specialization.Key committees include the Appropriations Committee, which recommends annual federal spending amounts; the Finance Committee, which considers revenue measures; and the Budget Committee, which prepares the annual budget. Other standing committees, roughly paralleling those in the House, consider such subjects as foreign relations, the armed services, banking, commerce, and agriculture. Normally a senator sits on about three committees and seven subcommittees. The Senate also creates joint committees in cooperation with the House. Joint committees, which usually have an equal number of members from the House and the Senate, can conduct hearings but cannot consider legislation. The Senate also establishes select, or investigative, committees to conduct inquiries into specific scandals or problems. Select committees usually have temporary authority, and most lack the power to formally consider legislation.C. Leadership As in the House of Representatives, power in the Senate is generally distributed according to the seniority system, in which political parties appoint their members to committee positions based on their years of service in the chamber. The most senior senators—those with the most years in the chamber—are ensured of appointment to the most influential committees, but because the Senate is so small, even junior senators usually serve on at least one important committee. The Senate is less structured than the House of Representatives. Because the Senate's rules allow virtually unlimited debating time for its members, senators can potentially block any type of legislation by prolonging debate. This tactic, known as a filibuster, means that individual senators can try to influence virtually any bill before the Senate by threatening to block the measure. The majority and minority parties in the Senate select floor leaders to organize their members. These leaders, sometimes called the majority and minorit...
