| 单词 | senate | ||||||
| 释义 | senatesen·ateS0260800 (sĕn′ĭt)senate(ˈsɛnɪt)Senate(ˈsɛnɪt)sen•ate(ˈsɛn ɪt)n. Senatean assembly or Council of citizens; a body of the elders, 1586; the governing body of a nation, state or university.senate
senate(ˈsenət) nounSenatesenateSenateSenatethe name of the upper house of parliament in many bourgeois countries, for example, in Belgium, Ireland, Italy, France, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia, Turkey, Lesotho, and Liberia. In some countries the senate is elected directly, as in the USA and Italy, or in two or more stages, as in France. In other countries the head of state appoints all senators, as in Canada and Jordan, or some senators, as in Ireland and Turkey. In many countries only part of the senate, as opposed to the lower house, is chosen at any given election. In the USA and Turkey, for example, one-third of the senate is elected every two years and in France one-third is elected every three years. Senate(Latin senatus, from senex, old man), in ancient Rome, one of the highest organs of state. The Senate appeared in about the sixth century B.C, at the end of the regal period, growing out of the council of elders of the patrician families. In the Republic, as plebeians and patricians contended for position from the fifth through third centuries B.C, the Senate lost a measure of its power to the comitia, or popular assemblies. From the third through first centuries B.C, it reviewed draft legislation to be submitted to the comitia and enjoyed unchallenged preeminence over military affairs, foreign policy, finances and state property, the supervision of religious cults, the right to declare a state of emergency, and other high matters of state. Customarily, the censors compiled the list of senators —there were 300 until 88 B.C and 600 thereafter—from those who had held or at the time held magistracies and who met the property census, which under Augustus in the first century A.D. amounted to 1 million sesterces. During the Empire, the Senate lost even more power, notably to the emperor, even though it was formally still one of the highest state institutions. In the late third century A.D., under Diocletian, the Senate was made into a city council for the city of Rome. In the fourth century A.D., under Constantine, a senate was established in Constantinople with powers equal to those of the Senate in Rome. Senate(Governing Senate), in Russia, the highest organ of government, which in the 19th century was made the highest organ of judicial and administrative supervision. Established by ukase of Peter I on Feb. 22, 1711, the Senate was initially a temporary collegial body for governing the country during the tsar’s absence, as such replacing the Boyar Duma. It also advised on legislation, heard judicial appeals, and exercised supervision over the collegia, with the single exception of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. The Senate originally consisted of nine members and a senior secretary. Its members—the senators—were appointed by the tsar from among the civil and military officials of the top three classes in the Table of Ranks. In 1722, Peter established the offices of procurator-general, requetmeister, and heraldmeister; the requet-meister accepted complaints and petitions concerning the various state institutions’ decisions and bureaucratic paperwork, and the heraldmeister dealt with the state service of the dvorianstvo (nobility or gentry). Peter also established several special offices within the Senate: a Senate office, an inspections office, and an office concerning the Old Believers. During absences of the tsar, the Senate could enact legislation. From the second quarter of the 18th century, the Senate declined in importance, its authority circumscribed first by the Supreme Privy Council and subsequently by the Cabinet. In 1741 an attempt was made to restore the Senate to its former powers; in 1756, however, the Senate was once again shunted aside, this time in favor of the Conference of the Imperial Court. N. I. Panin’s reform plan, designed to invest the Senate with greater importance, inspired a reform of the Senate in 1763. The Senate was divided into six departments, four in St. Petersburg and two in Moscow. The first had charge of the most important affairs of administration, the second judicial affairs, the third the outlying regions of the Empire, means of communication, medical affairs, and education, and the fourth military administration. The departments in Moscow were analogous to the first two departments in St. Petersburg. From 1775 the Senate had only judicial functions. With the creation of the ministries in 1802, the Senate was transformed into the highest organ of judicial and administrative supervision. By the mid-19th century, it comprised 12 semi-independent departments, several general assemblies, and various other institutions, a mélange given coherence only by the leadership of the procurator-general, who with the establishment of the ministries had become minister of justice. Each department included several senators appointed for life and was headed by a chief procurator. As the judicial reform of 1864 came into force, the appellate departments of the Senate were phased out. In 1872 the Special Office on State Crimes and Illegal Associations—the highest political court in Russia—was created within the Senate. In the early 20th century the Senate consisted of six departments—the first and second departments, the judicial department, the department of heraldry, and two appellate departments—as well as the Special Office, the Supreme Disciplinary Office, three general assemblies, and five combined departmental offices. In 1906 the Supreme Criminal Court, which primarily considered the crimes of civil servants, was established within the Senate. After the fall of the autocracy in 1917, the Special Office and the Supreme Criminal Court were abolished; the rest of the Senate apparatus remained unchanged. On Nov. 22 (Dec. 5), 1917, the Senate was abolished by decree of the Soviet government. REFERENCEEroshkin, N. P. Ocherki istorii gosudarstvennykh uchrezhdenii dorevoliutsionnoi Rossii, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1968.N. P. EROSHKIN SenateSenateThe upper chamber, or smaller branch, of the U.S. Congress. The upper chamber of the legislature of most of the states. The U.S. Constitution reserves for the Senate special powers not available to the other branch of Congress, the House of Representatives. These powers include the trial of all impeachments of federal officials; the ratification, by a two-thirds vote, of all treaties obtained by the president of the United States; and approval or rejection of all presidential appointments to the federal judiciary, ambassadorships, cabinet positions, and other significant Executive Branch posts. The Senate, with terms of six years for its members—as opposed to two years for members of the House of Representatives—and a tradition of unlimited debate, has long prided itself as the more deliberate of the two branches of Congress. Under its rules a senator may speak on an issue indefinitely, which is known as the filibuster. Sixty senators present and voting may pass a motion of cloture to stop debate. MembersUnder Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution, the Senate is made up of two members from each state, each of whom has one vote. Unlike the House of Representatives, in which the entire chamber is up for election every two years, only one-third of the senators are up for reelection every two years. The Constitution requires that a senator be at least thirty years of age and a U.S. citizen for a minimum of nine years. A senator must make her legal residence in the state that she represents. The Constitution originally provided for the election of senators by state legislatures. However, the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1913, mandated the election of senators by popular vote. The Senate may punish members for disorderly behavior. With the concurrence of two-thirds of the senators, it can expel a member. When a vacancy occurs in the representation of any state in the Senate, the governor of that state issues a writ of election to fill the vacancy. The state legislature, however, can empower the governor to make a temporary appointment until the people fill the vacancy through an election. The vice president of the United States is president of the Senate but has no vote unless the senators are equally divided on a question. His vote breaks the tie. CommitteesThe Senate uses a committee system to evaluate, draft, and amend legislation before it is submitted to the full chamber. During the 108th Congress (2003–04), the Senate had sixteen standing, or permanent, committees: Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Appropriations; Armed Services; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Budget; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Energy and Natural Resources; Environment and Public Works; Finance; Foreign Relations; Governmental Affairs; Judiciary; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Rules and Administration; Small Business; and Veterans' Affairs. The committees have an average of six to seven subcommittees. Senators typically belong to three committees and eight subcommittees. The Senate also has joint committees with the House, special committees, and investigative committees. OfficersThe vice president acts as the president of the Senate. In the vice president's absence, that position is filled by the president pro tempore, who is usually the most senior senator of the majority party. The majority leader has significant powers in the appointment of majority senators to committees. Political parties also elect majority and minority leaders to lead their efforts in the Senate. They are assisted by an assistant floor leader (whip) and a party secretary. Other Senate officers include the secretary, who oversees Senate finances and official Senate pronouncements related to Impeachment proceedings and treaty ratification, and the sergeant at arms, who serves as the law enforcement and protocol officer and organizes ceremonial functions. A Day in the Life of the SenateAs the bells ring in the halls of the Capitol and its office buildings, the U.S. Senate starts the day's session. The presiding officer of the Senate, sometimes the vice president but usually the president pro tempore, accompanies the Senate chaplain to the rostrum to lead the chamber in an opening prayer. After short speeches by the majority and minority leaders, the Senate begins the "morning hour"—a session that generally lasts two hours. During this time senators introduce bills, resolutions, and committee reports and speak briefly on subjects of concern. Bills are referred to approrpiate committees at this time. Following the morning hour, the Senate may take up executive or legislative business. If in executive session, the Senate considers treaties or nominations that the president has submitted for Senate approval. Before 1929 executive sessions were conducted behind closed doors. Since then, however, the public and the press have been allowed to observe these sessions. Most of the Senate's time, however, is spent in legislative session. This time is used to debate and vote on bills. Bills with unanimous consent are enacted by a simple voice vote without debate, whereas more controversial bills may be debated at length and may undergo roll call votes. Some bills may not come up for a vote at all. During debate of a bill, assistant floor leaders, or whips, from each party usually occupy the seats of the majority and minority leaders, located in the front row, center aisle, of the Senate chamber. They enforce established time limits, if any, for debate on specific bills. Frequently, only a few senators are on the Senate floor, while the majority are attending committee meetings or working in their offices. From their offices, senators may apprise themselves of Senate proceedings either through "hot lines" to the Senate floor or live television coverage on the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-Span), which began broadcasting Senate sessions in 1986. A Senate legislative day may end in either adjournment or recess. If the Senate adjourns, a legislative day is officially over. If it merely recesses, however, the legislative day resumes on the following calendar day. In the case of a recess, the Senate may forego the rituals of the morning hour on the next calendar day. This is frequently done to save time during busy legislative sessions. Sometimes, when there is a filibuster or heavy legislative load, the Senate does not stop at the end of the day but continues through the night. During these night sessions, a lantern at the top of the Capitol dome remains lit. The public has access to Senate galleries at all times that the Senate is in session, day or night. Further readingsBach, Stanley. 1996. "The Daily Order of Business." In The Legislative Process on the Senate Floor: An Introduction. Report 91-520 RCO. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. 2001. Treaties and Other International Agreements: The Role of the United States Senate: A Study. Washington, D.C.: GPO. Hardeman, D.B. 1976. "Congress, United States." In Dictionary of American History. Vol. 2. Edited by Louise B. Ketz. New York: Scribner. U.S. Senate Web site. Available online at <www.senate.gov> (accessed February 10, 2004). Wirls, Daniel and Stephen. 2003. The Invention of the United States Senate. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. Cross-referencesCongress of the United States; Constitution of the United States. SENATE, government. The less numerous branch of the legislature. senate
Words related to senate
|
||||||
| 随便看 |
|
英语词典包含2567994条英英释义在线翻译词条，基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。
senate - assembly possessing high legislative powers
Senate - the upper house of the United States Congress