30 years of age, and have at least nine years of citizenship. Senators are elected to a six-year term, and there are two elected from each state regardless of its population.In the Senate, the second and more deliberative chamber, the makeup of its members most closely resembles that of trustee (or agency) representation. A Senator is charged with voting the way they believe their entire state feels about particular issues, but have the luxury of time in deciding how to vote. The Senate numbers one hundred collectively, with two from each state. The legal profession dominates prior career paths of most of the members, as well having established as relationships with big business and other special interest groups on Capitol Hill. Although Senate members are directly responsible to their constituency, they do have longer terms, which, unlike their House counterparts, afford them the time to win and loose political battles, and retain their incumbency come voting time. One way in which they can do this is through patronage using logrolling, supporting of pork barrel programs in return of the same for their state, which brings projects and money to a Senators home state.The president of the Senate is the Vice-president of the United States, whose function is reserved to casting a tie-breaking vote as needed. As I mentioned, the rules in the Senate are different in there House which results in a slower, more deliberative body of decision-makers. The majority leader will recognize speakers in the Senate, which aids in party control over the agenda. However, Senate members have the power of the filibuster, which allows a Senator of the minority or opposing view on a debate to hold up the legislative process by capturing the floor and speaking for extended periods of time. Like the House, the Senate also elects majority and minority party leaders, which are responsible for setting the agenda for legislation and calendar, committees, w...
