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.

100th United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
Reed Smoot memberOf United States Senate
83rd United States Congress hasChamber United States Senate
Birch Bayh electedTo United States Senate
98th United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
Eric Holder confirmedBy United States Senate
Rand Paul chamber United States Senate
Home Rule Act of 1973 legislativeChamber United States Senate
Glass–Owen Act introducedInChamber United States Senate
Warren G. Harding memberOf United States Senate
Senate Minority Whip legislativeBody United States Senate
Zachariah Chandler memberOf United States Senate
Senate minority party conference locatedIn United States Senate
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ratifiedBy United States Senate
Virginia congressional delegation chamber United States Senate
John Randolph of Roanoke memberOf United States Senate
Joe Lieberman memberOf United States Senate
41st United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
Jay Treaty ratifiedBy United States Senate
Albert Gallatin legislativeBody United States Senate
Bill Bradley memberOf United States Senate
Albert B. Fall officeContested United States Senate
VRA chamberInvolved United States Senate
VRA sponsorChamber United States Senate
89th United States Congress hasChamber United States Senate
Inspector General is appointed by the President of the United States confirmedBy United States Senate
subject surface form: Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Labor
Origination Clause limitsPowerOf United States Senate
Henry Clay memberOf United States Senate
Richard Mentor Johnson memberOf United States Senate
Herbert H. Lehman memberOf United States Senate
Herbert H. Lehman legislativeBody United States Senate
Daniel Patrick Moynihan memberOf United States Senate
George Gray representedIn United States Senate
82nd United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
82nd United States Congress legislativeBody United States Senate