The extent to which the Senate uses unanimous consent arrangements to supplement or supplant operation of its standing rules makes it difficult to predict with confidence what will actually take place on the Senate floor each day. Some of the problems that can arise in scheduling legislation and in anticipating the time that will be consumed and the amendments that Senators will offer during consideration of each bill already have been mentioned. But the other proceedings that occur each day also depend on whether the Senate decides to operate under or outside of its rules.
The time at which the Senate convenes each day is set by a resolution the Senate adopts at the beginning of each Congress, but that time is often changed from day to day by unanimous consent, at the request of the Majority Leader, to suit changing circumstances. When the Senate does convene, and after the opening prayer, a brief period of "leader time" is set aside for the Majority Leader and for the Minority Leader, under a standing order also established at the beginning of the Congress. During this time, the two party leaders may discuss the legislative schedule as well as their views on policy issues, and they also may conduct non-controversial business by unanimous consent.
What happens thereafter depends on whether the Senate is beginning a new legislative day. A legislative day begins when the Senate convenes after an adjournment and continues until the next adjournment. When the Senate recesses at the end of a day, as it often does, a legislative day continues for two or more calendar days. Standing Rules VII and VIII prescribe what the Senate should do at the beginning of each new legislative day, and one of the reasons the Senate frequently recesses from day to day is to set aside the requirements imposed by these rules.
Under the two standing rules, the first two hours of session on each new legislative day are called the Morning Hour. They are a period for conducting routine business at a predictable time each day that does not interfere with the consideration of major legislation. The Morning Hour begins with the transaction of "morning business," which includes the introduction of bills and joint resolutions and the submission of Senate and concurrent resolutions and committee reports. During the remainder of the Morning Hour, the Senate can act on bills on the Calendar of Business, even voting to consider them by non-debatable motions. At the end of the Morning Hour, the Senate resumes consideration of the unfinished business--whatever bill, if any, was the pending business when the Senate adjourned. In practice, the Senate very often recesses at the end of the day, so there is no Morning Hour on the following day of session. Instead, the Majority Leader usually arranges by unanimous consent for "a period for transacting routine morning business" that follows "leader time." Senators make brief statements on whatever subjects they like during this period, the length of which can change from day to day, depending on the legislative schedule. Also by unanimous consent, there may be other periods for transacting morning business during the course of the day when there is time available and when Senators wish to speak on subjects unrelated to the pending bill.
After the Morning Hour or the period for transacting routine morning business, the Senate normally resumes consideration of the bill that is either the unfinished business (if the Senate had adjourned on the preceding day) or the pending business (if the Senate had recessed instead). However, this bill may be set aside, temporarily or indefinitely, in favor of other legislative or executive business if the Senate agrees to motions or unanimous consent requests made for that purpose by the Majority Leader. Before the end of the day, the Majority Leader also makes arrangements for the following day--establishing a meeting time by unanimous consent and commenting on the expected legislative program.
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