Rule IV of the Standing Rules of the United States Senate

Standing Rules of the United States Senate

The Standing Rules of the Senate are the rules of order adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. The Senate's power to establish rules derives from Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution: "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings..."There are...

, established by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, with administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for dealing with contested elections.The committee...

 governs commencement of daily sessions of the Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

.

Opening a business day

Paragraph 1(a) states that after the Presiding Officer

Presiding Officer of the United States Senate

The Presiding Officer is the person who presides over the United States Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents...

 has taken the chair, after the Chaplain's

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

 prayer, and after the Presiding Officer, or a Senator designated by the Presiding Officer, leads the Senate from the dais

Dais

Dais is any raised platform located either in or outside of a room or enclosure, often for dignified occupancy, as at the front of a lecture hall or sanctuary....

 in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and a quorum

Quorum

A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...

 being present, the Senate Journal

United States Senate Journal

The United States Senate Journal is a written record of proceedings within the United States Senate in accordance with Article I, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution....

 of the preceding day shall be read unless by non-debatable motion

Motion (democracy)

A motion is a formal step to introduce a matter for consideration by a group. It is a common concept in the procedure of trade unions, students' unions, corporations, and other deliberative assemblies...

 the reading shall be waived, the question being, "Shall the Journal stand approved to date?," and any mistake made in the entries corrected. Subparagraph (b) states that the only the suspension of the reading of the Journal shall be by unanimous consent

Unanimous consent

In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house, is a situation in which no one present objects to a proposal. The chair may state, for instance: "If there is no objection, the motion...

. Any motion shall be made to amend or correct the same, it shall be deemed a privileged question

Raise a question of privilege

In parliamentary procedure, a motion to raise a question of privilege is a privileged motion that permits a request related to the rights and privileges of the assembly or any of its members to be brought up.-Explanation and Use:...

, and proceeded with until disposed of.

Dispensing of the Journal

Paragraph 1(b) states whenever the Senate is proceeding under paragraph 2 of Rule XXII, the reading of the Journal shall be dispensed with and shall be considered approved to date.

Journal details

Paragraph 1(c) states that the proceedings of the Senate shall "be briefly and accurately stated on the Journal." Messages of the President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 are to be in full text. Titles of bill

Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

s and resolution

Resolution (law)

A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...

s as well as parts that will be affected by proposed amendments

Amend (motion)

-Explanation and Use:-Main Motions:Any main motion and any motion to amend may be amended. However, a motion to amend a motion to amend may not be amended, due to the overly complex parliamentary situation that would frequently result.-Secondary Motions:...

; every vote, and a brief statement of the contents of each petition

Petition

A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....

, memorial, or paper presented to the Senate, shall be entered.

Other recording

Paragraph 1(d) states the legislative, the executive, the confidential legislative proceedings, and the proceedings when sitting as a Court of Impeachment

Impeachment

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

, shall each be recorded in a separate book.

Continuous session

Paragraph 2 states that during a session of the Senate when that body is in continuous session, the Presiding Officer shall temporarily suspend the business of the Senate at noon each day for the purpose of having the customary daily prayer by the Chaplain.