Senate has the power to elect the Vice
   President if no vice presidential candidate receives a majority of
   votes in the Electoral College. The Twelfth Amendment requires the
   Senate to choose from the two candidates with the highest numbers of
   electoral votes. Electoral College deadlocks are very rare; in the
   history of the United States, the Senate has only had to break a
   deadlock once, in 1837, when it elected Richard Mentor Johnson. The
   power to elect the President in the case of an Electoral College
   deadlock belongs to the House of Representatives.

Latest election

   CAPTION: Summary of the November 7, 2006 United States Senate election
   results

   Party Breakdown Total Seats Popular Vote
   Up Elected Not Up 2004 2006 +/− Vote %
   Democratic Party 17 22 27 44 49 +5 31,405,754 53.7%
   Republican Party 15 9 40 55 49 −6 24,920,212 42.6%
   Independents 1 2 0 1 2 +1 863,029 1.5%
   Libertarian Party 0 0 0 0 0 0 548,751 0.9%
   Green Party 0 0 0 0 0 0 350,400 0.6%
   Others 0 0 0 0 0 0 387,837 0.7%
   Total 33 33 67 100 100 0 58,475,983 100.0%
   Sources: The Associated Press, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections
   (unofficial) view, talk, edit

   The Democratic Party is considered to hold a majority with 51 seats
   because the two independents, Bernie Sanders ( Vermont) and Joseph
   Lieberman ( Connecticut), have indicated that they will caucus with the
   Democrats.

Composition

Current composition

   The 109th United States Congress, as of November 10, 2006:
     Affiliation    Members             Note
   Republican Party   55
   Democratic Party   44
   Independent         1    Caucuses with the Democrats.
        Total         100

Future composition

   The 110th United States Congress, which will begin January 3, 2007:
   Affiliation    Members                          Note
 Democratic Party   49
 Republican Party   49
 Independent         2    Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman have agreed to caucus
                          with the Democrats.
      Total         100

   Joe Lieberman refuses to close the door on switching parties,
   potentially shifting the power back in the Senate to Republican. A
   similar situation happened in the Great Senate Deadlock of 1881.

   The Senate Republican and Democratic floor leaders are elected by the
   members of their party in the Senate at the beginning of each Congress.

   Historically, when there have been an equal number of Republicans and
   Democrats, the Vice President, as President of the Senate, is called
   upon to cast the tie breaking vote. For example, this occured
   frequently during the 107th Congress.

   Jan 20 - June 6, 2001 (100 seats)
   Majority Party: Republican (50 seats)
   Minority Party: Democrat (50 seats)
   Other Parties: 0

   June 6, 2001 - November 12, 2002 (100 seats)
   Majority Party: Democrat (50 seats)
   Minority Party: Republican (49 seats)
   Other Parties: 1*

   November 12, 2002 - January 3, 2003 (100 seats)
   Majority Party: Republican (50 seats)
   Minority Party: Democrat (48 seats)
   Other Parties: 2

   *Senator James Jeffords of Vermont announced his switch from Republican
   to Independent status, effective June 6, 2001. Jeffords announced that
   he would caucus with the Democrats, giving the Democrats a one-seat
   margin (50-49), thus passing control of the Senate from the Republicans
   back to the Democrats.
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