Parliamentarian of the United States Senate

The Parliamentarian of the United States Senate is an advisor to the Senate on the interpretation of Senate rules 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. While the Presiding Officer is in no way required to follow the advice of the Parliamentarian staff, 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, who succeeded 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 woman Parliamentarian of the United States Senate was Gail M. Cowper in the early 1980s.

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

ources

[http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/parliamentarian.htm Senate.gov]