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51 unusual facts about United States Senate


1987 Winston 500

Just 32 years prior to this racing event, the United States Congress almost banned all forms of automobile racing (including NASCAR) before the bill was defeated outside the jurisdiction of the United States Senate and then-American president Dwight Eisenhower.

Anti-pharming

In March 2005, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Anti-Phishing Act of 2005, a bill that proposes a five-year prison sentence and/or fine for individuals who execute phishing attacks and use information garnered through online fraud such as phishing and pharming to commit crimes such as identity theft.

Ashkan Soltani

In 2011, he testified at two different hearings held by US Senate committees focused on privacy related matters.

Black Day of the Indiana General Assembly

Gray desired to be elected by the Indiana General Assembly to the United States Senate, but leaders in his party did not want him to rise farther because of his actions while he was a Republican.

Blue slip

In the Senate, a blue slip is an opinion written by a Senator from the state where a federal judicial nominee resides.

In the Senate, it refers to slips on which Senators from the state of residence of a federal judicial nominee give an opinion on the nominee.

Canadian federal election, 1957

A final parliamentary conflict was sparked by the suicide of Canadian Ambassador to Egypt E.H. Norman in the midst of allegations made by a United States Senate subcommittee that Norman had communist links.

Charles Gayarré

In 1830 he was elected a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives; in 1831 was appointed deputy attorney general of his state; in 1833 he became presiding judge of the city court of New Orleans; and in 1834 he was elected as a Jackson Democrat to the United States Senate.

Chip Reid

Reid began covering the Senate and the House of Representatives for NBC News in the fall of 2004; and, he served as a political coverage anchor for MSNBC, as well as a reporter for all the major NBC News broadcasts.

Day of Affirmation speech

Kennedy, who was then a U.S. Senator from New York, gave the speech two years before his 1968 presidential campaign, which came to an end when Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles.

FGR-17 Viper

Following the anger caused by the letting of this second contract and because of the earlier GAO report on the Viper, massive cost overruns, and then the safety concerns revealed in the Army's evaluations, in December 1982 Senator Warren Rudman (R-NH) inserted an amendment into the Army's funding bill.

George H. McLain

McLain also ran twice for the United States Senate: as a write-in Democrat in 1946 (special election) and for his party's nomination 1964, losing both times.

George John Kindel

He did not seek renomination in 1914, but was an unsuccessful Independent candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1914.

Harry Augustus Garfield

This roused a storm of protest from many manufacturers, and the U.S. Senate voted a resolution, requesting postponement, but this reached him after the order had been signed.

Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park

The United States Senate appointed a committee to study the value of Low's proposal.

Henry B. Krajewski

He was also an American Third Party candidate for the United States Senate from New Jersey in 1954.

Indirect election

the United States Senate was indirectly elected by state legislatures until, after a number of attempts over the previous century, the 17th amendment to the constitution was ratified in 1913.

In the United States, most members of the Senate were elected by the legislatures of the states until 1913, when the Seventeenth Amendment instituted direct elections for those office-holders.

James P. Lucier

James P. Lucier, is an author, and was a staff member of the United States Senate for 25 years, and was a former staff director for the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Jordan Lake

Originally authorized in 1963 as the New Hope Lake Project, the reservoir was renamed in 1974 in memory of B. Everett Jordan, former North Carolina Senator.

Keith Norton

As environment minister, he became the first Canadian politician to speak before a committee of the United States Senate.

Mike Bond

Bond was a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in Montana in 1982, and served in Al Gore's 2000 Presidential campaign as head of Colorado Business Leaders for Gore and as a spokesman in several western states (Colorado, Utah, and Oregon) for Gore environmental positions.

MoneyTrack

In 18 May 2012, Katrina Trinko at the conservative website National Review Online noticed that Black's part of the first book Getting on the MoneyTrack shares text with Senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren's book, All Your Worth.

National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning

Since the advent of air travel, the United States Senate no longer needs to have long recesses due to the difficulty of travel.

NumbersUSA

On June 28, 2007, NumbersUSA claimed a victory after a sweeping immigration bill collapsed in the U.S. Senate.

Office of War Mobilization

It was headed by James F. Byrnes, a former U.S. Senator and Supreme Court Justice.

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Heinz and other individuals, including his son, United States (US) Senator from Pennsylvania John Heinz, and William Rea, began with Pittsburgh's first renovated former movie palace, Heinz Hall, (which was built as the former Loew's Penn Theater).

Point of order

In the United States Senate, the chair's ruling may be appealed by any Senator.

Recorded vote

If the "Yeas and Nays" are granted and are about to happen, then a Clerk proceeds to call the Roll of Senators in alphabetical order.

In the Senate, there is only one way to obtain a recorded vote on a pending question, and it is the roll call vote.

Republican Conference Chair

Republican Conference Chair may refer either to the United States Senate Republican Conference Chair, a position in the Republican party leadership of the United States Senate, or its House analogue, the Republican Conference Chairman of the United States House of Representatives.

Richard O. Boyer

Richard Owen Boyer (January 10, 1903 – August 7, 1973) was an American freelance journalist who, before appearing at a Senate hearing, had contributed profiles to The New Yorker and written for the Daily Worker.

Rockline

Notable non-musical guests include then Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton with running mate, then-United States Senator from Tennessee Al Gore during their presidential campaign in 1992; and on December 16, 1993 radio superstar Howard Stern, the latter of whom was promoting his New Year's Eve Pay-per-view special.

Savannah Smiles

The film centers around a six-year-old girl named Savannah (Andersen), whose father is running for the United States Senate.

Skilcraft

In 1971, Senator Jacob Javits introduced legislation extending the act to severely handicapped individuals.

Stately Victor

Owned by Thomas F. and Jack Conway, the latter once a Kentucky Democratic Party candidate for the United States Senate, Stately Victor won the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 10, 2010, prior to running in the Kentucky Derby.

Strategic use of motions

Another parliamentary maneuver, which has been used in the United States Senate, is the so-called "nuclear option" in which a majority sidesteps the two-thirds vote requirement to suspend the rules by raising a point of order in favor of their favored interpretation of the rules, followed by an appeal in which the interpretation is then imposed by a majority vote.

Syrian American Council

SAC advocates the U.S. government including President Barack Obama, Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, the United States Senate, and the United States House of Representatives through its Washington, D.C., office for statements and policy changes to support the Syrian revolution.

Thomas B. Fargo

However, an uproar was created in the Senate as it was customary for a Navy flag officer to serve as Commander of PACOM and no other branches, thus the Air Force general was not confirmed by the Senate.

Thomas Holdup Stevens

Commodore Chauncey appointed him acting lieutenant in January 1813 and his permanent commission in that rank, to date from July 24, was confirmed by the Senate on August 3.

Thomas R. Chandler

Chandler was opposed by Sharonville attorney Lee Hornberger; Ralph Applegate, the business agent of an architect, who lived outside the district in Columbus; Ray Mitchell, a perennial candidate and business broker from Montgomery County's Miami Township, also outside the district; and Robert Dale McDilda Sr. of Price Hill, who ran for the United States Senate in Alabama in 1986.

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate.

Under Secretary of Energy for Energy and Environment

The Under Secretary of Energy is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

United States Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

The Deputy Secretary is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

United States Senate election in Connecticut, 1986

The 1986 United States Senate election in Connecticut took place on November 3, 1986, alongside other elections to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.

United States Senate election in Florida, 1998

The 1998 United States Senate election in Florida took place on November 3, 1998 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

United States Senate elections, 1906

The United States Senate election of 1906 was an election which had the Republican Party gain three seats in the United States Senate, expanding their majority to almost twice that of the opposing Democratic Party.

United States v. Lovett

The Senate Appropriations Committee and the full Senate unanimously and repeatedly rejected the measure.

Voice of the Martyrs

In 1966, Wurmbrand testified before the Internal Security Subcommittee of the US Senate about the treatment that Christians received under Communist governments, raising world-wide interest in Christian persecution, and through his influence several missions were founded around the world to help support Christians who suffered under Communist persecution.

Webster County, Georgia

The County is named for Daniel Webster, U.S. representative of New Hampshire and U.S. representative and U.S. senator of Massachusetts.

Willi Cicci

He recovers, and later joins Pentangeli in testifying against Michael at the Senate hearings on organized crime.


1967 Oak Lawn tornado outbreak

Senator Charles Percy and Illinois Governor Otto Kerner visited to speak with victims and thank the recovery volunteers.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

The AND has been criticized for its connections to the pharmaceutical industry, including an inquiry from Senator Chuck Grassley.

Alabama elections, 2004

The 2004 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 2, 2004 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives, various state and local elections, and the presidential election of that year.

Amy Holmes

After working for several years for Independent Women's Forum, from 2003 to 2006 Holmes wrote Senate floor statements for Bill Frist, a two-term United States Senator from Tennessee and the Republican Majority Leader.

Benjamin Franklin Tilley

A treaty to that effect was written and submitted, but it was not approved by the United States Senate.

Bob Schieffer

On October 13, 2004, he was the moderator of the third presidential debate between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry in Tempe, Arizona.

Bureau of Justice Assistance

On Monday, December 13, 2010, President Barack Obama sent to the U.S. Senate the nomination of Denise O'Donnell, of New York, to be the Director of the Bureau, in the place of Domingo S. Herraiz, who resigned.

Canadian Parliamentary Motion on Alexander Graham Bell

During the 108th Congress another almost identical resolution, SRes 223 was introduced in the United States Senate, but which was then sent to a committee where it died, unenacted.

China Hands

Notable was the invitation to the surviving China Hands to testify to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 1971.

Congressional Committees Investigating The Iran-Contra Affair

The Congressional Committees Investigating The Iran-Contra Affair were committees of the United States House of Representatives and of the United States Senate formed in January 1987 to investigate the Iran-Contra affair.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse

U.S. Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Alfonse D'Amato, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Representative Jerrold Nadler, Second Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jon O. Newman, Southern District of New York Chief Judge Thomas P. Griesa attended the ceremony.

Firearm Owners Protection Act

In the Report of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 97th Congress, Second Session (February 1982), a bipartisan subcommittee (consisting of 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats) of the United States Senate investigated the Second Amendment and reported its findings.

Harry S. Truman Supreme Court candidates

On September 19, 1945, Truman nominated Burton, who was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on the same day by voice vote, without hearing or debate.

Industrial Commission

The Industrial Commission included McKinley's Ohio running mate, Commissioner Andrew L. Harris (a Governor of Ohio and Civil War General) who served as Chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee, and prominent Senators and Congressmen.

Inez Tenenbaum

Tenenbaum was the Democratic candidate for retiring Democrat Fritz Hollings's seat in the U.S. Senate; she lost in the 2004 election to Republican Jim DeMint.

Invitations to the first inauguration of Barack Obama

Invitations were sent to constituents, who received one of the 240,000 color-coded tickets to the inaugural ceremony distributed by House and Senate congressional members of the 111th U.S. Congress.

James Barker Edmonds

Although he remained the board's Republican commissioner until 1885, when former Louisiana Senator Joseph Rodman West resigned from the presidency of the D.C. Board of Commissioners in 1883, President Chester A. Arthur nominated Edmonds to serve as the board's Democratic commissioner and its chair.

James Kimbrough Jones

Jones was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1881-March 4, 1885); he was re-elected to the Forty-ninth but tendered his resignation on February 19, 1885, having been elected to the United States Senate that year.

John C. Sanborn

He was a candidate for United States Senate in 1950 and 1956 but was defeated both times in the Republican primary by Herman Welker.

John Orman

He was the 1984 Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. Congress seat in Connecticut's fourth district, and briefly challenged Senator Joseph Lieberman for the 2006 Democratic Senate nomination.

Joseph Alioto

His second wife, Kathleen Sullivan Alioto, was a member of the Boston School committee and a candidate for a United States Senate in Massachusetts in 1978 primary.

Keith Starrett

On July 6, 2004, Starrett was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi vacated by Charles W. Pickering, Sr. Starrett was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 20, 2004, and received his commission on December 13, 2004.

Maurice J. Murphy, Jr.

(October 3, 1927 – October 27, 2002) was (for one month) the New Hampshire Attorney General and (for eleven months) an appointed United States Senator.

National Freedom Day

National Freedom Day is a United States observance on February 1 honoring the signing by Abraham Lincoln of a joint House & Senate resolution that later became the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Obama: From Promise to Power

Mendell, a Chicago Tribune reporter, had covered Obama since the beginning of his campaign for the U.S. Senate in Illinois.

Reunion Society of Vermont Officers

Almost all prominent Vermonters who had served in the Civil War were members of the Society, including U.S. Senator Redfield Proctor, Interstate Commerce Commission member Wheelock G. Veazey, and Governors Peter T. Washburn, Roswell Farnham, John L. Barstow, Samuel E. Pingree, Ebenezer J. Ormsbee, Urban A. Woodbury, Josiah Grout, and Charles J. Bell.

S.R. 819

The background check leads Mulder to Senator Richard Matheson (Raymond J. Barry), which results in a dead end.

Saint Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church

The congregation gained national attention in 2001 when it ordained Anita C. Hill (not to be confused with Anita Hill of the Clarence Thomas US Senate confirmation hearings).

Sizing Up the Senate

Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation, by Frances E. Lee and Bruce I. Oppenheimer, is a book that analyzes the behavior of United States Senators based on the size of the states they represent.

Small Smiles Dental Centers

Prepared by Staff of the Committee on Finance United States Senate Max Baucus, Chairman, and Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member.

Susan Thomases

In May 1995, the United States Senate, which had come under Republican control after the 1994 midterm elections, convened the Special Committee to Investigate Whitewater Development Corporation and Related Matters, under the chairmanship of Senator Alfonse D'Amato.

The Marshall News Messenger

The Texas Republican and the Tri-Weekly Herald, both published by Robert W. Loughery, were credited with aiding the election of Marshall citizens J.P. Henderson, Edward Clark, and Pendleton Murrah to the Governor's office and Louis T. Wigfall to the U.S. Senate.

Thomas Jefferson Building

Senate, House and Supreme Court pages formerly attended school together in the Capitol Page School located on the attic level above the Great Hall.

Travis Childers

A special election in Mississippi's 1st congressional district was triggered when 12-year Republican incumbent Roger Wicker was appointed by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour to the United States Senate seat vacated by Trent Lott.

United States Congress Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress

The last and most recent version of this committee attempted further reforms, some of which were adopted by Congress when Republicans gained control of the House and Senate after the 1994 Congressional elections.

United States House of Representatives election in Pennsylvania, 1788

On July 8, 1788, the Congress of the Confederation passed a resolution calling the first session of the 1st United States Congress for March 4, 1789, to convene at New York City and the election of Senators and Representatives in the meanwhile by the States.

United States Senate election in Montana, 2008

Montana generally gives its presidential electors to Republican candidates, but historically has elected several prominent Democrats to the United States Senate, including Thomas Walsh, Burton K. Wheeler, Mike Mansfield, and Lee Metcalf.

United States Senate election in North Dakota, 1952

The incumbent, Non-Partisan League (NPL) Senator William Langer, sought and received re-election to his fourth term in the United States Senate on the Republican ticket, defeating Democratic candidate Harold A. Morrison.

United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce

The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce was a special committee of the United States Senate which existed from 1950 to 1951 and which investigated organized crime which crossed state borders in the United States.

Warren W. Tichenor

Warren W. Tichenor (born in Harlingen, Texas in 1960) served as the nation's 17th United States Ambassador to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, serving under President George W. Bush, having been sworn in on 12 June 2006 after being confirmed by a unanimous vote of the United States Senate on 26 May 2006.

William Lockhart Garwood

1629 (President Jimmy Carter previously had nominated Andrew L. Jefferson, Jr. to the seat, but the United States Senate had declined to act on Jefferson's nomination before Carter's presidency ended).

Winning New Hampshire

Other appearances include Bill Gardner (the New Hampshire Secretary of State, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, Congressman Ed Markey, Vanessa Kerry and Martin Sheen.