Secretary of the United States Senate

The first secretary was chosen on April 8, 1789, two days after the Senate achieved its first quorum for business at the beginning of the 1st United States Congress.

[1] As the Senate grew to become a major national institution, numerous other duties were assigned to the secretary, whose jurisdiction now encompasses clerks, curators, and computers; disbursement of payrolls; acquisition of stationery supplies; education of the Senate pages; and the maintenance of public records.

[1] Today, the secretary coordinates two of the largest technology initiatives in Senate history, both designed to bring state-of-the-art efficiency to management of legislative and financial information.

After the Congressional Record evolved into an official publication, the secretary came to supervise the Senate's reporters of debates and preparation of the Daily Digest.

A position of great trust and responsibility, the Senate secretaryship has been held by a long line of distinguished individuals.

Samuel Allyne Otis, the first secretary of the Senate, had previously been speaker of the Massachusetts legislature and a member of the Continental Congress.

In addition, two former U.S. senators, Charles Cutts of New Hampshire and Walter Lowrie of Pennsylvania, have later served as secretary.

Several began as pages, including Edwin Halsey, who served throughout the dramatic New Deal years; Leslie Biffle, a close confidant of President Harry S. Truman; Carl Loeffler and J.