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.

Charles Curtis memberOf United States Senate
80th United States Congress chamber United States Senate
USA PATRIOT Act legislativeChamberInvolved United States Senate
Alaska Purchase ratifiedBy United States Senate
Civil Rights Act of 1866 chamber United States Senate
Civil Rights Act of 1866 vetoOverrideBy United States Senate
A Promised Land setting United States Senate
86th United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
86th United States Congress chamber1 United States Senate
Judiciary Act of 1789 chamberOfOrigin United States Senate
Office of Legislative Affairs worksWith United States Senate
Librarian of Congress confirmedBy United States Senate
Alben W. Barkley positionHeld United States Senate
this entity surface form: United States Senator
Alben W. Barkley memberOf United States Senate
United States Secretary of Labor confirmedBy United States Senate
Senate wing houses United States Senate
this entity surface form: United States Senate chamber
Senate wing governingBody United States Senate
Senate wing category United States Senate
FRB confirmedBy United States Senate
Vice Chair for Supervision confirmedBy United States Senate
Capitol Police Board worksWith United States Senate
Atomic Energy Act of 1946 legislativeBody United States Senate
1949 State of the Union Address houseAddressed United States Senate
rules of the United States Senate appliesTo United States Senate
rules of the United States Senate adoptedBy United States Senate
Sergeant at Arms of the Senate partOf United States Senate
Sergeant at Arms of the Senate appointedBy United States Senate
Sergeant at Arms of the Senate confirmedBy United States Senate
Civil Rights Act of 1957 legislativeChamber United States Senate
National Emergencies Act sponsorChamber United States Senate
HELP Committee legislativeChamber United States Senate
HELP Committee parentOrganization United States Senate
73rd United States Congress legislativeBody United States Senate
Senate Majority Leader legislativeBody United States Senate