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. On occasion, the Senate may go into what is called a secret or closed session. In general, however, the right to unlimited debate is preserved. In other cases (for example, for the budget process), limits are imposed by statute. Often, the Senate adopts unanimous consent agreements imposing time limits. The length of these speeches is not limited by the rules thus, in most cases, senators may speak for as long as they please. The Senate Rules 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 when it adjourns hence, it does not necessarily coincide with the calendar day). There are very few restrictions on the content of speeches, and there is no requirement that speeches be germane to the matter before the Senate. In most cases, senators refer to each other not by name, but by state, using forms such as "the senior senator from Virginia" or "the junior senator from California". Only the Presiding Officer may be directly addressed in speeches other members must be referred to in the third person. All speeches must be addressed to the Presiding Officer, using the words "Mr. Customarily, the majority leader and minority leader are accorded priority during debates, even if another senator rises first. Thus, the Presiding Officer has little control over the course of debate. The Presiding Officer is, however, required to recognize the first senator who rises to speak. During debates, senators may speak only if called upon by the Presiding Officer. The Senate is presided over by the Presiding Officer, either the President of the Senate (the Vice President) or more often the President pro tempore (in special cases the Chief Justice presides). Once the need for a delay has ended, any senator may request unanimous consent to rescind the quorum call. Such a delay may serve one of many purposes often, it allows Senate leaders to negotiate compromises off the floor or to allow senators time to come to the Senate floor to make speeches without having to constantly be present in the chamber while waiting for the opportunity. In practice, senators almost always request quorum calls not to establish the presence of a quorum, but to temporarily delay proceedings without having to adjourn the session. 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. Under the rules and customs of the Senate, a quorum is always assumed to be present unless a quorum call explicitly demonstrates otherwise. The Constitution provides that a majority of the Senate constitutes a quorum to do business. The stricter rules are often waived by unanimous consent. The most recent addition of a new rule occurred in 2006, when The Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 introduced a 44th rule on earmarks. There are currently forty-five rules, with the latest revision adopted on January 24, 2013. The Senate's power to establish rules derives from Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution: "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings. The Standing Rules of the Senate are the parliamentary procedures adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. JSTOR ( February 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "Standing Rules of the United States Senate" – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.
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