Standing Rules of the United States Senate, Rule VI
Encyclopedia
Rule VI of the Standing Rules of the United States Senate
, established by the Committee on Rules and Administration
, relates to a quorum
and absentee Senators
.
This rule states:
Standing Rules of the United States Senate
The Standing Rules of the Senate are the rules of order adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. The Senate's power to establish rules derives from Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution: "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings..."There are...
, established by the Committee on Rules and Administration
United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, with administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for dealing with contested elections.The committee...
, relates to a quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
and absentee Senators
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
This rule states:
- A quorum shall consist of a majority of the Senators duly chosen and sworn.
- No Senator shall absent himself from the service of the Senate without leave.
- If, at any time during the daily sessions of the Senate, a question is raised by any Senator as to the presence of a quorum, the Presiding OfficerPresiding Officer of the United States SenateThe Presiding Officer is the person who presides over the United States Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents...
shall forthwith direct the Secretary of the SenateSecretary of the United States SenateThe Secretary of the Senate is an elected officer of the United States Senate. The Secretary supervises an extensive array of offices and services to expedite the day-to-day operations of that body...
to call the roll and shall announce the result, and these proceedings shall be without debate. - Whenever such roll call occurs, it shall be ascertained that a quorum does not exist and not present, a majority of the Senators present may direct the Sergeant at Arms of the United States SenateSergeant at Arms of the United States SenateThe Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate is the law enforcer for the United States Senate. One of the chief roles of the Sergeant is to hold the gavel used at every session...
to request, and, when necessary, to compel the attendance of the absent Senators, which order shall be determined without debate; and pending its execution, and until a quorum shall be present, no debate nor motion, except to adjourn, or to recess pursuant to a previous order entered by unanimous consentUnanimous consentIn parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house, is a situation in which no one present objects to a proposal. The chair may state, for instance: "If there is no objection, the motion...
, shall be in order.