United States Senate
United States Senate | |
|---|---|
| 118th United States Congress | |
 | |
 Flag of the U.S. Senate | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 3, 2021 |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 100 51 (or 50 plus the president of the Senate) for a majority |
 | |
Political groups | Majority (51)
Minority (49)
|
Length of term | 6 years |
| Elections | |
| Plurality voting in 46 states[b] Varies in 4 states
| |
Last election | November 8, 2022 (34 seats) |
Next election | November 5, 2024 (33 seats) |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Senate Chamber United States Capitol Washington, D.C. United States | |
| Website | |
| senate.gov | |
| Constitution | |
| United States Constitution | |
The United States Senate is the upper house of the United States Congress, which is a small group of elected people who decide the laws of the country.[2] Every U.S. state elects two people to represent them in the US Senate.[3] These people are called senators. Since there are 50 US states, there are 100 senators.[3] Senators serve six years at a time, and one-third of them are picked every two years.[3] Originally the legislature of each state decided who their senators would be. After 1913, all the people of the state chose their senators by vote. The Vice President of the United States is in charge of the Senate, but only does anything when there is a tie vote or a special event.
In order to be a senator, a person has to be 30 years old or older, and has to be a citizen of the United States for 9 years or more. They must also live in the state they represent at election time.
Functions
[change | change source]The Senate, along with the United States House of Representatives, votes on which laws the United States should have.[4] In most cases, both of these groups have to agree on the suggested law and the President has to sign it before it becomes a law.[4]
The Senate is the side of Congress where every state has the same number of votes (two). This is different from the House of Representatives, where states with more people have more votes than states with fewer people. This was decided at the Constitutional Convention, because small states like Delaware did not want the larger states to be able to decide everything. Also, only part of the Senate runs for election during elections. Every two years, 33 (two elections) or 34 (one election) senators are elected. For each state, this means that after two elections to the Senate, during one election no one will be elected to the Senate.
Also, like the House, the Senate can override the president's veto with a 2⁄3 (67 votes) vote. But unlike the house, some bills require a 3⁄5 (60 votes) vote (it used to be 2⁄3 of the vote) to overcome the filibuster.[5] A filibuster is when senators band together, they can stop bills from going through the senate. The United States Senate was formerly the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which, along with the United States House of Representatives ― the lower chamber ― comprised the legislature of the United States.
Confirmation powers
[change | change source]The Senate is also in charge of agreeing to treaties with other countries. The Senate has the sole responsibility for confirming presidential appointments.[6] These include federal judges, foreign ambassadors and Cabinet members.[6] If the Senate and President do not agree, the President has to pick someone else the Senate will agree to.
Political parties
[change | change source]Committees of the United States Senate and other important jobs in the Senate are assigned by the majority political party. As of 2024, the Senate is made up of 47 Democrats with 4 Independents who side with the Democrats which make them the Senate Majority. The minority of the Senate is made up of 49 Republicans.
Notes
[change | change source]- ↑ The independent senators, Angus King of Maine, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, caucus with the Democrats.[1]
- ↑ Alaska (for its primary elections only), California, and Washington additionally utilize a nonpartisan blanket primary, and Louisiana uses a Louisiana primary, for their respective primary elections.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Manchin changes party registration to independent, fueling speculation". The Washington Post. May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
Manchin joins three other members of the Senate who identify as independents: Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), Angus King (Maine) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), who each caucus with Democrats. A Manchin spokesperson said he will continue to caucus with Democrats.
- ↑ "Members of Congress". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The United States Senate for Know-It-Alls (Minneapolis: Filiquarian Publishing, LLC, 2008), p. 3
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Umar Farooq (6 August 2013). "Powers and Functions of the American Senate". Study Lecture Notes. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ IBP, US Senate Guide Volume 1 (Washington, DC: International Business Publications, 2015), p. 132
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "About the U.S. Senate". About.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
Other websites
[change | change source]
- The United States Senate Official Website
- List of Senators who died in office, via PoliticalGraveyard.com
- Chart of all U.S. Senate seat-holders, by state, 1978–present, via Texas Tech University
- A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825 Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, via Tufts University
- Bill Hammons' American Politics Guide – Members of Congress by Committee and State with Partisan Voting Index Archived 2014-12-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Works by or about United States Senate at Internet Archive
- First U.S. Senate session aired by C-SPAN via C-SPAN
- Senate Manual via govinfo.gov (U.S. Government Publishing Office)
- United States Senate Calendars and Schedules
- Information about U.S. Bills and Resolutions Archived 2020-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
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