United States Senate

E886

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the U.S. Congress, composed of two senators from each state who share responsibility for making federal laws, confirming key executive and judicial appointments, and ratifying treaties.

All labels observed (16)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (57)

Predicate Object
instanceOf chamber of the United States Congress
upper house of bicameral legislature
clotureThreshold three-fifths of Senators duly chosen and sworn (typically 60)
confirms Cabinet-level appointments
Supreme Court justices
ambassadors
federal judges
contrastedWith United States House of Representatives representation by population
country United States of America
createdBy Article I of the United States Constitution
surface form: Constitution of the United States, Article I
dateEstablished 1789
establishedBy United States Constitution
hasCheckAndBalanceFunction check on executive branch
check on judicial branch
hasCitizenshipRequirement at least 9 years U.S. citizenship
hasCommitteeSystem joint committees
select committees
standing committees
hasElectionCycle staggered
hasElectionFraction approximately one-third of seats every two years
hasLegislativePower power to approve or reject legislation
power to propose amendments to bills
power to propose constitutional amendments
hasMembersFrom U.S. states
hasMembersPerState 2
hasMinimumAgeRequirement 30 years
hasMotto E pluribus unum (shared national motto)
hasNumberOfMembers 100
hasOfficerTitle Senate Majority Leader
surface form: Majority Leader

Majority Whip
Senate Minority Leader
surface form: Minority Leader

Minority Whip
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
surface form: President pro tempore
hasOfficialLanguage English
surface form: English (de facto)
hasPresidingOfficer Vice President of the United States
hasPresidingOfficerTitle President of the United States Senate
surface form: President of the Senate
hasPrimaryFunction advice and consent on presidential appointments
lawmaking
ratification of treaties
trial of impeachments
hasResidencyRequirement inhabitant of the represented state at time of election
hasRule filibuster tradition
hasTermLength 6 years
hasVotingSystem popular vote within each state
impeachmentConvictionThreshold two-thirds of members present
impeachmentRole conducts trials after impeachment by the House of Representatives
legislativeProcessRequires passage of bills by both houses of Congress
locatedIn Washington, D.C.
meetsIn United States Capitol
originalSelectionMethod election by state legislatures
partOf United States Congress
publishesRecord Congressional Record
ratifies treaties negotiated by the President of the United States
represents states as political units
selectionMethodChangedBy Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
sharesLegislativePowerWith United States House of Representatives
treatyRatificationThreshold two-thirds of Senators present

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1,769)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Federal Trade Commission confirmedBy United States Senate
118th United States Congress legislativeChamber United States Senate
118th United States Congress upperHouse United States Senate
109th United States Congress legislativeBody United States Senate
Archivist of the United States confirmedBy United States Senate
Kansas–Nebraska Act chamberOfOrigin United States Senate
Assistant Secretaries of Energy confirmedBy United States Senate
subject surface form: Assistant Secretary of Energy
United States Minister to Russia confirmedBy United States Senate
James Comey confirmedBy United States Senate
Edmund G. Ross legislativeBody United States Senate
Robert Byrd electedToBody United States Senate
Jefferson acquittedBy United States Senate
subject surface form: William Jefferson Clinton
Joint Committee on Taxation servesChamber United States Senate
Harry Reid memberOf United States Senate
NASA Authorization Act of 2010 chamber United States Senate
John Tyler servedIn United States Senate
Public Law 116-283, Division F chamberInvolved United States Senate
91st United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
William M. Evarts employer United States Senate
John Danforth memberOf United States Senate
110th United States Congress legislativeChamber United States Senate
111th United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
International Trade Commission memberConfirmationBy United States Senate
subject surface form: United States International Trade Commission
Prentiss M. Brown legislativeBody United States Senate
CAAF confirmationBy United States Senate
John servedIn United States Senate
subject surface form: John E. Sununu
this entity surface form: U.S. Senate
DCIA confirmedBy United States Senate
subject surface form: Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Federal Reserve Board governors confirmedBy United States Senate
United States Senate elections relatesTo United States Senate
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines confirmedBy United States Senate
United States Ambassador to Samoa confirmedBy United States Senate
Pete Ricketts memberOf United States Senate
Gaylord Nelson memberOf United States Senate
Tammy Baldwin electedTo United States Senate
Chief of Army Reserve confirmedBy United States Senate