FAQ: Does Seniority Matter In The Senate?

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by Kennedy Institute19 views·Updated Jul 14, 2020
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Ever wonder about the United States Senate? Join a Kennedy Institute interpreter who will answer some of the most commonly asked questions about the Senate in fun videos that last about 5 minutes. This video explores the answer for "Does Seniority Matter in the Senate?"

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  1. Hey there.
  2. Greetings from the team at the Edward M.
  3. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
  4. My name's mentioned.
  5. Welcome to another edition off experiencing exhibits frequently asked questions.
  6. Let's get started with our question.
  7. Does seniority matter in the Senate?
  8. Well, the quick answer is, yes, it does The Senate
  9. understand seniority as experience and a mastery of legislative and
  10. political skill that warrants respect it not only factors into
  11. a senator's cloud, but perhaps more significantly, the benefits, like
  12. office assignments.
  13. Thes office assignments include not just an office suite but
  14. special hideaways in the Capitol building.
  15. The first meeting of the Senate occurred on March 4th,
  16. 17 89 in New York City's Federal Hall.
  17. Since that first meeting, nearly 2000 senators have served 1984
  18. to be exact.
  19. We know that because of the tradition of the Order
  20. of Service Numbers, which began in the 19 seventies, at
  21. least one member of the Senate has used their order
  22. of service number as their license plate number.
  23. The's order of service numbers are significant because they are
  24. important in calculating a senator's seniority.
  25. The's senior most senator in the Senate gets a special
  26. privilege. That senior most member of the majority party, I
  27. should say, achieves the title of Senate president, pro temporary
  28. or president for the time being, a position that assumes
  29. the duties of the presiding officer in the Senate in
  30. the absence of the vice president.
  31. They are also third in line of presidential succession behind
  32. the vice president and speaker of the House, beginning with
  33. Senator Stephen Young of Ohio, who served from 1959 to
  34. 1971 and whose senator number was 1572.
  35. The order of service numbers have been assigned according to
  36. seniority, seniority and Senate is calculated based on previous government
  37. service and state population at the time of the senators
  38. initial swearing in afterward, seniority is accrued by years of
  39. service in the Senate.
  40. Ranking, according to previous government service, is always interesting.
  41. How does the Senate rank these previous government positions?
  42. It should come at no surprise that Senate service is
  43. number one on the list, followed by vice president, House
  44. members, cabinet secretaries, governors and then, lastly, state population.
  45. Senators have to be 30 years old to run for
  46. the Senate and serve a term of six years before
  47. they can choose to run for reelection or retire.
  48. There are no term limits for United States senators or
  49. members of the House, for that matter, like there is
  50. a two term limit for the president of the United
  51. States. The two term limit for the president was created
  52. as a result of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.
  53. In 1951 length of service in the Senate has varied
  54. from member to member over the Senate's history.
  55. According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, the average
  56. length of service for Remember in today's Senate is 10.6
  57. years. So not quite two terms.
  58. The most senior senators in the Senate's history have some
  59. pretty remarkable 10 years.
  60. Of the almost 2000 senators in the Senate's history, the
  61. longest serving member is Senator Robert C.
  62. Byrd of West Virginia, who served for 51 years, five
  63. months and 26 days.
  64. We can see him here with Senator Kennedy, who's giving
  65. him a gift of a picture of Senator Byrd and
  66. baseball's iron Met Cal Ripken Jr and Lou Garrick, who
  67. hold records for playing in the most consecutive baseball games.
  68. At the time of this picture.
  69. In 2006 Senator Byrd had just been elected to his
  70. ninth consecutive term, the longest streak in Senate history.
  71. Senator Kennedy is the fourth longest serving senator in Senate
  72. history. He served 46 years, nine months and 19 days.
  73. However, one senator in the Senate today is hot on
  74. his heels and may pass him that Senator Patrick Leahy
  75. from the state of Vermont, currently the fifth longest serving
  76. senator. Still in the Senate today.
  77. Not only did Senator Kennedy have an office in the
  78. historic Russell Office Building, but because of his seniority, he
  79. had one of the nicest hideaway offices in the Capitol
  80. building, where he would have meetings with fellow senators and
  81. foreign dignitaries alike.
  82. Here are some pictures of that hideaway.
  83. Check out that view of the Washington Monument.
  84. If you visit the Kennedy Institute, you can explore a
  85. recreation off Senate of the Senators Russell Building office as
  86. it looked in 2000 and nine.
  87. Well, that's all I have for this question.
  88. Thanks so much for watching.
  89. We hope you find it interesting until next time.
  90. This session is adjourned