Congress - The Senate

[Barry Goldwater]

The Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, comprised of two Senators from each state who are elected by their state legislatures rather than directly by the people. This chamber is responsible primarily for determining American foreign policy (the main exceptions are declarations of war, which are voted on by both houses); for confirming or turning down appointments to the cabinet and Supreme Court (among many other positions, such as flag officers, ambassadors and federal judges) through a process of advice and consent; and in general double-checking and approving or shooting down any legislation previously passed in the House before it heads to the President's desk for his signature or veto. This is in keeping with the thought process behind the Senate's creation, which was that they should serve as a check by the enlightened minds of polite society on the wishes of the unwashed masses as expressed in the directly-elected House.

The Senate currently meets in: Congress Hall, Philadelphia

The President of the Senate, who is its ceremonial head & also Vice-President of the United States, is currently: Richard Clare

The President pro tempore of the Senate, who is its de facto head, is currently: Lionel Lionheart

The current makeup of the Senate is:
13 centralists
7 anti-centralists

[Barry Goldwater]

On the first day that the newly elected Senate is in session...

Following the opening prayers and speeches, Lionel Lionheart took the floor. "Gentlemen of the Senate!" He began, loud and forceful. "Before we proceed to do absolutely anything else, we must have order in this chamber. Vice-President Clare is, of course, the head of our chamber as its president, but his duties in that former office will surely require him to be elsewhere some - if not most - of the time. And that means we must elect from our ranks a President Pro Tempore to lead us and preside over our debates, which I for one certainly hope will be many and vigorous."

This said, Lionel dramatically outstretched his arms and raised his voice further. "Let me be the first to nominate myself for this honor, if you will trust me with it."

[Lucius Malfoy]

Harrison rose from his seat, raising his hand as an indication of his seconding the nomination.

I will second the nomination of Lionel Lionheart to lead this Senate as President Pro Tempore.

His voice resounds within the Congressional Hall as he gave his approval of the son of the President.

[Lord William]

Richard looked down on his papers and began to write
Mr. Lionheart I commend your diligence in this matter, this chamber is in need of a senate secretary. if you would accept my nomination I would think you more than able to fulfill the role.
the floor is now open for nominations for the senate secretary

[Barry Goldwater]

Harrison rose from his seat, raising his hand as an indication of his seconding the nomination.

I will second the nomination of Lionel Lionheart to lead this Senate as President Pro Tempore.

His voice resounds within the Congressional Hall as he gave his approval of the son of the President.

Richard looked down on his papers and began to write
Mr. Lionheart I commend your diligence in this matter, this chamber is in need of a senate secretary. if you would accept my nomination I would think you more than able to fulfill the role.
the floor is now open for nominations for the senate secretary

"My thanks, esteemed gentlemen, for your votes of confidence. I promise your trust will not be misplaced in me." Lionel responded gracefully. All that remained for him to do now was wait and see if anyone else was going to voice support for him - or, on the contrary, to challenge him for the nomination. He enjoyed winning, to be sure, but one cannot win but by default - the most unexciting way to triumph - if nobody else presented a challenge, after all.

[chesser2538]

Calmly Senator Richard Sterling got to his feet, "I will gladly support your nomination." It had been some time since he had interacted with the man, but he had seemed agreeable enough then; if not a little sure of himself. It would be a disservice to his father not to support him now. "I am sure you will serve us well." Sterling sat back down.

[Lucius Malfoy]

With that done, Senator Harrison would rise again to speak.

Esteemed members of Congress, I would like to have the floor.

Once this was granted, Harrison would clear his throat.

The late Rebellion, committed by the violent actions of Daniel Shays, should open this country's eyes to a great problem at hand. Without a standing army and navy, we are absolutely defenseless! France, our sole ally, is in the midst of internal turmoil and, if our former foe, Britain, had a mind, they would certainly seek to invade us. And without French support, we would be at the mercy of those redcoats. The Rebellion, as well as our glorious Revolution, have showed us that we cannot rely on state militias. Their level of equipment varies from state to state, their loyalty vanishes when their volunteer time runs up, and they break at the sight of regular troops.

Lionel Harrison had seen such things before during the Revolution, which was why he sought to create military academies. Especially ones that helped with artillery as they were vital in countering the more experienced British crews.

If not for General von Steuben, our army of militias would have evaporated and we would have nothing to defend ourselves with. Our professional units helped swing the tide of the Revolution into our favor and saw us win our freedom! Considering the times we are in, I make a motion that Congress seek to create a bill to reinstate a federally-funded, standing army and navy for our country and see it proposed. Our beloved, and free nation needs a reliable defense against both internal and external sources of trouble. And, from many of our personal experiences, we cannot fully rely on our state militias to do that job.

[Barry Goldwater]

"Esteemed Senator Harrison, certainly I will cede the floor to you." Lionheart the younger, newly ensconced in the role of President Pro Tempore without any competition, rose to state formulaically when Harrison first rose to speak.

Once the other Senator was done, Lionel rose to speak again. "I agree, of course, that our nation needs a standing military for defense. State militias already do not have the best record, compared to our Continental Army which was responsible for all of the decisive engagements in the Revolutionary War, as I trust everyone in this august chamber remembers." He glances around the room. Affordability was the main issue. But, the House held the nation's purse strings, and Secretary Hamilton was the one who'd know all about how badly in the red America was. Figuring out how to pay for this military would be their problem, for now Harrison could propose whatever bill he wanted beforehand. "Do you have any specifics for the composition of this army in mind, Senator Harrison?"

-----

Well prior to a different Senate session, Lionel was handed a letter by a messenger: a list of appointments his father had made for the cabinet, now in need of the Senate's advice & consent. When said session begins..."Honorable gentlemen of the Senate, I have here the President's nominees for his cabinet." He began, peering down on the letter. No real surprises among the list - a war-buddy of the old man's, brother to another friend forged in the fires of the Revolution, and the Governor of Pennsylvania who Lionel knew nothing about, but seemed to get along well enough with his father at the inauguration ball. Nominating a total unknown or a Harris, now those would be throwing some real screwballs around. "Jean-Baptiste Bellerose for Secretary of State; Lionel Harrison for Secretary of War; and Thomas Lindbergh for Attorney-General. I invite these individuals to present their cases as to why they are qualified for the positions to which President Lionheart has named them..." Though the first two, at least, had records of diplomatic and military service that spoke for themselves, so Lionel wasn't expecting their confirmation processes to take too long. "And open the floor to debate over these individuals' merit afterwards. Once that is done, we shall move to the vote."

With the confirmation hearings thus initiated, Lionel sat back down. All three men had, obviously, been invited to their own confirmation hearings ahead of time, and barring illness or delay on the road they should all be present just outside the Senate chamber by now.

[Lucius Malfoy]

"Esteemed Senator Harrison, certainly I will cede the floor to you." Lionheart the younger, newly ensconced in the role of President Pro Tempore without any competition, rose to state formulaically when Harrison first rose to speak.

Once the other Senator was done, Lionel rose to speak again. "I agree, of course, that our nation needs a standing military for defense. State militias already do not have the best record, compared to our Continental Army which was responsible for all of the decisive engagements in the Revolutionary War, as I trust everyone in this august chamber remembers." He glances around the room. Affordability was the main issue. But, the House held the nation's purse strings, and Secretary Hamilton was the one who'd know all about how badly in the red America was. Figuring out how to pay for this military would be their problem, for now Harrison could propose whatever bill he wanted beforehand. "Do you have any specifics for the composition of this army in mind, Senator Harrison?"

Harrison had given it some thought since he last spoke with the President, someone else who had approved of the desire to see a standing military be raised.

In my views, we should start with a core of 5,000 to 10,000 men. The more desirable number being 10,000, split between two armies with one stationed in the north and the other in the south.

The Senator says, indicating his desire for this army to stand as a flexible defense.

In terms of the composition, if we stick with 5,000 men, two units of cavalry, a unit of cannons, two units of light infantry, with the remainder being regular infantry. If 10,000, double the units of the former idea. It will give us the flexibility to defend ourselves properly while ensuring security in both the northern and southern states.

"Jean-Baptiste Bellerose for Secretary of State; Lionel Harrison for Secretary of War; and Thomas Lindbergh for Attorney-General. I invite these individuals to present their cases as to why they are qualified for the positions to which President Lionheart has named them..." Though the first two, at least, had records of diplomatic and military service that spoke for themselves, so Lionel wasn't expecting their confirmation processes to take too long. "And open the floor to debate over these individuals' merit afterwards. Once that is done, we shall move to the vote."

After the debate over the military, Lionel would hear that he was named Secretary of War for a third time. Though it wasn't like the days that he fired cannons with his own hands, it was still a role that he enjoyed nonetheless.

Esteemed members of Congress, I give thanks to His Excellency for noting my talents and naming me Secretary of War. All here know that I fought for the Revolution, but also did much to ensure the Continental Army was supplied well, not only in terms of manpower, but food and ammunition. I fired cannons on the battlefield, I set up academies to train our soldiers, I went to our patriotic states to ensure the flow of supplies never stopped. For our war for independence required more than just skill on the battlefield and in Congress, but the aptitude to acquire the needs of our soldiers. As Secretary of War, though I am no longer on the battlefield, that is the same exact role that I fulfilled during our fight. As Secretary of War, I will work diligently, with this august legislature and our President, to ensure that our nation is protected from those who would dare threaten our independence and beloved sovereignty.

[Pericles of Athens]

“10,000 men?” Jean-Baptiste questioned. “To be stationed in both south and north, as if to occupy this great nation? We fought so hard to throw the Red Coats out, I would not see them replaced with Blue Coats so easily.” He sighed. “Not to mention how would one even expect to pay for such a force, I know of no bills designed to raise revenue coming from the house. And our impressive debts still hang heavy over us.”

xxxx

”I will be short.” Jean-Baptiste says. “My qualifications speak for themselves. I brought France into the war and Spain as well, I convinced investors to finance our early efforts, I negotiated the treaties that ended that war. If you would have me serve I will not object.” He exhales deeply. “I am the only man, not only in this chamber, but in this country, capable of serving in this capacity.”