United States
The Vice President of the United States is, ex officio, President of the United States Senate, with the power to cast tie-breaking votes. However, while the Vice President has the right to act as presiding officer over the Senate, the rules of the Senate give that office very little power (in contrast to the powerful office of Speaker of the House), and in practice it is often exercised by one of the most junior Senators in attendance.
While vice presidents used to regularly preside over the Senate, modern vice presidents have done so only rarely—vice presidents usually only preside to swear in new senators, during joint sessions, and when casting a tie-breaking vote. The Senate chooses a president pro tempore to preside in the vice president's absence. Modern presidents pro tempore, too, rarely preside over the Senate. In practice, the junior senators of the majority party typically preside in order to learn Senate procedure.
The current Vice President of the United States and President of the United States Senate is Joe Biden.
Only once in U.S. history has the Vice President been elected to represent a different political party from that of the President. In 1796, Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson was elected vice president and Federalist John Adams President; a situation that in part prompted the later adoption of the Twelfth Amendment to prevent such a situation from reoccurring. In addition, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson were elected together on the National Union ticket in the 1864 presidential election, although Lincoln came from the Republican Party and Johnson was a War Democrat.
The vice president holds a tie-breaking (or "casting") vote in the Senate. Vice presidents have cast 242 tie-breaking votes. The vice president with the most tie breaking votes is John Adams with 29.
Read more about this topic: President Of The Senate
Famous quotes related to united states:
“United States! the ages plead,—
Present and Past in under-song,—
Go put your creed into your deed,—
Nor speak with double tongue.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“... the yearly expenses of the existing religious system ... exceed in these United States twenty millions of dollars. Twenty millions! For teaching what? Things unseen and causes unknown!... Twenty millions would more than suffice to make us wise; and alas! do they not more than suffice to make us foolish?”
—Frances Wright (1795–1852)
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941Ma date that will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“... while one-half of the people of the United States are robbed of their inherent right of personal representation in this freest country on the face of the globe, it is idle for us to expect that the men who thus rob women will not rob each other as individuals, corporations and Government.”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
“The real charm of the United States is that it is the only comic country ever heard of.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)