Daily sessions The Senate uses
Standing Rules for operation. 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 presides. The lower tier of the dais is used by clerks and other officials. Sessions of the Senate are opened with a special prayer or invocation and typically convene on weekdays. Sessions of the Senate are generally open to the public and are broadcast live on television, usually by
C-SPAN 2. Senate procedure depends on the rules, and a variety of customs and traditions. The Senate commonly waives some of its stricter rules by
unanimous consent. Unanimous consent agreements are typically negotiated beforehand by party leaders. A 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 sometimes uses the
gavel of the Senate to maintain order. A "
hold" is placed when the leader's office is notified that a senator intends to object to a request for unanimous consent from the Senate to consider or pass a measure. A hold may be placed for any reason and can be lifted by the senator who placed it at any time. A senator may place a hold simply to review a bill, to negotiate changes to the bill, or to kill the bill. A bill can be held for as long as the senator who objects to the bill wishes to block its consideration. Holds can be overcome, but require time-consuming procedures such as filing cloture. Holds are considered private communications between a senator and the leader, and are sometimes referred to as "secret holds". A senator may disclose the placement of a hold. 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 as present unless a
quorum call explicitly demonstrates otherwise. A senator may request a quorum call by "suggesting the absence of a quorum". A clerk then calls the roll and notes which members are present. In practice, senators rarely request quorum calls to establish the quorum as present. Instead, quorum calls are generally used to temporarily delay proceedings. Usually, such delays are used while waiting for a senator to reach the floor to speak or to give leaders time to negotiate. Once the need for a delay has ended, a senator may request unanimous consent to rescind the quorum call. Journalist
George Packer has argued that the Senate's arcane rules have rendered it obsolete and ineffective.
Debate Debate, like most other matters governing the internal functioning of the Senate, is governed by internal rules adopted by the Senate. During a debate, senators may only speak if called upon by the presiding officer, but the presiding officer is required to recognize the first senator who rises to speak. Thus, the presiding officer has little control over the course of the 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, who is addressed as "Mr. President" or "Madam President", and not to another member. 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 or position, using forms such as "the senior senator from Virginia", "the gentleman from California", or "my distinguished friend the chairman of the Judiciary Committee". Senators address the Senate standing next to their desks. Apart from rules governing civility, there are few restrictions on the content of speeches. There is no requirement that speeches pertain 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. 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. However, the right to unlimited debate is generally preserved. Within the United States, the Senate is sometimes referred to as "world's greatest deliberative body".
Filibuster and cloture 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 Senate may end a filibuster by invoking
cloture. In most cases, cloture requires the support of three-fifths of the Senate, If the matter before the Senate involves changing the rules of the body – this includes amending provisions regarding the filibuster – a two-thirds majority is required. In practice, the threat of filibuster is more important than its use. Almost any motion that does not have the support of three-fifths of the Senate effectively fails. This means that 41 senators can make a filibuster happen. The history of filibusters began in 1805 when Aaron Burr suggested getting rid of procedural tools that were not in use, one of which was the motion to call "the previous question". Following this, in 1841, Senator John Calhoun rallied a number of Southern senators to take the floor, one after another for days, in opposition of the national bank. The national bank bill did pass, but Calhoun, and other Southern senators, continued using this tactic. Filibuster efforts continued until 1917, when in response to a filibuster during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson demanded there be an ability to force a Senate vote. From this comes Senate rule XXIII, which provides the procedure of cloture. In the 1970s, the vote requirement for cloture was lowered and a new process of scheduling Senate business was instituted, in turn ending the "talking filibuster". Historically, cloture has rarely been invoked because bipartisan support is usually necessary to obtain the required
supermajority, so a bill that already has bipartisan support is rarely subject to threats of filibuster. However, motions for cloture have increased significantly in recent years. If the Senate invokes cloture, the debate does not necessarily end immediately; instead, it is limited to up to 30 additional hours unless increased by another three-fifths vote. The longest filibuster speech in the Senate's history was delivered by
Strom Thurmond (D-SC), who
spoke for over 24 hours in an unsuccessful attempt to block the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1957. The longest individual speech, though not technically a filibuster as there was no bill being blocked, in the Senate's history was delivered by
Cory Booker (D-NJ) in 2025. Senator Booker spoke for 25 hours and five minutes, starting at 7 PM on the night of March 31 and ending April 1. Senator Booker's speech was intended to address actions of the Trump administration. Under certain circumstances, the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 provides for a process called "
reconciliation" by which Congress can pass bills related to the budget without those bills being subject to a filibuster. This is accomplished by limiting all Senate floor debate to 20 hours. The
Senate filibuster is frequently debated as the Constitution specifies a simple majority threshold to pass legislation, and some critics feel the de facto three-fifths threshold for general legislation prevents beneficial laws from passing. Steven Wirls argues that the filibuster, elevated in importance in 1917, was prominently and persistently wielded in defense of white supremacy. Supporters generally consider the filibuster to be an important protection for the minority views and a check against the unfettered single-party rule when the same party holds the Presidency and a majority in both the House and Senate.
Voting When the debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. The Senate often votes by voice vote. The presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either "Yea/Aye" (in favor of the motion) or "Nay" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote. A senator 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. Filibustered bills require a three-fifths majority to overcome the cloture vote, which usually means 60 votes. To pass a bill, a simple majority, usually 51 votes, is needed. Some news media have confused the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster with the 51 votes needed to approve a bill. For example,
USA Today erroneously stating "The vote was 58–39 in favor of the provision establishing concealed carry permit reciprocity in the 48 states that have concealed weapons laws. That fell two votes short of the 60 needed to approve the measure".
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, cameras are turned off, 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 usually held only when the Senate is discussing sensitive subject matter such as information critical to national security, private communications from the president, or deliberations during
impeachment trials. A senator may call for and force a closed session if the motion is seconded by at least one other member, but an agreement usually occurs beforehand. If the Senate does not approve the release of a secret transcript, the transcript is stored in the Office of Senate Security and ultimately sent to the national archives. The proceedings remain sealed indefinitely until the Senate votes to remove the injunction of secrecy. In 1973, the House adopted a rule that all committee sessions should be open unless a majority on the committee voted for a closed session.
Committees , used for hearings by the
Senate Judiciary Committee The Senate uses committees (and their subcommittees) for a variety of purposes, including the review of bills and the oversight of the executive branch. Formally, the whole Senate appoints committee members. In practice, the choice of members is made by the political parties. Generally, each party honors the preferences of individual senators, giving priority based on seniority. Each party is allocated seats on committees in proportion to its overall strength. Due to the bipartisan nature of committees, senators are occasionally able to find similarities across the aisle that are beyond their committee interest, which may aid them in getting bills passed in the future. Most committee work is performed by 16 standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a field such as
finance or
foreign relations. Each standing committee may consider, amend, and report bills that fall under its jurisdiction. 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 may block nominees and impede bills from reaching the floor of the Senate. 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. Each Senate committee and subcommittee is led by a chair (usually a member of the majority party). Formerly, committee chairs were determined purely by seniority; as a result, several elderly senators continued to serve as chair despite severe physical infirmity or even
senility. Committee chairs are elected, but, in practice, seniority is rarely bypassed. The chairs hold extensive powers: they control the committee's agenda, and so decide how much, if any, time to devote to the consideration of a bill; they act with the power of the committee in disapproving or delaying a bill or a nomination by the president; they manage on the floor of the full Senate the consideration of those bills the committee reports. This last role was particularly important in mid-century, when floor amendments were thought not to be collegial. They also have considerable influence: senators who cooperate with their committee chairs are likely to accomplish more good for their states than those who do not. The Senate rules and customs were reformed in the twentieth century, largely in the 1970s. Committee chairmen have less power and are generally more moderate and collegial in exercising it, than they were before reform. The second-highest member, the spokesperson on the committee for the minority party, is known in most cases as the ranking member. ==Senate office buildings==