Parliamentarian of the United States Senate

The Parliamentarian of the United States Senate is the official advisor to the United States Senate on the interpretation of Standing Rules of the United States Senate and parliamentary procedure.

As the Presiding Officer of the Senate may not be fully aware of the parliamentary situation currently facing the Senate, staff from the Senate Parliamentarian's office sit on the Senate dais to advise the Presiding Officer on how to respond to inquiries and motions from Senators. The role of the parliamentary staff is strictly advisory; the Presiding Officer is in no way required to follow their advice, though they almost always do so. The office also refers bills to the appropriate committees on behalf of the Senate's Presiding Officer. If facing the dais, the Parliamentarian is the second from the left.

The current parliamentarian is Alan Frumin, preceded by Robert Dove, who was Parliamentarian in the mid-to-late 1990s. Frumin also preceded him in the late-1980s as Parliamentarian, insofar as they switched positions as the Parliamentarian and the second most senior parliamentarian due to changes in partisan control over the Senate. The first female assistant parliamentarian of the United States Senate was Gail M. Cowper in the early 1980s.

There are three Senior Assistant Parliamentarians: Elizabeth MacDonough, Peter Robinson and Leigh Hildebrand. They have one Assistant Parliamentarian: Michael Beaver. They also have a Parliamentary Assistant: Melissa Carmichael.

Parliamentarians

Five people have served as Senate Parliamentarian:

Years	Parliamentarian
1937–1964	Charles Watkins
1964–1974	Floyd Riddick
1974–1981	Murray Zweben
1981–1987	Robert Dove
1987–1995	Alan Frumin
1995–2001	Robert Dove
2001–present	Alan Frumin

Salary

The Parliamentarian's current salary is $166,810.79 per year.

See also

• Parliamentarian of the United States House of Representatives

References

• http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/parliamentarian.htm