Senate

1. The Senate
Contrast the Senate’s leadership and
role in the lawmaking process with
that of the House of Representatives.

2. Content Vocabulary
• President pro tempore (for the time being)-
leader of the Senate when the Vice President
is absent
• Filibuster- method used by senators to keep
talking in order to defeat a bill
• Cloture- used to stop a filibuster; senators
may only speak for 1 hour about a bill

3. The Senate Looks Different than the
House
• Much smaller (100 desks)
• Rules are more flexible (less rules)
• Unlimited time to debate legislation
• Less committees

4. Senate Leaders
• No Speaker
• Vice President is the leader of the Senate
• VP cannot take part in debates, nor can they
vote unless to break a tie
• President pro tempore (for the time being) is
in charge when the VP is not present
• President pro tempore is from the majority
party and is elected by the Senate.
Vice President- Joe Biden
President pro tempore- Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

5. Majority and Minority Leaders
• Majority leader- elected by their party; help
steer their party’s bills through the Senate
• Minority leader- elected by their party;
develops criticisms of the majority party’s bills
• Majority and minority whips assist the leader
Majority Leader- Harry Reid (D-Nevada)
Minority Leader- Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)

6. The Filibuster
• Because the Senate has unlimited time for
debate, a filibuster is sometimes used to defeat a
bill
• A senator will continue to talk until interest in the
bill is lost
• If 3/5ths of the Senate votes for a cloture,
senators may only speak for 1 hour; this prevents
filibusters.
• Longest Filibuster- Strom Thurman (1957)
24 hours and 18 minutes