Question

The U.S. Senate was created as a slower, more deliberative body in which legislation is forced to proceed at a more thoughtful pace. What is a primary reason for this design?
a. to protect legislation from a presidential veto
b. to make sure that the legislation is enforceable
c. the arrangement was not by design, but evolved over time
d. to protect against radical shifts in government that result from swift changes in popular opinion
e. to prevent the U.S. House of Representatives from originating any bills

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is D. The U.S. Senate was created as a slower, more deliberative body in which legislation is forced to proceed at a more thoughtful pace to protect against radical shifts in government that result from swift changes in popular opinion.

Explanation:

In the US political system, the Senate is instrumental in legislation and has important oversight functions over the President. These include ratification of international treaties, a say in the appointment of senior judges and government officials and the impeachment procedure in which the Senate takes on the role of the court.

The Vice President of the United States is also the President of the Senate with an almost exclusively representative function; his vote counts only in the event of a tie in a vote. During his absence, the Senate elects a president pro tempore, usually the longest-serving member of the majority group.

The Senate was conceived as a deliberative organ and leaves its individual members a relatively large amount of political freedom without the need for political groups; there are always party-independent senators. These usually join a parliamentary group in order to be taken into account when filling the specialist committees in which the legislative work is prepared and which basically work according to seniority.

Answer 2

Answer:

d. to protect against radical shifts in government that result from swift changes in popular opinion

Explanation:

The senate serves to "mediate" and reach proper agreements based on well thought out and thorough proceedings from a handful representative of the people. It works to protect against swift, radical changes in government as it checks and balances other government loopholes that could push for radical changes that may be harmful to the system.