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.

Dennis Chávez legislativeBody United States Senate
United States Senator chamber United States Senate
Treaty of New Echota (1835) ratifiedBy United States Senate
subject surface form: Treaty of New Echota
United States Senate Democratic Caucus chamber United States Senate
Henry Dodge representedIn United States Senate
Mark Warner memberOf United States Senate
United States ambassador to Brazil confirmedBy United States Senate
Treaty of Holston (1791) ratifyingBody United States Senate
subject surface form: Treaty of Holston
Assistant Secretary for Health confirmedBy United States Senate
68th United States Congress chamber United States Senate
Ralph Izard representedIn United States Senate
Ralph Izard memberOf United States Senate
Judge Laurence Silberman confirmedBy United States Senate
subject surface form: Laurence Silberman
Wade–Davis Bill chamberOfOrigin United States Senate
Wade–Davis Bill passedChamber United States Senate
Neutrality Act of 1939 chamberInvolved United States Senate
Hatch Act of 1939 legislativeChamber United States Senate
Key Pittman legislativeBody United States Senate
Thomas J. Dodd employer United States Senate
Revenue Act of 1964 legislativeChamberInvolved United States Senate
Jim Webb memberOf United States Senate
James Iredell Jr. legislativeBody United States Senate
Vishal Amin confirmedBy United States Senate
John Cornyn legislativeBody United States Senate
Richard Blumenthal memberOf United States Senate
Russell Senate Office Building occupant United States Senate
Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 sponsorChamber United States Senate
Public Law 110-403 legislativeBody United States Senate
Patrick Leahy memberOf United States Senate
William Hendricks legislativeBody United States Senate
William W. Bibb representedIn United States Senate
Burton K. Wheeler memberOf United States Senate
Burton K. Wheeler legislativeBody United States Senate
Dirksen Senate Office Building serves United States Senate
William Samuel Johnson memberOf United States Senate