#32 (cont'd): CIVICS 101: The Legislative Branch
Q&A #32: Who are the officers of the Senate, how are they chosen, and what are their duties? (Part 3)
Our American Government
Our American Government is a small book published by the House of Representatives for citizens and those who seek a greater understanding of the American interpretation of democracy. It follows a question-and-answer format and covers a broad range of topics dealing with the three branches of our Government, the electoral process, and the role of political parties.
The Savvy Citizen is reproducing the 169 questions-and-answers through a series of posts called Civics 101. Each post will contain the Q&A as well as some additional commentary to add historical context, fun facts, or anything we believe will add to our collective understanding of these topics.
Think of it as your adult Civics class, but without the test!
Let’s keep at it.
SECTION: The Legislative Branch: The Congress
Members, Offices, and Staff
Q&A #32 (Part 2): Who are the officers of the Senate, how are they chosen, and what are their duties?
By resolution, the Senate elects five officers:
the Secretary,
Sergeant at Arms,
Chaplain,
Secretary for the Majority, and
Secretary for the Minority
The previous posts covered the Secretary of the Senate, Sergeant at Arms, and the Chaplain. This post covers the Secretary for the Majority and the Secretary for the Minority.
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Secretary for the Majority.—Generally nominated by the Majority Leader with the approval of the majority conference (the organizational body of all majority party senators), the Secretary for the Majority oversees party activities in the Senate Chamber and the majority cloakroom. The Secretary supervises telephone pages and messengers, organizes meetings of the majority conference, briefs Senators and staff on pending measures and votes, and conducts polls of Senators when requested by party leaders to determine Senators’ views of scheduling issues and pending Senate business.
Secretary for the Minority.—The Secretary for the Minority is chosen in the same manner as is the majority secretary, that is, by the minority leadership and conference. The duties of the post are essentially the same as those of the majority party secretary.
My Thoughts
Here’s a quick add-on regarding Party Secretaries from the Senate’s website here:
Both major political parties in the Senate—Democratic and Republican—elect a party secretary. The Senate established the position of party secretary in 1929. Party secretaries aid senators in many ways, including serving as principal staff members at party conferences. Spending most of their time in the Senate Chamber, party secretaries assist leadership in scheduling floor activities, advise senators on the progress of a bill, and oversee staff in the cloakrooms, which are spaces adjacent to the Senate Chamber where members gather to discuss Chamber business in private.
The Senate staff is much larger than most of us realize. So much happens behind the scenes, well, at least behind the scenes for those of us who don’t live on Capitol Hill!
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Back next time with Q&A #33: What are party Leaders?
Meanwhile, don’t forget that we’re organizing the post links on a single page available here.
xo,
Kelley for the Savvy Citizen Team
December 31, 2024