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.

Markwayne Mullin memberOf United States Senate
Lloyd Bentsen employer United States Senate
FBI Director confirmedBy United States Senate
U.S. ambassador to Belize confirmedBy United States Senate
Newlands Resolution chamber United States Senate
Pete Rouse employer United States Senate
John Williams Walker memberOfPoliticalBody United States Senate
Joint Committee on Atomic Energy house United States Senate
Slade representedIn United States Senate
subject surface form: Slade Gorton
Brock Adams (as U.S. Senator from Washington, 1987) legislativeBody United States Senate
subject surface form: Brock Adams
Daniel J. Evans (as U.S. Senator from Washington, 1989) legislativeBody United States Senate
subject surface form: Daniel J. Evans
Maria Cantwell (as U.S. Senator from Washington, 2001) memberOf United States Senate
subject surface form: Maria Cantwell
Maria Cantwell (as U.S. Senator from Washington, 2001) chamber United States Senate
subject surface form: Maria Cantwell
Jean Kerr McCarthy associatedWith United States Senate
Abraham Baldwin memberOf United States Senate
Robert P. Griffin memberOf United States Senate
LLFPA introducedIn United States Senate
117th United States Congress legislativeBody United States Senate
60th United States Congress hasChamber United States Senate
60th United States Congress legislativeBody United States Senate
William G. Miller employer United States Senate
62nd United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
62nd United States Congress upperHouse United States Senate
Mississippi River Commission membersConfirmedBy United States Senate
64th United States Congress legislativeBody United States Senate
Thanks of Congress conferredBy United States Senate
51st United States Congress legislativeChamber United States Senate
Herbert R. O'Conor memberOf United States Senate
Herbert R. O'Conor representedIn United States Senate
John Sherman memberOf United States Senate
impeachment trial of Samuel Chase participant United States Senate
Robert Y. Hayne memberOf United States Senate
William H. Crawford memberOf United States Senate
GRH Act legislativeChamber United States Senate
subject surface form: Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
Warren Rudman memberOf United States Senate
S.49 (99th Congress) legislativeBody United States Senate
Union of the American states upperHouse United States Senate
Joseph Anderson servedIn United States Senate
Joseph Anderson legislativeBody United States Senate
Marvella Hern Bayh employer United States Senate
this entity surface form: United States Senate (through spousal public role)
Rensselaer Russell Nelson confirmedBy United States Senate
United States Ambassador to Iran confirmedBy United States Senate