A basic question about Senatorial procedure

[Orrex]

In the event of a tie between parties, how is committee membership decided? Ditto for any other procedures dependent upon majority, such as introduction of legislation, etc.

Thanks for answering a question whose answer I should already know.

[Waya]

1. Dunno if that is what you're asking.....

....but any tie in the Senate is broken by Cheney.....

[Make7]

2. The party affiliation of the Vice President determines the majority, unless...

The party with a majority of seats is known as the majority party; if two or more parties in opposition are tied, the Vice President's affiliation determines which party is the majority party. The next-largest party is known as the minority party. The President pro tempore, committee chairmen, and some other officials are generally from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the "ranking members" of committees) in the minority party. Independents and members of third parties (so long as they do not caucus with or support either of the more numerous parties) are not considered in determining which is the majority party.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate

The current situation is a bit interesting; at this point I'm not sure who the majority party will be.

Even if both MT and VA are won by the Dems, there may be a struggle for each party to be considered the acting majority. It might all come down to what Lieberman does ...

- Make7

[Orrex]

3. Thanks for the answer

It might all come down to what Lieberman does...

Sad, but true. I'm sure that poor ol' Joe will hate to be the center of attention.