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.

Claiborne Pell employer United States Senate
Trent Lott legislativeBody United States Senate
John C. Frémont memberOf United States Senate
William Proxmire legislativeBody United States Senate
Mack Mattingly as U.S. Senator from Georgia legislativeBody United States Senate
subject surface form: Mack Mattingly
Harry F. Byrd Jr. memberOf United States Senate
Albert Benjamin Chandler employer United States Senate
Wayne Morse memberOf United States Senate
Furnifold Simmons memberOf United States Senate
James H. Lane memberOf United States Senate
John Ashcroft employer United States Senate
Shepard–Byrd Act introducedIn United States Senate
Public Law 111-84, Division E sponsorChamber United States Senate
UOCAVA appliesToElectionsFor United States Senate
Equal Rights Amendment passedBy United States Senate
Clarence William Nelson II memberOf United States Senate
Joe Biden as NASA Administrator confirmedBy United States Senate
subject surface form: NASA Administrator
Senate Special Committee on Aging chamber United States Senate
Senate Special Committee on Aging reportsTo United States Senate
Margaret Bell Ervin associatedWith United States Senate
102nd United States Congress hasChamber United States Senate
Interim Agreement on Offensive Arms ratifiedBy United States Senate
Electoral Commission Act chamberInvolved United States Senate
Under Secretary for Management confirmedBy United States Senate
U.S. Minister to Gran Colombia confirmedBy United States Senate
John memberOf United States Senate
subject surface form: John C. Stennis
U.S. Ambassador to Cuba confirmedBy United States Senate
Mike DeWine servedInOffice United States Senate
J. D. Vance memberOf United States Senate
Philip Hart employer United States Senate
Nelson W. Aldrich memberOf United States Senate
Public Law 111-296 sponsorChamber United States Senate
Peace of Ghent ratifiedBy United States Senate
Robert Morgan memberOf United States Senate
National Council on the Humanities confirmedBy United States Senate
1976 State of the Union Address houseAddressed United States Senate