From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms
Secretary of the Senate

Chief administrative and budgetary officer of the Senate selected by the Senate per the Constitution (Article I, Section 3) responsible for overseeing the duties of Senate employees, educating Senate pages, administering oaths, handling the registration of lobbyists, and handling other tasks necessary for the continuing operation of the Senate. The Secretary is almost always a candidate of the majority party and the majority leader. The Secretary affirms the accuracy of bill text by signing all measures that pass the Senate. The Secretary supervises the preparation and printing of bills and reports, the publication of the Congressional Record and Senate journals, and other matters.
Elected by the Senate to provide legislative, financial, and administrative support to the Senate, the secretary of the Senate plays a key role in the Senate’s operations. In addition, the secretary presides over the Senate in the absence of the vice president of the United States and pending election of a president pro tempore, and has custody of the Senate seal. The secretary is aided by an assistant secretary.
New US Senate Members Sworn In – 2017
In a legislative role, the secretary’s office comprises the various clerks, including the official reporters of debate, who support the Senate’s legislative activities. They are present working on the dais when the Senate is in session. They also work behind the scenes processing the legislation introduced in and considered by the Senate and preparing other documents. One clerk position that exists in the Senate but not the House is the executive clerk, who prepares the Executive Journal and the Executive Calendar, recording activity on nominations, treaties, and resolutions pertaining to the Senate’s executive business.
The secretary is the Senate’s chief financial officer, responsible for accounting for all funds appropriated to the Senate and managing the disbursing office, headed by a financial clerk, which handles the Senate payroll, employee benefits, and all Senate-appropriated funds. The secretary also audits Senate financial activities, and issues the semiannual Report of the Secretary of the Senate, showing all disbursements over a six-month period.
From § 4.120, Administrative Offices of the Senate, in Congressional Deskbook.
Also see Clerk of the House.
More
- Secretary of the Senate – U.S. Senate
- Secretary of the Senate – History
- “Secretary of the Senate,” CRS Report 98-747 (8-page PDF
)
- “Senate Administrative Officers and Officials,” CRS Report 98-418 (4-page PDF
)
- “Lobbying Registration and Disclosure: The Role of the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate,” CRS Report RL34377 (17-page PDF
)
- “Lobbying Registration and Disclosure: The Role of the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate,” CRS Report RL34377 (16-page PDF
)
- Secretary of the United States Senate – Wikipedia
Courses
- Congressional Operations Briefing – Capitol Hill Workshop
- Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
- Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing
- Custom Training
- Drafting Effective Federal Legislation and Amendments in a Nutshell, Audio Course on CD
- Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking Series, a Nine-Course series on CD
Publications

Legislative Drafter’s Deskbook: A Practical Guide

Pocket Constitution

Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials: A Guide for Citizen Lobbyists and Grassroots Advocates

Congressional Procedure
CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net
For more than 40 years, TheCapitol.Net and its predecessor, Congressional Quarterly Executive Conferences, have been teaching professionals from government, military, business, and NGOs about the dynamics and operations of the legislative and executive branches and how to work with them.
Our custom on-site and online training, publications, and audio courses include congressional operations, legislative and budget process, communication and advocacy, media and public relations, testifying before Congress, research skills, legislative drafting, critical thinking and writing, and more.
TheCapitol.Net is on the GSA Schedule, MAS, for custom on-site and online training. GSA Contract GS02F0192X
TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan small business.
Teaching how Washington and Congress work ™