The United States Senate

(3) Judicial. The Senate has the sole power to try all cases of impeachment, the persons so liable being the "President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States." Members of the Senate may be expelled by a two-thirds vote, but cannot be impeached since they are responsible only to their own States.

There they may be impeached, if the State constitution so pro vides. Impeachment proceedings must be initiated by the House. The Senate sets a date for the hearing and on that day sits as a court. The proceedings are public, but after the evidence is taken the Senate retires behind closed doors to reach its verdict. Since impeachments are cumbersome they are rarely resorted to.

Procedure.

By the terms of the Constitution the Vice-Presi dent is the Senate's presiding officer. He has no vote except in cases of a tie. The Senate makes its own rules of procedure and in general they are simple and much less restrictive than those of the House. Every bill theoretically receives three readings, but the first two are merely nominal and are given before the bill is referred to its appropriate committee. There it receives intensive study. Friends or opponents may be admitted before the com mittee to present arguments, and witnesses may be summoned to give testimony. The committee may recommend, amend, delay, report adversely or drop a measure altogether. Debate, if any, upon the bill comes after it has been reported by the committee for its third reading before the Senate. Amendments may then be offered and voted upon. Debate in the Senate is not ordinarily limited as in the House. Since 1917, however, it has been possible for the Senate by a two-thirds vote to restrict each senator to an hour which will bring the debate to a close in a reasonable time. No amendments may be offered during the operative period

of this rule of closure unless by unanimous consent. The rule has been used only twice, during the League of Nations debate in 1919 and the World Court debate in 1926. Despite the continued use of dilatory tactics and the prevalency of "filibusters" by minority blocs, the Senate has been slow to impose the closure rule and has jealously resisted further plans for limiting debate.

As intimated, much of the real work of the Senate is done by about thirty standing committees. From time to time select com mittees may be appointed to deal with specific matters. Of the standing committees those on finance, appropriations, foreign relations, the judiciary, and interstate commerce are perhaps the most important. Senate committees contain from three to seven teen members, and every senator is assigned to one or more. Selection is made at the beginning of each Congress by special committees designated by the caucus of each party. The senior senator of the party in power is usually made the chairman of a committee. The party in power has a safe numerical margin in every important committee. Senators often stay on the same committee year after year and acquire expert knowledge in its field. In addition to the regular committees there is a "steering" committee, to determine measures warranting precedence.

Most of the Senate's meetings are public but it may vote at any time to go into "executive session" behind closed doors, which it often does in considering treaties or in discussing the con firmation of appointments. In May 1929 the discontinuance of these secret sessions was discussed.