They serve as messengers for senators and are selected from among students who are in their junior year of high school. The pages attend early morning classes in a school located at the Library of Congress. The Majority and Minority Leaders occupy the front desks on their respective sides of the center aisle, with the republicans to the presiding officer's left and the democrats to the right. The more senior members of each party have priority in seat selection and generally sit toward the front and center of the chamber. As a senator speaks, an official reporter of debates stands nearby, taking a verbatim account of everything said.
Reporters work ten-minute shifts in the chamber and then immediately transcribe their notes.
By the next morning the entire day's proceedings, along with related materials, will be printed in the Congressional Record . In 1986 the Senate began live radio and television coverage of its floor proceedings. These signals are returned to cable television systems across the continent for distribution to viewers. Video tapes of Senate sessions are available to the public at the National Archives and the Library of Congress. Members introduce bills and resolutions, which are referred to the various committees for consideration.