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.

McCarran Act chamber United States Senate
McCarran Act vetoOverrideBy United States Senate
Ray Blanton officeContested United States Senate
Crime Control Act of 1990 chamber United States Senate
James W. Wadsworth Jr. memberOf United States Senate
Public Law 76-783 legislativeChamber United States Senate
James W. Nye representedIn United States Senate
Jesse Franklin memberOf United States Senate
William Warren Bradley employer United States Senate
Time Present, Time Past mainSubject United States Senate
Theresa Anne Bradley memberOf United States Senate
subject surface form: Bill Bradley
Jonathan Dayton legislativeBody United States Senate
Flood Control Act of 1944 passedBy United States Senate
Public Law 113-66 otherChamber United States Senate
United States Ambassador to Poland confirmedBy United States Senate
Public Law 102-484 chamberInvolved United States Senate
Rufus W. Peckham confirmedBy United States Senate
Public Law 103-160 otherChamber United States Senate
Defense of Marriage Act chamberInvolved United States Senate
Iraq Liberation Act chamberInvolved United States Senate
Senator Owen Brewster memberOf United States Senate
subject surface form: Owen Brewster
Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik legislativeBody United States Senate
Public Law 95-87 legislativeChamber United States Senate
Matthew Quay partOf United States Senate
65th United States Congress hasChamber United States Senate
United States Ambassador to Nepal confirmedBy United States Senate
William B. Allison representedIn United States Senate
Public Law 68-175 chamberInvolved United States Senate
C‑SPAN coverageFocus United States Senate
subject surface form: C-SPAN
this entity surface form: U.S. Senate
105th United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
105th United States Congress chamber1 United States Senate
Sherry Palmer associatedWith United States Senate
1950 United States elections chamberInvolved United States Senate
Faith of My Fathers associatedWith United States Senate
Senate Indian Affairs Committee jurisdiction United States Senate
Gene L. Dodaro confirmedBy United States Senate
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 otherChamber United States Senate
PACT Act otherChamber United States Senate
PBA Ban sponsorChamber United States Senate