Democratic Oak Tree

Dramatic changes will occur in Washington next month as a result of the 2006 elections, barring any new dramatic developments. The Senate will be almost evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, but the Majority Leader and committee chairs will be senators whose political party works for the common good.

Test your knowledge of our country’s “Upper Chamber.”

1. What is the number of U.S. senators? (a) 100, (b) 102, (c) 104.
2. How many senators will be Democrats, beginning in January? (a) 52, (b) 50, (c) 49.
3. What is the length of a senator’s term? (a) 2 years, (b) 4 years, (c) 6 years.
4. The Senate is composed of 2 members from each state, regardless of population size. In what state is the number of people per senate seat below 250,000? (a) Wyoming, (b) Delaware, (c) Vermont.
5. California has more than 16,000,000 people per senate seat. What is the party affiliation of the two senators from California?  (a) they are both Democrats, (b) they are both Republicans, (c) it’s a tie.
6. Which Massachusetts senator was reelected in November? (a) Ted Kennedy, (b) John Kerry.
7. The new Senate Majority Leader will be a Democrat who has indicated that his top three priorities are bipartisanship, open government, and results. What is his name, and where is he from?
8. What is one of the Majority Leader’s most important official duties? (a) writing bills, (b) scheduling debates and votes, (c) overseeing the Senate’s clerks.
9. If one of the Democratic or Independent senators decided to switch sides, which party would have the majority in the Senate and why?
10. Which senator will be chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee?
11. Who is the Ranking Member of a Senate committee?
12. Which important responsibility does the Constitution give the Senate but not the House of Representatives? (a) national budget, (b) investigations of the executive branch, (c) approval of judicial nominations.
13. Which New England senators serve on the judiciary committee?
14. Can a bill passed by the House of Representatives become a law without approval by the Senate? (a) yes, in a few cases, (b) no.
15. Which of the following Democratic Presidents was previously a U.S. Senator: (a) Lyndon Johnson, (b) Jimmy Carter, (c) Bill Clinton.
Answers
1. (a) 100. Each of the 50 states has two senators. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories are not allocated seats.
2. (c). The new Senate will have 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and 2 men elected as Independents. Senator Lieberman of Connecticut, a registered Democrat who ran for election as an Independent, and Senator Sanders of Vermont have indicated that they will caucus with Democrats, giving the Democratic Party the Majority Leader position and the chairmanship of the powerful Senate committees.
3. (c) Senators have six-year terms.
4. (a) Wyoming. The two Republican Senators from Wyoming represent a state population (per 2000 census) of 495,304.
5.  (a) California Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein are both Democrats.
6.  (a) Ted Kennedy was elected to his eighth full term in November. He is the second most senior member of the Senate, having been elected in 1962 to fill out the term of Senator John Kennedy when he left the Senate to become President.
7. Democratic Senator Harry Reid of Nevada will be the new Majority Leader.
8. (b) Scheduling debates and votes.
9. The Senate would have 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats and Independents who caucus with Democrats. As Vice President, Republican Dick Cheney would be the tiebreaker; the Majority Leader and all committee heads would be Republican.
10. Massachusetts Senator Kennedy is expected to be the new chair of the committee overseeing legislation regarding health care, education, labor, and pensions.
11. The Ranking Member of a committee is the spokesperson for the minority party. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has been the Ranking Member of the Senate’s Small Business Committee. He will become the committee’s chair in January when the Democrats have the majority.
12. (c) The Senate is given the responsibility for “advice and consent” of presidential nominations. The House of Representatives has no role in approving appointments.
13. Democrats Ted Kennedy and Patrick Leahy.
14. Both houses must pass exactly the same version of a bill if it is to become law.
15. (a) Lyndon Johnson won election to the Senate in 1948 (by only 87 votes!). Senator Johnson became Majority Leader in 1955, when one senator switched parties and gave the Democrats a one-vote majority.