Senate Functions From Senate.gov Senate Term Paper

Joint resolutions are virtually the same as bills. Concurrent resolutions are not able to become law but can be used to amend rules that apply to members of the Congress (Senate.gov, 2004). Simple resolutions can't be passed into law, and may be used by one house or the other. Generally they are used to give advice or used to express the views, ideas or opinions of a particular house.

Current Projects/Initiatives

Recent initiatives received in the Senate include H.R. 4661, a bill introduced to amend title 18 to discourage spy ware; H.R. 5061, introduced to provide assistance for current crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, and H.R. 5213 to expand research information for multi-disciplinary research projects (Congress.gov from Senate.gov, 2004).

Daily Operations

The daily operations of the Senate vary but take on a similar structure. Generally the day opens with the Secretary of the Senate introducing the guest chaplain or Chaplain to the desk, who will officiate the daily meetings (Senate.gov, 2004). The Senate day consists of the time it takes from adjournment to adjournment rather than a typical day. One day in the Senate may actually represent many days or even weeks, depending on when adjournment occurs.

When the Constitution was first written it contained a provision that stated that Congress needed to assemble at least once per year and that those meetings would be held on the first Monday in December generally.However this would mean that the second or potentially third session of Congress would take place after elections were held and may include what were referred to as "lame duck members" which means members that would not be re-elected (Senate.gov, 2004). This changed when the 20th Amendment was passed stating that Congress would instead open on the third of January thus reducing lame duck sessions (Senate.gov, 2004).

Many consider the Senate to be the grounding force in Congress, less prone to the whimsies or fancies of the public, and holding greater responsibility and pressure because of the large number of people represented in the Senate. The Senate and the House work together to assure the best interests of the people are addressed in the U.S. To as great an extent as possible.

References

Lame Duck Sessions since the 20th Amendment." 2, November 2004, http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/LameDuckSessions.pdf

20-Year Comparison of Senate Legislative Activity." 2, November 2004, http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/yearlycomparison.pdf

Bill and Summary Status" 2, November 2004, http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/bssQuery?&Db=108&stepID=S*&stepD=o&stepD1=20041008from Senate.gov

Senate Legislative Process." 2, Novebmer 2004, http://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/briefing/Senate_legislative_process.htm

U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home." 2, November 2004, http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/bills.htm.....