ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate before becoming law. Although the Senate rejects few treaties outright, it often refuses to act or it tries to change them. The Senate approves without change about seven of every ten treaties submitted by the president. The Senate also confirms by a majority vote the president's choices for cabinet members, ambassadors, federal judges, and many other important government officials. The Senate usually allows presidents free rein in selecting cabinet officers and other members of their own administrations. On the other hand, the Senate often closely scrutinizes nominees for the Supreme Court and other judicial positions, which are lifetime appointments.Some bicameral (two-house) political systems have an upper chamber with more power than the second, lower chamber. Some experts claim that one house of Congress is more important than the other—for example, that the Senate has more prestige or that the House pays more attention to legislative details. However, the two houses stoutly defend their equal roles and zealously guard their powers. Although the Senate was the stage for eloquent debates before the Civil War, and the House and its committees shaped federal programs in more recent decades, neither chamber dominates today. B. The Committee System The Senate has a system of specialized committees similar to that in the House of Representatives. Permanent legislative committees—usually called standing committees—have the most important duties. The Senate's 16 standing committees and their nearly 70 subcommittees hold hearings, draft new bills, review bills proposed outside the committee, and supervise legislative research staff. The committees and subcommittees then make recommendations to the Senate as a whole to approve or reject the bills. The Senate normally follows these recommendations. Standing committees also supervise government agencies that fall under their area of...
