Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The 1954 ivory gavel, along with the ceremonial mahogany box. The Senate uses three gavels, each of which has an hourglass shape with no handle. The first gavel, which had been used since at least 1789, cracked during the 1954 Senate session when then Vice President Richard Nixon (acting as President of the Senate) used it
The unique gavel of the United States Senate has an hourglass shape and no handle. In 1954, the gavel that had been in use since at least 1834 (and possibly since 1789) broke when Vice President Richard Nixon used it during a heated debate on nuclear energy, despite the addition of silver plates to strengthen it two years prior. [15]
The Senate and the United States House of Representatives (which is the lower chamber of Congress) comprise the federal bicameral legislature of the United States. Together, the Senate and the House have the authority under Article One of the U.S. Constitution to pass or defeat federal legislation.
The sergeant at arms can, upon orders of the Senate, arrest and detain any person who violates Senate rules, [1] or is found in contempt of Congress. [ 4 ] The sergeant at arms is also the executive officer for the Senate and provides senators with computers, equipment, and repair and security services.
Historical graph of party control of the Senate and House as well as the Presidency [1]. The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States.
The Seal of the United States Senate is the seal officially adopted by the United States Senate to authenticate certain official documents. Its design also sometimes serves as a sign and symbol of the Senate, appearing on its official flag among other places. The current version dates from 1886, and is the third seal design used by the Senate ...
Gravel was born on May 13, 1930, in Springfield, Massachusetts, one of five children of French-Canadian immigrant parents, Alphonse and Marie (née Bourassa) Gravel. [1] [2] [3] His parents were part of the Quebec diaspora, [4] and he was raised in a working-class neighborhood [5] during the Great Depression, [3] speaking only French until he was seven years old. [6]
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.